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Delighted to observe that the rat poison we put down was disappearing.

Less delighted to find some weeks later that they had moved it all to a larder in the compost. The poison is Slaymore (as far as I understand it is a standard household rat poison). It comes in the form of blue pellets.

Does this render the compost dangerous to use on a kitchen garden (ie. with all kinds of vegetables)?

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  • 2
    Unfortunately rat poison will end up in places it was not intended - killing owls and other animals as well. Best to stay away.
    – Tim
    Commented Jun 8, 2011 at 21:38
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    Any idea why the rats made a larder in your compost pile in the first place? Were you adding things to your compost pile that you really shouldn't have been ie Adding items that attract pests? How big is your compost pile & where on your property is it located?
    – Mike Perry
    Commented Jul 6, 2011 at 19:03
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    @Mike we have chickens and horses and the other side of my hedge is a farm with cattle, sheep etc. with all those animals there's a lot of stored stock feed. there are rats around, they're a fact of life. i didn't add any of the usual "forbidden items" (meats, cooked food) to the compost. i think they just like to the warmth, especially in the Autumn. Commented Jul 6, 2011 at 19:16
  • @Tea Drinker, "there are rats around, they're a fact of life", very! true. Where on your property is your compost pile located? Could it be better located eg further away from "stored stock feed"? Also do you turn your compost pile (regularly)?
    – Mike Perry
    Commented Jul 6, 2011 at 19:48
  • @MikePerry no i don't turn it at all. location of compost is determined by Mrs Tea's dictat, ie far from her sight Commented Nov 9, 2011 at 5:57

3 Answers 3

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Slaymore contains bromadiolone, an anticoagulant that is toxic to rodents and other mammals, as well as poultry and fish.

A data sheet on bromadiolone claims that it will not be taken up by plants in case of spillage. It also talks briefly about cleaning up spills.

Even with this information, I'd be hesitant to apply that compost to anything I'm going to feed my family.

For future use, you may want to investigate bait stations that prevent the rat from removing the bait.

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As always, you should always read the label on the rat poison. For my money, if you think poison is around, the things it touches are not food-safe.

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As mentioned in another answer, Bromadiolone is an anticoagulant. It is classified as extremely poisonous. When we bought it the packaging said that it would not go up the food chain. This was a lie.

We used it on possums and rats on our previous property that was 10 acres. It came in different pellet sizes for mice, rats, rabbits etc. But birds such as hawks and chicken that fed on these dead animals also died a horrible death. I would not recommend that it be used under any circumstances.

I am sure that the chemical eventually becomes inactive, but it definitely goes up the food chain.

I found this Mouse plague: bromadiolone will obliterate mice, but it’ll poison eagles, snakes and owls, too. I am glad that it supports our findings.

But there is also this that suggests that it has a half life of 14 days in the soil. So it is probably alright in compost. But I would still not use it.

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