Are you looking for the best mouse poison? Then you’ve come to the right place.
In this Pest Strategies product review you can expect to learn:
- What mouse poisons are
- The active ingredients in modern mouse poison
- The difference between single feed and multiple feed poison
- Dangers and safety concerns of mouse poison
Ed has been working in the pest control industry for years helping 1,000's of homeowners navigate the world of insect and rodent management. He manages Pest Strategies now helping homeowners around the world!
Best Overall
Best Service
Ramik Green Rodenticide Pellets
Features
- Easy to use
- Weather resistant
- Lethal dose in single feeding
Just One Bite Mice Pellet Place Packs
Features
- Very easy to use
- Good weather resistance
- Strong single feeding bait formula
Table Of Contents
Top 5 Best Mouse Poisons
Short on time or just want a quick answer?
Check out our list below for a summary of our results. Keep on reading to learn more about mouse poisons.
What Are Mouse Poisons?
In simplest terms, mouse poisons (rodenticides) are poisons that kill rodents. Modern rodenticides are called anticoagulants, AKA, blood thinners.
They don’t really make the blood thinner, of course, it’s simply an expression. An anticoagulant is a compound that doesn’t let blood clots form in the blood.
The animal starts bleeding internally and it won’t stop. Eventually, the animal bleeds to death. There are four main active ingredients used as anticoagulants in mouse poison.
They are:
Warfarin
Warfarin was an early anticoagulant used to control mice.
It was introduced in the early 1940’s and is now known as a first-generation anticoagulant. It was heavily overused, giving rise to warfarin-resistant rats.
Warfarin resistance created the need for a second-generation of anticoagulants to combat the growing numbers of warfarin resistant rodents.
Warfarin isn’t used in rodenticides anymore. Occasionally it is still used as a medical treatment for some people, but mainly it has fallen out of general use.
Bromadiolone
A second-generation anticoagulant, Bromadiolone is used in rodenticides to kill rats, mice, and general rodents. It is an odorless powder, usually white to yellow in color.
It works by preventing the body from recycling vitamin K, which is needed to clot the blood. Once mice run out of vitamin K they will take several days to bleed to death internally.
The antidote for bromadiolone poisoning is large does of vitamin K1. If you suspect you’ve been exposed to Bromadiolone or any other anticoagulant, contact your doctor at once.
Brodifacoum
Brodifacoum is another anticoagulant used in mouse poison. Like Bromadiolone, it inhibits the body from being able to recycle vitamin K. It has a slightly different mode of action than Bromadiolone, but it’s more a matter of degree rather than kind.
Diphacinone
This is also an anticoagulant that is a vitamin K antagonist. It was invented by Bell Labs in 1990. It is generally considered to be weaker than the others because it is a “multiple feeding” mouse poison.
The following video will tell you more about mouse poisons.
What Does Single Feed and Multiple Feed Mouse Poison Mean?
This refers to the number of times a mouse has to feed on the bait in order for it to take effect.
In pest control jargon a bait is considered “hot” if it will kill the mice in just one feeding, otherwise, it is just an ordinary bait, AKA, multiple feed, which means the animal has to feed off of it several times in order to ingest a lethal dose.
This is highly problematic when it comes to mice. Mice are so small they only need a 1/10-ounce of food per day.
One to two tiny nibbles usually isn’t enough to kill them. All it does is make them sick, which teaches them to avoid the bait in the future.
Bromadiolone and brodifacoum are single feed anticoagulants, while diphacinone is a multi-feed anticoagulant. This multiple feeding action keeps diphacinone-based rodenticides out of the top spot.
Are Mouse Poisons Safe to Use Around Children and Pets?
Never. Rodenticides are poison.
Keep them out of reach of pets and children at all times. Baits should always be used in conjunction with bait boxes so pets and children can’t get to it. Leaving rodenticides out in the open is A) dangerous and B) a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Because of the danger to children and pets, rodenticides should always be used in conjunction with tamper resistant bait boxes.
Read Also: What are the best mouse baits?
Any Legal Issues When Using Mouse Poison?
Be sure you read the label on any rodenticide before using it. In the pest control industry, the label is the law.
This is because the contents of the label are mandated by the EPA as well as various state agencies. Using rodenticides “off-label” is a criminal offense.
Because rodenticides can cause serious harm to people, the EPA is especially vigilant about enforcing the criminal aspects of the law regarding these products.
Top 5 Best Mouse Poisons Reviewed
Related Articles
Ramik Green Rodenticide Pellets
Neogen created this pelletized rodenticide for multi purpose indoor and outdoor use. Their all weather composition makes them a versatile option for your rodent problem.
Many customer reported the mice loving taking these pellets and storing for later. So it may take a while before the mice ingest these pellets, meaning results may not occur for a week or more.
These are extremely easy to use; just toss them into an attic, closet, tool shed, or any other enclosed area where children and pets can’t get to them and your job is done.
The Good And The Bad
- Easy to use
- Weather resistant
- Lethal dose in single feeding
- Very easy for children and pets to open
Just One Bite Mice Pellet Place Packs
These paper encased place packs, from Farnan, come 5 to a package for those times when you only need a small amount of rodenticide and don’t want to spend $80-$90 on a bucket of bait.
The active ingredient is bromadiolone at 0.005%, so it’s a strong, single feeding bait. It can easily be used in attics, basements, crawl spaces, tool sheds, well houses, and other enclosed areas where children and pets can reach the packets.
It has good weather resistance and will last for a good couple of months before you need to replace it.
The Good And The Bad
- Very easy to use
- Good weather resistance
- Strong single feeding bait formula
- Dangerous to use around children and pets
JT Eaton Block
These peanut butter flavored bait blocks, from J.T. Eaton, use diphacinone at 5% as the active ingredient. This is a multiple feed bait so it will take longer to eliminate mice and rats, but it is significantly less expensive, so it’s a good trade-off.
The peanut butter flavor is a nice touch since that’s a food mice and rats have a known fondness for.
It has good weather resistance, and like all bait blocks, should be used with a bait box to prevent children and pets from gaining access to it.
(If we sound like a broken record on the pets and children issue, it’s because it’s so important.)
In cool dry weather, the bait will last for up to 60 days. In hot or wet weather, it will have to be changed more often.
The Good And The Bad
- Good taste
- Very easy to use
- Good weather resistance
- Multiple feed bait
- Dangerous for children and pets
Contrac Blox
The active ingredient in Contrac, from Bell Labs, is bromadiolone at 0.005%, making it a single feed rodenticide. It kills Warfarin resistant mice and rats. It is weather resistant so it can be used inside and out.
The blocks are created with a hold in the middle so they can be mounted on slender rods inside bait boxes. This will keep rats and mice from trying to drag the bait back to their lair.
Change the bait every 40-60 days in the winter if it hasn’t been eaten. During the hot summer months, you’ll need to change it more often. It comes in an 18-lb bucket, so don’t be hesitate to use it.
The Good And The Bad
- Single feed
- Easy to use
- Very effective
- Long lasting
- Great for both indoor and outdoor use
- Can be quite toxic on pets and children
Final Blox
Also from Bell Labs, the active ingredient in Final Blox is brodifacoum at 0.005% so it’s a single feeding rodenticide that will kill mice after only one little nibble. It’s slightly less expensive than our top pick, but a little bit slower too.
Always use it in conjunction with bait boxes to keep children and pets from eating it. It can be used inside or outside.
This bait is weather resistant. You only need to change it every 40-60 days or so. During hot weather, or in the summer, you will need to change it more often.
The Good And The Bad
- Long lasting
- Very easy to use
- Proven effective
- A single feed bait
- Can be used inside and out
- Dangerous to be used around children and pets