Dry Ice Asphyxiation

It’s Effective. A high degree of control is achieved on controlling burrowing rats. Some rats in urban environments will not (for various reasons) consume professionally applied poison baits even when they are placed directly into active burrows. When such bait-aversive rats are present and pregnant females, the infestation goes on and on continuing the public health threat and causing all parties frustrations and extending the costs of achieving control.

It’s Green. No pesticide exposure to humans, pets and native wildlife is one of the advantages. Dry ice is non-toxic to humans and pets when used according to prescribed for exterior rats on the label. Dry Ice will not contaminate groundwater.

No secondary poisoning. Non-target animals, birds and mammals are not harmed. Raptors, such as hawks and owls, Crows and Ravens and Turkey Vultures will readily consume dead or dying rodents. A domestic dog or cat, or other wildlife predator or scavenger that consumes a rodent with a lethal dose of rodenticide in or on its body could have a serious problem.

It’s Humane. Euthanizing animals via carbon dioxide is considered an acceptable humane method by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and this technique, via the use of CO2 chambers, is approved by nearly all states for urban wildlife control (via permits in some states). Carbon dioxide is also utilized in medical laboratories the world over to euthanize millions of lab rats and mice every year in medical research. Dry ice (CO2) is an asphyxiate, not a fumigant. Thus, as per above discussion, it is a humane treatment to the rats themselves. Rats enter slumber first, and then succumb within the slumber without re-awakening.

Vector Control Benefits. During and after the rats die in the burrows, their associated ectoparasites (e.g., fleas, lice, mites, and ticks); many of which are public health disease vectors themselves also succumb to the carbon dioxide eliminating the need for follow-up “insecticidal dusting” campaigns to reduce or eliminate these potential arthropod vectors.

What is Carbon Dioxide? It’s a naturally occurring inert gas. We excrete it through respiration, plants use it to create chlorophyll, it’s the fizz in our soft drinks. Pelletized dry ice goes through sublimation. Sublimation as defined by Wikipedia “the transition of a substance directly from the solid to the gas phase without passing through the intermediate liquid phase.