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| mary cummins, rat poison, anticoagulant bait, rodenticide, los angeles, california, poison, human poisoned by rat poison, animal advocates, ground squirrels, mountain lion |
Why you should not use rat poison. It doesn't solve problems. It just creates
bigger problems.
Because I rescue wildlife I am very familiar with rodenticide anti-coagulant poisons used to kill ground
squirrels, gophers, rats and mice. Sometimes this poison is eaten by non-target animals who die.
Sometimes animals are killed through secondary poisoning by eating poisoned animals. Sometimes
humans are accidentally poisoned through dermal and inhalation contact. Sometimes children
accidentally eat the poison thinking it is a blue tic-tac candy.
Anti-coagulant poisons cause the animal to lose the ability to coagulate blood. They generally die from
internal and external bleeding which causes anemia and hypovolemic circulatory shock. The antidote is
medical strength Vitamin K which is administered by an injection followed by oral capsules. You cannot
buy Vitamin K at the health food store. You'd have to eat 1,000 pills to get enough Vitamin K to reverse
the effect of the anti-coagulant. Sometimes a blood transfusion is needed.
Here in California it's legal to poison non-protected wildlife such as agricultural pests like pocket
gophers, California ground squirrels, mice and rats. You cannot use poison to kill cottontail bunnies. You
also cannot use it to kill Mojave ground squirrels as they are protected as they are endangered.
The poison must be used according to the label. You cannot allow non-target animals to eat the poison
or the poisoned animals. You generally have to use a bait station to make sure only targeted animals are
poisoned. Below is a pic of a coyote who was eating poisoned gophers and ground squirrels in Griffith
Park. He would sit next to the bait station feeder and grab the gophers and ground squirrels as they went in and out of the feeder. This caused his immune system to be depressed which allowed mites to take over. That is
why he's missing fur. He also has open sores on his paw, flank and head.
In 2004 in Conejo a woman was walking her dog on a hiking trail. Dog ran into a bush and started eating
something. Owner stopped her dog but he'd already eaten a few bars of blue poison. She grabbed a
sample and took it to the vet. She said she saw a pest control company drop the bars around the hiking
trail. Seems a local HOA paid them to poison coyotes which is illegal. Guess who ended up eating that
poison besides coyotes and dogs? A mountain lion who died.
Generally the poison is brightly colored so people can see it and be warned not to touch it. It comes in
pellet and block format. My neighbor was poisoning rats and tossed some big blocks in his back yard up
the hill. One block rolled down the hill into my skunk cage but I didn't know it. The poison tastes good
like peanut butter so the skunk ate it. Next morning he had bright blue poo so I knew he'd been
accidentally poisoned. I took him to the vet for an injection and pills. If your pet or a wild animal
defecates bright blue or green, he has probably been poisoned. After they poisoned the pigeons on the
beach there was bright blue pigeon droppings on the hand rails. That is how I knew they were poisoned.
Anti-coagulant poison is inhumane. Pest control companies try to tell people that the animals just get
tired and go to sleep in their nest. This is not true. They generally leave their nest to find water and die
exposed. It is painful.
In 2003 I was approved to do a "no feed" program in San Buena Ventura beach. People loved feeding the ground squirrels which caused the population of rats, ground squirrels, pigeons and seagulls to
increase. The hotel and a proposed restaurant did not like the bird feces on the railings.
Through the use of signs and polite education on the weekends I was able to get most of the feeders to
stop. Unfortunately there was one feeder who would not stop. She thought they would starve to death.
I told her that I'd do a "taper down to zero" feed program to make sure they don't starve to death.
As soon as there was not enough food the pigeons and seagulls left, so did the rats. Unfortunately the
rats left the beach and went to the hotel and shops. They eventually left that area as well. The ground
squirrels cannot leave as they are surrounded by ocean or cement. They actually lived in the tidal zone.
The goal was to cause the ground squirrels not to produce as many babies. Over a 3 1/2 month period
we were able to reduce the population of ground squirrels by 33%. The city said if I could reduce the
population by 30%, they would not poison.
After I told them about the success and they visited the site they said "thank you" and even wrote a nice
thank you letter. Then they went and poisoned them anyway in secrecy at 4:00 a.m. The homeless
people told me a man with a huge bucket was dumping blue poison pellets in the children's play ground,
beach, sand, tidal zone, off leash dog park. Soon the squirrels were dying. Some tried to give the
squirrels foods rich in vitamin K but that would not be enough vitamin K.
Within a few days the squirrels had open sores on their bodies. The poison caused them to itch and they
were scratching themselves bloody. Their paws were raw and bloody. The pic below is of one of the
dead squirrels. The males had open sores on their testicles. Then they started to die. They did not die in
their nests but on people's beach towels, in the children's playground, on the rocks, sidewalk... Pigeons
and other birds were dying. I found a dead bloody cat. Pic below is of a squirrel which crawled onto the
sidewalk and died in my hand. I contacted Fish & Game who told me to collect the bodies and any evidence which I did along with the ex-feeder. I sent the bodies to the lab. They died of anti-coagulant poisoning. The ground squirrels only had one type. The pigeons had four different types in their system. I picked up a dead pelican and sent that to the lab. It had massive internal bleeding but no other injury. They couldn't detect poison in the pelican because I believe they process it differently.
The city sent high school kids to pick up the dead bodies. I was there for a week picking them up with
gloves. In the meantime it had rained and there was a lot of wind. I believe this is when the pellets
dissolved leaving the poison on the rocks and in the sand. I believe that's how I was poisoned, through
dermal and inhalation contact. I most certainly didn't eat it.
The warden contacted the city and pest control guy. He admitted he did not use bait stations and
dumped it in the sand, playground, dog park, tidal zone, rocks. He said he had to dump a lot more than
usual because the birds were also eating it. Even though he admitted that he scattered it which is illegal
they only slapped his wrist.
Meanwhile the other woman and I who picked up dead bodies started to feel tired. Then that time of
the month came and it would not stop. After a week of the worst period of my life I called the other
woman and said I can't get to the beach because of my period. She then told me the same thing
happened to her and she had to go to her doctor. Then we'd realized we were accidentally poisoned.
I called Poison Control and they said I could not get it from dermal or inhalation contact. I'd have to eat
a handful to be poisoned. I believed them and thought it must just be a fluke.My period would not stop...for 1.5 years! I went to the doctor and they stupidly told me I couldn't have
been poisoned. It was just a coincidence. The other woman was on hormones and her doctor told her to
stop. He also gave her medication. I went to another doctor and he gave me large dosages of birth
control pill which should have stopped my period but it didn't. Then I went to another doctor who gave
me Lupron which puts you into menopause. It didn’t stop my period.
Cut to the chase I ended up getting blood transfusions and eventually needed surgery then it finally
stopped. During this entire time I was very weak, tired and pale. I forced myself to eat raw beef livers
that I threw in the blender with water which I chugged. I also took huge quantities of iron. My iron count
was 4. Anything below 10 and you should be hospitalized. I had to get up slowly so I didn't pass out. I'd
get winded speaking more than a few words in a row. I couldn't leave the house because I needed to get
to a restroom every 20-30 minutes around the clock. I had to change a super tampon and super pad
every 20-30 minutes 24 hours a day! It was a total nightmare which could have been prevented if the
pest control guy had used bait stations. At the very least he could have told us he dumped the poison in
the sand so we would have gotten treatment sooner.
I also blame the poison control center for giving me bad advice. You can be accidentally poisoned
through dermal and inhalation contact. It happens a lot in third world countries. By the time the women
see a doctor they die before being diagnosed properly. The doctors first think it's leukemia.
What generally happens is there is a bag of rodenticide on a shelf. After a year or so the bag
disintegrates and the pellets erode. The poison is so strong that 99.999% of the pellet is food. The other
.001% is the poison. A woman wipes her hand on the shelf and it poisoned. It also happens when they
put the poison in big containers to mix to poison animals. Then they use that same container to make
food.
If you believe you may have been accidentally poisoned, go to the doctor to get vitamin W injection and
pills. The over the counter Vitamin W at health food stores cannot help you as the concentration is much
too low. People should not be using poison to kill animals. I've said this a million times. Poison does not
solve problems. It just creates even bigger problems. It is far better, cheaper and longer lasting to
exclude and deter. Make sure you are not providing nuisance wildlife with food, water or shelter. Lock
up your food in bins so you won't attract rats and mice. I have never used poison and I don't need to. I
make sure I don't attract unwanted wildlife and I exclude and deter.
Please, share this note to warn people about the evils of poisons.
*The article below states they used bait stations. They did not. The city lied to everyone.
Media articles about poisoning in San Buena Ventura beach.
2003. Ventura County Star. Ventura poisons squirrels and rats
Author: John Scheibe, Date: March 19, 2003, Publication: Ventura County Star(CA), Page: B01
Calling them a public health and safety threat Ventura officials have begun poisoning squirrels and rats
along the beachside Promenade. The pellet poisoning comes 3 1/2months after the City Council passed an ordinance making it illegal to feed wild rodents and other animals there.
The city hoped the ordinance would reduce the burgeoning population of rodents plaguing the
Promenade area said Mike Montoya Ventura's parks manager. But some people are continuing to feed the...
2003 LA Times " Rodent poisoning project angers animal activists"
The Region; rodent Poisoning Project Angers Animal Activists; To cope with an infestation on Ventura's
beachfront, deadly pellets are placed among the rocks. One group's leader says she may sue.
City Council members approved the month long eradication effort in January -- at the same time they
adopted an ordinance to ban people from feeding squirrels and seabirds along the Ventura Promenade,
said city parks manager Mike Montoya. To kill the critters, he said, an exterminator has been placing
poison-laced food pellets in small cages in the piles of rocks that line the beach.
Mary Cummins, director of Animal Advocates -- a Los Angeles- based nonprofit group that rescues
squirrels and other animals -- spent much of Tuesday afternoon combing the beach for squirrel
carcasses, which she planned to take back to her rescue center to evaluate.
He insisted that the poisoned food pellets would not harm other animals, because the dose is too small.
Montoya also said no regulatory agencies had to permit the eradication project because rats and
squirrels are considered "nuisance animals."
Los Angeles Times - Los Angeles, Calif. Author: Ragland, Jenifer, Date: Mar 19, 2003 Start Page: B.5,
Section: California Metro; Part B; Metro Desk
Mary Cummins
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