Bio mouse poison and rat poison in agriculture

Unfortunately, there are currently no licensed natural active ingredients for controlling field mice, mice and rats in agriculture. However, in most EU countries, no chemical active ingredients, such as bromadiolone, are licensed for use as mouse poison, rat poison or poisonous bait in agriculture. Bromadiolone is an active ingredient which still proves partially effective and still is and has been preferred in agricultural commodities due to its easy and quick distribution.

There are currently no approved, licensed, effective, natural active ingredients whatsoever for BIO or bio organic agriculture. Field mouse and common vole control has to be carried out at the right time, namely long before the mice have started to amass their winter stocks in their burrows - it is mostly too late by then because the mice then do not like to come to the surface and instead feed undisturbed in their underground burrows, meaning that they can rapidly reproduce.

Most bio organic and conventional agriculturalists in EU countries need to protect their harvest from mice, rats and, above all, from field mice so that they can prevent large shortfalls, or total black-outs in extreme cases, as well as further damage such as fruit tree roots being eaten away.

As there are no licensed active ingredients for agriculture in most EU countries and agriculturalists’ labour costs also need to remain within limits, most agriculturalists use the chemical active ingredient bromadiolone even though it is technically illegal. But there is no alternative and it goes without saying that harvests and cultivated areas need to be protected.  This means that approving and licensing the natural active ingredient GTX as a biopesticide and biocide is becoming ever more important because this very effective active ingredient, also known as a champion of effectiveness, especially against field mice and common vole, could be used by bio organic and conventional agriculturists alike. GTX Bio Control MBUSSARD, consisting of plant parts to control mice, is now licensed and is legally and successfully used in agriculture.

The threat to agriculture is becoming worse, not only because an active ingredient such as bromadiolone is illegally used as mouse poison, rat poison and mouse bait, but also because pet owners, especially dog owners, like to immediately lodge a complaint when their dog has eaten poisonous bait and this can cost an agriculturalist around € 10 000. Cases like this are well-known and becoming more frequent. It will become even worse if a dog dies from eating illegally placed poisonous bait as the agriculturist will face the threat of having this lot of land or even the entire cultivated area completely shut down.

These are serious existing problems and the European Commission has to deal with them immediately and license an active ingredient with little or no risk to other animals, the environment, ground water and people - such as the natural active ingredient GTX, which is even biologically degradable - for use as a biopesticide as soon as possible and, therefore, completely solve the problem. At the moment, it appears that the manufacturers and distributors of chemical rodenticides, as well as the European Commission, are not doing anything to address this problem as they are not affected and chemical rodenticides are not suffering any loss in revenue as they are bought legally as biocides and then illegally used in agriculture throughout the EU.

Only the agriculturist alone has to bear the responsibility and the financial damages. Agriculturists find this disgraceful. The problem must be fully resolved and every agriculturist is called on to support this movement and to use GTX Bio Control plant parts legally and effectively against rodents in the meantime.