What Does d-Con Do To Mice?

If mice or rats take a lethal dose in a single feeding, the first dead rodents will start appearing at least five days after the feeding has begun. So, d-CON, as a brand of anti-rodent products, can kill mice. The bait stations made by d-CON are meant to kill rats in a safe way, which is better than using other poisons. In the d-CON rodent baits, the active ingredient is vitamin D3 (or cholecalciferol), which rats and mice cannot tolerate. However, the vitamin is almost harmless to human beings.

d-CON is one of the many rodent-control products owned by Reckitt Benckiser, a UK-based consumer-good company. The d-CON products are distributed in the United States. The brand’s product line includes baits and traps used around the home for killing and trapping rats and mice. As the products have been trusted for over half a century (60 years to be precise), they will kill the mice from your business or your house. This article will explore the d-CON brand. It will look at all the fine details and bring you up to speed with all the d-CON products. If you stick around, you will know everything there is to the d-CON anti-rodent (rats and mice) products.

Review: D-Con Rat & Mouse Poison

d-CON is arguably the best mouse poison seller in the US. As established in the kicker, the brand has a line of traps, poison bait pellets, and bait stations that have been made to control rats, mice, and other rodents. The brand’s products have gone through many changes over the past few years. This is because of the changing state and federal regulations over rodenticides, particularly anticoagulant poisons that were once very common in its products.

If you’re not sure what d-CON can do for your mice problem, worry no more. This d-CON guide will give you the info you need. It will take you through the benefits and drawbacks of the products made by d-CON, helping you choose the right one for the problem at hand.

The Flesh And Bones Of d-CON Products

This section will bring to your attention all the products, pros, and cons that you should understand before using any of the d-CON products. All the products will be looked at separately, and they are as follows:

1. Rat Poison Trays And Pellets

While these are not as easy to discover as bait stations, they are designed to kill mice and rats ultimately. The d-CON bait pellets are very much available with the anticoagulant (the older active ingredient) to kill resistant or warfarin rodents. The pellets are sold only in d-CON rat tray poisons without the tamper-resistant cover.

2. The Bait Stations

Depending on the level of your comfort, the brand offers both refillable and disposable bait stations. The bait stations feature the following:

Features Of The d-CON Bait Stations
Feature	Note
A transparent design	This helps you to see when the bait needs to be thrown away or refilled.
Weather-resistant and low profile design	This makes the stations efficient in both indoor and outdoor spaces.
Tamper-resistance	This improves the stations’ safety around pets and children.
Has a corner-fit design	This enables it to be used in tight spaces like in corners, in the attic, and behind appliances.

 

The Pluses And Minuses Of D-Con Poison

Here are the essential advantages and disadvantages to know when you want to choose between the products brought forth in the previous section:

The Pluses

1. Cholecalciferol, or vitamin D3, has reasonably low toxicity when it gets into contact with human skin. This means that there is reduced risk when one wants to refill the bait stations.

2. The vitamin has had an impressive track record since the 1970s, when it started being used as a rodenticide.

3. The company (d-CON) offers its prospective clients a style selection for the bait stations. If a client needs something to fit tight areas, they can get it. Also, they can also choose between disposable and refillable stations.

4. Also, the bait-stations are sturdy and well designed and can be used both outdoors and indoors.

5. Their rodenticide options are very affordable. The most pocket-friendly option is the d-CON rat poison, which you can use to control the population of mice and rats in your office or home. You can get one refillable bait station and, together with it, 20 bait refills – all in the same package.

6. The bait stations have a safe design and are tamper-proof to reduce the risk to children and pets.

7. The bait is not very toxic to humans – it is mildly safe. While vitamin D3 is lethal if ingested by rodents, cats, and dogs, it cannot lead to humans’ death (while being in low levels). In fact, vitamin D3 is sold in tiny bottles as a supplement.

8. The company’s long-term success has all the guarantees you need – the product will indeed work. d-CON offers its clients a money-back guarantee on its killer products (see what I did there?).

9. It starts eliminating rodents three days after you start using it.

The Minuses

1. The products have limited options. When it comes to the d-CON poison bait, you can only choose between the disposable and the refillable stations. Plus, it is not easy to find the brand’s bail pellet trays being sold. However, that can be considered a plus since loose bait pellets can be toxic to animals and pets.

2. There is no antidote for vitamin D3 in the new d-CON items. So, it could be very toxic in case a pet accidentally poisons itself. Also, the poison is very difficult to treat.

3. It is very challenging to know the feedings that are required to eliminate the rodents. A rat or a mouse can consume one large d-CON cholecalciferol feeding dose and die, but it usually needs multiple feedings. The mouse’s or rat’s ability to maintain or sustain calcium levels must be exhausted before the bait becomes toxic.

Using d-CON Poison

As implied in different parts of the article, what d-CON offers is a few poison bait types designed to fit different needs. If you need something that will work best for hard-to-reach areas, you can go for d-CON wedges. If you don’t want to handle the bait, you can go for disposable bait stations. The most cost-effective solutions are refillable bait stations, and these can be used both outdoors and indoors.

To use any of the d-CON poison options effectively, you need to place the bait strategically. Also, you need to remove access, if possible, to other food sources. You can either combine the bait stations with other strategies or use them as standalone solutions. You need to check for any potential entryways such as openings and cracks and remove clutter outside your home.

Using d-CON Poison

To better your chances of succeeding with the anti-rodent mission, ensure that you place the bait stations in places where there is evidence of some rodent activity. Look for droppings or signs such as nesting and gnawing. Always set the stations against hard surfaces such as walls. It would help if you never put them out in the open since, for safety, rats and mice travel along walls. The stations should be set up perpendicularly against the wall in secluded or dark areas like behind appliances or under the sinks. This way, a mouse or a rat traveling along the wall will most likely walk through the station’s entrance to look for the food source.

It may take a couple of days before you see signs of mice feeding on the particular bait. To check for any activity, you should look at the clear window at the station’s top. If you realize that there has been some feeding activity, you should count a few days, and the mice will start dying. Remember to be very patient: the rats or mice will not try a new food source on the first two days. You shouldn’t worry if the bait is not eaten very much; the mice do not need to overeat it to get a lethal dose.

Also, there is no need for you to unwrap the new d-CON bait since the bait’s new formulation mostly uses food-grade ingredients. This means that the bait will be attractive enough for the rodents to eat through the wrapper.

To get the bait station refilled, you should look at the top button and the bottom latch. Then, use your stronger hand to pull the bottom latch. Simultaneously, use the other hand to press the button seated at the top. Then, swing the station’s window open to place the new block of bait. As you do that, ensure that it is securely fitted on the peg.

The Safety Precaution To Be Mindful Of

We have stuck on bait stations for the most part of the article because they are tamper-proof and therefore keep children and other animals safe from any form of accidental poisoning. One thing you should be mindful of is not leaving the refill bait in an unprotected place.

Even if the new d-CON vitamin D3 formulation has low toxicity when it comes into contact with the skin, you should leave the bait inside the wrapper; it reduces the risk of anyone getting exposed, and the rodents will eat through it.

If your pet accidentally ingests the vitamin D3 bait, it is vital to get immediate medical attention. As noted elsewhere in the article, cholecalciferol is hard to treat and may need you to get hospitalized, lab monitoring, and therapy. Here are the overt signs to watch out for if your dog or cat accidentally ingests the bait: weakness, vomiting, low appetite, increased urination and thirst, depression, and lethargy.

The signs mentioned above are likely to manifest within 12 to around 48 hours. If the bait exposure were a recent one, it would be best if you induced vomiting. However, take that option if you are sure what the dog consumed and if your vet tells you it is safe. The vomit technique should only be taken up if your dog ingested the new d-CON formulation. If it is other types of rat poison that are involved, induced vomiting can be fatal. Also, the only recommended product to induce vomiting safely for dogs is 3% hydrogen peroxide.

Tips For Succeeding With d-Con Bait Stations

While stopping a rat or a mouse problem is easier said than done, here are some tips that will definitely better your chances of succeeding in the rodent elimination. Read on:

1. Ensure that the bait stations are placed 15 – 40 feet apart from each other (for rats) and 8 – 12 feet (for mice). It is always an excellent thing to use a couple of bait stations instead of one. Multiple bait stations will work best if there is an extensive rodent infestation.

2. Avoid anything that will make you handle the bait station. As a precautionary measure, use gloves whenever you handle the bait station, even if you’re refilling the bait. This is to avoid leaving your scent at the point where the bait is.

3. Leave the stations to themselves for a couple of days. As it has already been established, the rodents will take a few days before deciding to take the bait. When they meet new objects, rodents usually exhibit an understandably natural fear. After days have passed, the rabbits will feel more comfortable approaching the station to sample the bait. If you move the station from place to place, the rodents will not get used to them.

4. You need to maintain the bait stations in each location for at least a week (15 days to be exact). This is a recommendation by d-CON and should be followed until all the rodent activity stops.

5. Since rats are more suspicious and intelligent, they are more challenging to kill than mice using the bait stations. If the rats involved are shy and you want to target them using a bait tray, place some dog food around the tray for around two days before you add the bait. Once the rat’s scent is around the tray, the rodent will be more likely to come for the bait later.

6. Ensure that all the other food sources are eliminated. It is vital to remove all other competing sources of food. This will help the rats or mice to focus on the bait. Eventually, they will eat it. Even the shyest and the smartest of the rodents will go for the bait poison when food scarceness enters. If you have any food in the pantry, ensure that it is tightly sealed in rigid plastic bottles. After feeding your pet, ensure that the bowl is clean. Also, empty all the bird feeders near your home.