Gas for rats

[Siggy]

I think you are talking about talunex, (aluminium phosphide). This will kill you just as fast as it kills rats, so you will need a full face mask respirator with a B2P3 filter, and monitoring kit and I believe you need a specific training certificate to purchase. You can't use it around buildings, but in hedgerows it's really good because there is no residual/secondary poisoning.
It's probably best you contact a qualified professional pest controller.

 

[Phil fox man]

Goggle Rodenator

there are a lot of rules for using these,the holes have to be empty and only used for collapsing them or you risk prosecution.
many years ago before risk assessment was invented we put two old blow torch canisters down an earth one at each end.stabed worth a knife and stop back a while.then lighted rag was thrown on.
the flame sucked in and the whole banking turned into a scene from the Somme with us stood on top.

 

[Covert]

Same results by atomising petrol with a fine nozzles sprayer, so I have been told.

 

[Dillon]

Same results by atomising petrol with a fine nozzles sprayer, so I have been told.

I've been told the same.

 

[Dillon]

Is Aluminium phosphide the same as Cymag? (Cyanide)

 

[Phil fox man]

yeah but more dangerous see flamethrowers exploding on iwo Jima

 

[shakey jake]

Is Aluminium phosphide the same as Cymag? (Cyanide)

no completely different product, same end result in theory

 

[Stevie/P]

Nothing beats the petrol driven cymag pump from the 60's.....

I remember my dad using cymag back in the 60s he kept the tin high up in the recess of an air brick in the pantry My god how did we survive back in the day HSE nightmare

 

[Sonicdmb73]

I remember my dad using cymag back in the 60s he kept the tin high up in the recess of an air brick in the pantry My god how did we survive back in the day HSE nightmare

My dad’s mate had a rusty old tin barely legible sat in amongst the other crap in an old rail truck. The only concession to safety was the baccy tin with two ampules of ammilnitrate in it. He used to use a flag for the wind direction but that was about it.

 

[Covert]

If my memory is correct Cymag was pinkish powder which gave off a cyanide gas when it reacted with moisture. Designed for content of the tin to be pumped underground using a special petrol driven pump. Most people used a table spoon lashed to a bamboo cane to place as far down the hole as possible before back filling
Phostoxin was a grayish pellet or disc depending on type with a distinctive smell which was aluminium phosphate which gave off phosphine gas.
Used a lot of both in the past. Cymag was made by ICI and heavily subsidised by the government. Was labelled to be used for rabbits, rats and moles but was used for everything from foxes to wasp nests. Devastatingly effective for salmon and sea trout poaching.
Even new one old keeper who sprinkled some in the top of his trilby to keep the flys away.
Stopped production when alternative ( Phostoxin ) became available.
I remember the last tins being highly prized and changing hands for what seemed big money at the time.

 

[Ratel]

Nothing beats the petrol driven cymag pump from the 60's.....

True!! Our head keeper wanted us to use it the banked lawn of the big house to kill the voles. I told him what he could do with the pump and himself.

 

[foxdropper]

So glad those days are long gone.As a terrier man I hated gassing the larger stuff .

 

[Wildlife Biologist]

I have never seen gas used for rat control and have not personally used gas for any pest control. I have corresponded with researchers that have done studies on gas vs bait for gopher control. The general consensus was that use of gases and gas bombs are less effective and more dangerous than baits. Many gases and gas bombs were tested. Of the gas products tested, methyl bromide, chloropicrin, and a nitrocellu-lose film bomb gave the highest percentages of kills. About half the gophers succumbed to gas and gas bombs. Baits were found to be more cost effective than poisons. Compared to poison baits, the cost of poison gases is excessive, even more so when labor and equipment costs are added. Cost of materials was almost negligible in bait poisoning. Success in poisoning with baits was believed to be attributed to high acceptance of baits by gophers who seem to be readily attracted. Gophers were easily lured by any poisoned bait. I expect more studies have been conducted which would yield more information. I am just guessing but would expect similar results in gas vs baits in rat control. Additionally baits for rats can be placed in bait stations. Of course there are inherent dangers of using poison baits. I have used snap trap box sets and poison bait stations around quail raising facilities with good results. Rat control is perpetual.

 

[Sonicdmb73]

I have never seen gas used for rat control and have not personally used gas for any pest control. I have corresponded with researchers that have done studies on gas vs bait for gopher control. The general consensus was that use of gases and gas bombs are less effective and more dangerous than baits. Many gases and gas bombs were tested. Of the gas products tested, methyl bromide, chloropicrin, and a nitrocellu-lose film bomb gave the highest percentages of kills. About half the gophers succumbed to gas and gas bombs. Baits were found to be more cost effective than poisons. Compared to poison baits, the cost of poison gases is excessive, even more so when labor and equipment costs are added. Cost of materials was almost negligible in bait poisoning. Success in poisoning with baits was believed to be attributed to high acceptance of baits by gophers who seem to be readily attracted. Gophers were easily lured by any poisoned bait. I expect more studies have been conducted which would yield more information. I am just guessing but would expect similar results in gas vs baits in rat control. Additionally baits for rats can be placed in bait stations. Of course there are inherent dangers of using poison baits. I have used snap trap box sets and poison bait stations around quail raising facilities with good results. Rat control is perpetual.

You state that Gophers have a high acceptance of baits, Rats on the other hand can be very phobic of anything new.
You can put bait boxes etc out and they will take some time to become accustomed to them. We used to bait in poultry cabins, unless you removed all the other food source it was nigh on impossible to get them to take it. The only really effective use of poison baits was when the buildings were emptied of birds. At the end of their laying cycle, at this point prior to washing down we would empty the feed troughs. Placing grain bait in them instead, even then it would not be eaten immediately.
I have no experience with more modern gasses, but watching Cymag used as a child I have no doubt how effective (downright blooming dangerous) it was.

 

[Wilfowler1]

you need upto date training and pass a test to but either phostoxin or talunex. plus the correct ppe, aplicater and test equipment thats been calibrated.
what ever you do DONT ADD WATER to the product, and dont use an already opened cannister.
it is easily the most dangerous product still on the market.
with all the crap involved in its transport, storage, handling, use and dissposal of waste, i got trained and gave up the idea.

its only redeaming feature is the fact that it wont cause secondary poisoning.

first gen anti coagulants or the new chalcicalciferoul are easier to use and have very liw secondary poisoning risk

The gas that is given off is Phosphene gas ,which is the gas used in the Trenches in the first World War. I used it legally back in the eighties, for Rabbits ,haited the stuff. Came in after Cymag, Syanide gassing powder.

 

[Wildlife Biologist]

Yeah they can be gourmet rats. But they usually eat the bait as long it is kept fresh. At least it is disappearing from the bait stations. I expect a lot of bait consumption is from mice. They are in abundance. It is hard for me to judge the effectiveness of baits. I see some laying around but I believe most died in their hole. I usually have some luck with snap traps. Although it is just a drop in the bucket, I have killed many with a pellet gun. It makes me fell better anyway.

 

[Sonicdmb73]

Yeah they can be gourmet rats. But they usually eat the bait as long it is kept fresh. At least it is disappearing from the bait stations. I expect a lot of bait consumption is from mice. They are in abundance. It is hard for me to judge the effectiveness of baits. I see some laying around but I believe most died in their hole. I usually have some luck with snap traps. Although it is just a drop in the bucket, I have killed many with a pellet gun. It makes me fell better anyway.

I killed thousands of rats while I worked in the poultry industry. In fact I used to spend up to half my working week after them at the quieter times of the year. No single method was effective, they tended to learn fairly quickly whatever was detrimental to their health. Changing method and tactics frequently was essential to keep numbers removed up.

 

[Wildlife Biologist]

Concur. They even spook with repeated shooting

 

[Bo Diddley]

Brian Plummer (Tales of a rat hunting man 1978) controversially, used to attach a hose pipe to his car.

plenty of folks use a 2 stroke engine with a hose to smoke rats out for the terriers, it's great fun. Friends that slay together stay together!

 

[Wilbur]

Wasn’t cymag and strichnyene banned after the 9-11 bombings as I remember using cymag and talunex and phostoxin at the same time but on different jobs,talunex and phostoxin were a lot cheaper to buy than cymag which was a lot bigger tin I used it in a cymag pump which looked like a stirrup pump I’m sure I still have one at work somewhere,w