A super-toxic type of rodenticide, or rat poison, has flooded the market in recent decades. It’s a concoction more toxic than traditional rat poisons and more persistent in the environment. The brand names include Havoc, Talon, Contrac, Maki, Ratimus and d-CON Mouse Pruf II.

Because it isn’t just rats that come into contact with rodenticides, these very potent chemicals have serious consequences for children, pets and for wildlife. These super potent variants have a longer half-life before they break down, which means they can stay in the environment longer and work their way up the food chain.

Amazingly, between 12,000 and 15,000 children under age six are exposed to dangerous levels of rat poison every year, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers. From 1999 to 2003, 25,549 children under age six had symptoms of poisoning after exposure to nine rodenticides.

EPA says that rat poisons are the leading cause of pesticide-related visits to health care providers for children under age six. Low-income minority children are disproportionately at risk, one New York study found.

Children Uniquely at Risk

Children are uniquely vulnerable to pesticides. In terms of their biology and health, they are not just miniature adults. Their internal organs are developing and their enzymatic, metabolic and immune systems may provide less protection than those of adults.

Young children are at risk also because they may innocently handle the products, play on the floor and put objects in their mouths. EPA’s website says, “Adverse effects of pesticide exposure range from mild symptoms of dizziness and nausea to serious, long-term neurological, developmental and reproductive disorders.”

Under EPA Administrator Carol Browner, EPA announced a policy stating that regulatory standards would take into account children’s susceptibility or explain why that was not necessary and President Bill Clinton issued Executive Order in 1997 making this a government-wide policy, both good starts.

Wildlife Harmed and Killed

An American Bald Eagle perched on a tree in Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. Photo courtesy of US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Because they are persistent, the products can stay in an animal’s body for six months or longer and work their way up the food chain. They are anti-coagulants and once in an animal’s system, they prevent blood from clotting. Rats that have eaten the poison might hemorrhage and bleed to death. They can stagger around dazed for days, making them easy prey for predators.

EPA biologist Bill Ericks in 2006 wrote that hundreds of wildlife poisoning deaths had occurred and that the pesticides had been found in hundreds of animals. “We’re finding this stuff all over the place,” said John Elliott, an Environment Canada scientist who co-authored an owl study published last year. “There’s a lot more rodenticides in the food chain than we would have ever thought. We’re surprised that there’s that much of the stuff kicking around.”

What Is EPA Doing?

In 2011 EPA issued new rules, but they did not go as far as some wildlife advocates would want.

Reporting for Investigate West, Robert McClure wrote in December 2010 that the Clinton EPA required reformulation of the products to taste bitter, making them unpalatable when eaten and required the addition of a bright dye to better determine if children had put the substances in their mouths. But then the Bush EPA, after meetings with the industry, “reversed course,” according to McClure.

Manufacturers are still fighting, balking at responsible action.

What You Can Do

While it’s been years without systemic government action, and it could be years longer, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself, loved ones and wildlife. Keep in mind the biggest risk comes from using these indoors, where kids are most apt to find them. But outdoor contact can happen too.

• If you see multiple cases dead wildlife, alert local animal control authorities.
• Teach your kids not to play with dead animals and to recognize rat poison.
• Educate yourself about the products. Visit the National Pesticide Information Center, 800-858-7378 or http://npic.orst.edu/.
• Use non-chemical methods of rodent control such as rat traps. We discourage glue boards since they can be inhumane.
• Practice prevention. Don’t attract rodents with trash, pet food and bird seed. Seal openings to your home.
• Use safer products. Visit http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/reregistration/rodenticides/rodent-bait-station.html to find a list of products.
• Make sure pest control companies that you hire are licensed and do not use unsafe products.
• Never dispose of a pesticide in the toilet, storm drains, sewer systems or waterways.
• Check out these resources about protecting children: http://www.epa.gov/oppfead1/Publications/catalog/subpage3.htm#children

Acknowledgement:  Thanks to NWF senior scientist Doug Inkley for editing this post.

And he didn't leave to play in California next year. (Wikimedia Commons | Sector001)

It’s the only thing about the Cards’ season that was stranger than Kyle Lohse becoming a solid starter.

It’s a squirrel.

The card commemorates Game 4 of the National League Division Series, when a bushy-tailed rodent scampered in front of the hitter, Cardinals’ utilityman Skip Schumaker, just before a pitch. Umpire Angel Hernandez called it a ball, and Phillies pitcher Roy Oswalt and manager Charlie Manuel argued, because everyone knows that a squirrel on the field means an automatic timeout, right?

Anyway, the so-called ‘Rally Squirrel’ became a folk hero in St. Louis (Twitter account here; 27,000 followers) and the most famous baseball-adjacent small mammal since David Eckstein.

With Squirrel Appreciation Day just past and Groundhog Day already upon us, we thought it was a good time to salute Rally Squirrel and take a look at some other notable baseball rodents.

Unless otherwise linked, all nickname information is from the Don Zminda’s “From Abba Dabba to Zorro: The World of Baseball Nicknames.”

Orval Overall had a 2.23 career ERA. (Wikimedia Commons | EIC)

1) Roy Sievers, ‘Squirrel’

Slow, slugging former Senators’ great supposedly got this nickname as a basketball player in high school because he “(hung) around the basket like a squirrel around a tree.” Though a citation eludes me, I believe he supped on nuts, seeds and cones throughout the spring as well, hoarding and burying food so that he might revisit his caches years later.

2) Orval Overall, ‘The Big Groundhog’

Early 20^th century Cubs’ pitcher got this nickname because he was an agriculture student. Also: had a dense grey undercoat and digging claws. Alas, groundhogs may now be emerging earlier due to global warming, to their detriment—even worse than if Orval had reported for Spring Training in the middle of a Chicago blizzard (tip goes to Miles Grant for that tidbit as well as parts of this post).

3) Billy Shipke, ‘Muskrat Bill’

Old timer was almost my height/weight twin, and nobody knows what made him muskrat-like. Perhaps his well-adapted swimming tail. Though even that would probably not have helped him escape calamities like the Kalamazoo River oil spill.

Pictured: Billy Shipke during Spring Training. (flickr via Wikimedia Commons | Linda Tanner)

4) Cliff Melton, ‘Mickey Mouse’

Former New York Giant was born 100 years ago last month and had big ears. I’m surprised there aren’t more nicknames in this vein.

5) Whitey Herzog, ‘The White Rat’

Famous buzzcut Hall of Fame manager got this name for his extremely light blond hair. It’s also possible that his distinctly rat-like empathy contributed to his ability to rally a ballclub.

6) Gary Gaetti, ‘The Rat’

Slugging third-baseman got his Muroidean moniker for obvious reasons. And by that, I meant that he was omnivorous and a good burrower. What did you think I meant?

7) Don Zimmer, ‘The Gerbil’

Submitted without comment.

Honorable mentions go to to ‘Bunny’ Anthony Brief and Rabbit Maranville since rabbits aren’t true rodents but are often confused as such and often referred to together as members of the same ‘superclass.’

To learn more about squirrels, check out this blog post or the red squirrel page in our Wildlife Library.  You can find tips for sending your kids to ‘Squirrel School’ at Big Backyard.

Did I miss anyone? Tweet which of these baseball rodents (including Rally Squirrel) is your favorite using the hashtag #baseballrodents.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine’s Day. (Believe me, this beats (ha!) me showing you some exposed wildlife hearts which I considered doing)

ADVISORY: The following facts make great date conversation.

1. The heart of a blue whale is as big as a car.
2. Frogs and lizards have three chambers whereas birds and mammals have four.
3. The human heart beats roughly 35 million times a year.
4. Octopuses have three hearts.
5. Dogs have a larger heart to body mass ratio than all other mammals.
6. Scientists have re-created the heart of a rat and it even started beating!
7. Pythons grow bigger hearts at mealtimes.
8. A blue whale’s heart beats six times a minute (next to a human’s 70 times)
9. A manatee‘s heart rate slows down by half during a long dive.
10. A giraffe depends on it’s powerful heart that weighs up to 12kg so that it can fight the force of gravity up that long neck to the head.