Copyright 1999 The Tribune Co. Publishes The Tampa Tribune
The Tampa Tribune
October 28, 1999, Thursday, FINAL EDITION
SECTION: NATION/WORLD, Pg. 1
LENGTH: 592 words
HEADLINE:
Mice-wars poisons threaten predators;
BYLINE: JIM
SLOAN, of The Tampa Tribune;
BODY:
TAMPA -
A potential ecological disaster may be shaping up in central Orange County, as
poison bait used to stem a mice invasion threatens to kill the
predators that keep the rodents under
control.
Called "secondary poisoning," one
wildlife expert said that, unless the problem is checked, it could
escalate into a worse crisis than the hundreds of thousands of mice that have
infested the area for months.
While state agencies switched to an
environmentally friendly poison weeks ago, officials fear homeowners are
buying - and misusing - a poison that moves up the food chain. "People are
buying whatever poisons they can find," said Bill Kern, a wildlife specialist
with the University of Florida. "Unfortunately, we have no control over
what the public is putting out."
The issue surfaced during a massive
effort to wipe out hundreds of thousands of mice that have been infesting
homes and businesses in Zellwood, Plymouth and Apopka since early summer.
A coalition of state and county agencies formed last week to combat the
invasion has handed out mousetraps and thousands of packets of Quintox, a
poison bait that doesn't harm mice predators.
But desperate homeowners
have been buying over-the-counter anticoagulant baits that kill mice by
causing internal bleeding.
When predators such as kestrels, marsh
hawks, barn owls and screech owls feed on dead and dying mice, they too,
can bleed to death.
"Any type of bruise or damage would just keep
bleeding," Kern said. "If would be comparable to somebody with
hemophilia," a disease that keeps blood from clotting.
So far, one
predator bird has died and two others have been treated for signs of poisoning.
But if more die, Kern said, the mice population could rebound next year.
"We've got to protect our predators. They are what really keep the
rodent population under control."
The U.S. Department of
Agriculture, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Orange County Health
Department and other agencies will meet today to talk about how to deal
with the problem, Kern said.
Since the war on mice began, Kern
said he's seen packets of poison simply thrown on the ground in fields,
and talked to a woman who said she'd put out 20 pounds of poison bait in an open
bucket.
If bait is not put in a plastic container, called a bait station
- small plastic boxes that allow only mice to reach the poison - dogs,
cats, possums and raccoons can also eat it and die, he said.
The best
way to prevent secondary poisoning is to quickly dispose of all dead mice that
are found - including those that aren't quite dead yet, Kern said.
"If people are not collecting up the dead rodents, there is a potential
for a worse ecological disaster than the mice are causing," he said.
Officials plan to urge homeowners to use poisons with less risk of
secondary poisoning, such as Quintox. Those who violate label directions
may also be cited.
"People think the label is just kind of a friendly
suggestion," Kern said. "It is actually your license to use that poison,
and if you don't use it the way it says on the label, you are breaking the
law."
Kern, who serves as a technical adviser to the Mouse Population
Reduction Team, said officials need to act now to nip secondary poisoning.
"If large numbers of predators are killed, it could be a serious
problem," he said. "So far, it's not, and we're working to make sure it
doesn't become one." Jim Sloan can be reached at (813) 259-7691 or by
e-mail at jsloan@tampatrib.com
GRAPHIC: MAP,
(Map)
(Orange county, Fla.) ESSEX JAMES, Tribune map
LOAD-DATE: October 29, 1999 
