Safely Use Rodent Bait Products

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Rat and mouse poison products, if misused, can potentially harm you, your children, or your pets.  Always read the product label and follow all directions when using pesticides.

Remember!

• Always store pesticides away from the reach of children and pets, such as in a locked utility cabinet or garden shed.  
• Place traps or baits only in locations where children and pets cannot access them.
• Never store pesticides next to food, including pet food.
• Read and follow the instructions on the pesticide label.
• To prevent accidental poisoning of wildlife and pets that might eat a dead animal, promptly remove and dispose of carcasses of dead rodents. 

Rodenticide products marketed to consumers include ready-to-use bait stations that are labeled according to the extent of protection they provide to young children and to dogs and whether or not they are weather-resistant. 

The rodenticide (rodent poison) products sold at consumer outlets are ready-to-use bait stations. 

• These products contain bait in the form of a block or a paste. 
• The bait must be secured within the bait station that comes in the retail package. 
  • If the bait station is refillable, up to one pound of bait to be used to fill and refill the bait station may be packaged with the station. 
• The baits used in these products must use one of the following rodenticide compounds as active ingredient:
  • bromethalin,
  • chlorophacinone,
  • cholecalciferol,
  • diphacinone,
  • warfarin, or
  • zinc phosphide. 
• The baits used in these products may not contain a second-generation anticoagulant rodenticide (e.g., brodifacoum, bromadiolone, difenacoum, or difethialone).

Learn how EPA regulates the safety of rat and mouse poison products.