EPA Addresses Use of Dry Ice to Control Rodents

A recent trend in big cities — including New York, Boston and Chicago — is the use of dry ice to control rat populations, ut the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says cities must stop the practice because it's illegal under federal law to use dry ice as a rodenticide (see related PCT story).

As reported in the USA Today, EPA reached out to state agencies in Illinois, Massachusetts, New York and elsewhere in recent months to make clear that federal guidelines prohibit the use of dry ice for rat abatement because the deadly treatment is not registered with the federal agency as required. The law is in place to ensure products are safe, and directions for use minimize risks to users, the public and the environment.

The article stated that this "revelation prompted Boston and New York to halt the use of dry ice in their rat abatement programs, while Chicago is investigating the issue. All three cities launched tests this year as urban centers around the country experienced a spike in the number of citizen complaints about rodents after a relatively warm winter."

Read the entire article.

Source: USA Today