Photo: Ken Tomita

What is poisonous to mice but not dogs?

Perhaps the most hazardous mouse poisons are the second generation anticoagulant rodenticides, such as brodifacoum, bromadiolone, difethiolone. These can be highly toxic to non-target species – cats, dogs, and wild animals – after just one feeding.

superproof.co.uk - How to get rid of mice without harming pets - SUPERPROOF™

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Mouse poison or mice traps are not safe for pets

Revealed – the signs of rodenticide poisoning in pets

Keep your pets safe with humane mouse control

Mouse proofing – the most effective way to remove mice

Many cat and dog owners who suffer mouse infestations rightly want to know how to get rid of mice without harming pets.

The go-to mouse control solution for many is still to buy mice poison and try to kill the rodents. Or to use mouse traps to kill mice, but in a different way. Yet, is using deadly mouse poison or mice traps the right move, when you share your lives and homes with much-loved pets?

On top of that, for people who have young children, is it a good idea to introduce mice poisons that could harm them as well? These are reasons why more people are now seeking mouse control that doesn’t harm pets (and doesn’t put children at risk either). Let us get the SUPERPROOF view in in the open from the start. As one of the UK’s leading experts in getting rid of mice in the home, we do not advocate using mouse poisons or mouse traps. For a number of reasons explained later in this article.

Mouse poison – rodenticides explained

The technical name for all rodent poisons, which include mouse poison, is rodenticide. In the UK, the most common type of rodenticide used are anti-coagulants. These anti-coagulant rodenticides work by inhibiting the vitamin-K blood clotting factors, created in the liver, causing an animal to die as a result in internal bleeding. Vets recognise rodenticides as being potentially dangerous to all mammals and birds, and a common cause of poisoning in pets and wildlife. Poisoning has resulted from contamination of feed with anti-coagulant concentrate, malicious use of the chemicals, or be ingestion of rodents, or by cats or dogs eating rodents that have ingested the poison. Perhaps the most hazardous mouse poisons are the second generation anticoagulant rodenticides, such as brodifacoum, bromadiolone, difethiolone. These can be highly toxic to non-target species – cats, dogs, and wild animals – after just one feeding.

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Signs of rodenticide poisoning in pets

The speed with which symptoms of anti-coagulant rodenticide poisoning in pets becomes apparent depends on how much of the mouse or rat poison is eaten. Also, in some cases, how many times it has been eaten, and over what period of time. Veterinary surgeons have identified the following symptoms that cats and dogs can show after eating mouse poison:

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• Lethargy

• Difficulty breathing

• Pale gums

• Coughing, especially of blood

• Vomiting

• Vomiting with blood

• Bloody nose

• Swelling or bumps on the skin, for example haematomas

• Collapse

• Bleeding from the gums

• Death

All these symptoms are, of course, highly distressing. If you see any of these signs of poisoning, the pet should be taken to the vets as soon as possible. In most cases, there are treatments to decontaminate the pet, but these must be started as soon as possible. The most benign treatment is to give the cat or dog vitamin K1 orally, though this medical therapy often has to be carried out over 30 days. Other more intensive, distressing, and expensive treatments may be needed to cure the accidental rodenticide poisoning. These include blood transfusions, plasma transfusions, and oxygen therapy.

How to remove mice without risk to cats and dogs

Many SUPERPROOF customers come to us after researching ways to remove mice, and realising they did not want to select a method that put their cats or dogs at risk. Among them have been retired broadcast professionals Bob and Fiona. They experienced a mouse infestation in their home in Acton, West London, and wanted no harm to come to their Afghan hound. Both cats and dogs are inquisitive animals. They are also territorial. These traits make them want to investigate anything new in their home, which includes mouse bait boxes. Dogs, in particular, as omnivores, are at particular risk. Young puppies, which have not been trained fully and are particularly inquisitive, are perhaps at greatest risk of being harmed by mouse poison. Similar risks are faced with mouse traps. The most common variety is the snap trap. This could seriously harm a dog if it decides to take a sniff at it. Glue traps may not kills dogs or cats, but they have the potential to cause them serious distress. It’s why we argue that the best mouse traps are no mouse traps.

The answer – mouse proofing, not mouse killing

The solution is to not try to kill the mice, but to effectively prevent them from gaining access to your living area, where they forage for food. In that way, they are deprived of the thing that makes it viable to live in your home, the food they need to survive. The only thing they can do then, is to move elsewhere to find another food source. SUPERPROOF achieves this by providing the most effective mouse proofing service in the UK.

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Our system has been developed and perfected through over a decade of practice and research. Our technicians are trained to understand the behaviour of mice, so they can identify all potential entry points into your living space. They then use unique combinations of high-performance mouse proofing materials to block those entry points, giving long-term relief from mouse infestations. And before anyone thinks it, many mice populations exist and grow happily alongside pet cats. The idea that having a cat in the house is the best way to get rid of mice is a myth.

Another benefit of not using poisons (or traps).

Here is another key benefit of not using rodenticides to kill mice. It’s not just that you get rid of mice without harming pets. This method for removing mice actually works. Most mice are now physiologically resistant to rodenticides. They also develop behavioural resistance to the poisons. These are the twin reasons why the British Pest Control Association recently stated that mice represent, arguably, the most serious pest control problem facing the UK. Mice also develop behavioural resistance to mouse traps. So, if you want a permanent solution to a mouse control problem, the only effective answer is to mouse proof your property.

A safe way to get rid of mice without harming pets

Many people love animals. Many people demonstrate by having pet cats and dogs. But that does not mean they want to put up with serious mouse infestations. If you do not want to risk harm to pet dogs and cats, but want to remove mice from your home effectively, and permanently, call SUPERPROOF. Our mouse proofing service gives you a certified guarantee that the mice will be gone for at least 30 days. We’re ready to help. We also guarantee that our system for getting rid of mice is entirely safe for your pets.

superproof.co.uk - How to get rid of mice without harming pets - SUPERPROOF™

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