10 Best Rat Poisons 2024 in the United States

Ridding your house of rats, mice, and other rodents is not a laughing matter. Cats were revered in Ancient Egypt, very much because cats were so useful in keeping down the rodent population to protect crops. Rodent populations, when left unchecked, can quickly get out of hand. Just a few numbers: A rat can produce five litters of children a year, with each litter being from 7 to even 14 little critters at a time! And they can start having children in as little as 5 weeks after birth! Without any outside interference, it’s estimated that a male and female rat can produce as many as 15,000 offspring in a year! So it’s important to have a method of keeping rats and mice out of your home. You can either get a few cats--or try using other methods to keep their population down.

There are a number of devices that claim to act as rodent repellents, as well as rodent traps--but, if you have a serious infestation, you’ll have to fall back on the tried and true methods of exterminating rats. There are very powerful rat poisons on the market, most of which work by containing a powerful anticoagulant mixed in minute amounts (as little as .005%!) mixed in a bait that either attracts rats due to its smell or appearance. There are rat poisons that come in blocks, as well as pellets and powders. You can also choose between whether to lay out the rat poison in safe, packaged tablets or to serve it up using a baiting station. You want the poison to be effective, yet you don’t want your children or pets to come in contact with it.

We’ve composed this buyer’s guide to help you make the right decision when selecting the best rat poison for your needs. It'll help you:

• Choose the right type of rat poison,

• See useful tips about that particular type of rat poison,

• Read reviews of different rat poisons, and what customers are saying,

• Select the right brand of rat poison, and

• Compare prices and find the best deals.

We can distinguish between the various forms in which rat poisons are sold:

• Pellets: There are rat poisons that come in pellet form. An example is EcoClear Products RatX Pellets.

• Powders: These are called “tracking powders”, which you place in areas where you see that there has been rat activity. The powder adheres to the rat’s fur. It seems that rats groom themselves quite often. They thus ingest the powder, which then proceeds to kill them. One such product is ZP Tracking Powder. The poison actually is based on zinc phosphide: it reacts with the rat’s stomach acids, producing a gas that the rat can’t expel, killing it within hours.

• Extruded blocks: These are small blocks of bait, which come in assorted colors that are designed to be attractive to rats. Some also have a scent that attracts rodents, such as chocolate, cheese, milk, apple, strawberry, and more. An example is the Zapi Extruded Wax Block Rat Bait. They’ll have a hole in the middle, allowing you to hang up the bait, if necessary.

We can also distinguish between natural and chemical rat poisons:

• Chemical poisons: The most popular chemical rat poisons presently are Bromadiolone or Brodifacoum which is a powerful anticoagulant. It is usually in concentrations of .005%, which is enough to cause the rat to die from internal bleeding. An example is the Neogen Rodenticide Ramik Mouse and Rat Bars.

• Soft bait packs: There are soft-bait packs that are wrapped in plastic, yet sprayed with an oil-scented compound to attract rats. The plastic wrap makes it safer for humans since the poison doesn’t come in direct contact with your hands. (You should take the precaution of wearing gloves when distributing the poison, however.) The rats will chew through the plastic to get to the bait--and the poison. An example is the Nectus Soft Bait Rat Poison.

• Natural poisons: There are also natural poisons, such as the EcoClear RatX Rat and Mouse Killer Pellets, which contain salt and corn meal gluten. The bait coats the rat’s stomach lining, giving it a message that it doesn’t have to drink. The rat essentially dies of dehydration.

• Remove dead rats promptly: You certainly don’t want to leave dead rats around your house. One of the advantages of the newer rat poisons is that they kill more quickly. That means that you’re more likely to find the rat in the area where they fed on the poison. It’s imperative to remove the dead rats promptly: Other rats will be deterred from trying the rat poison if they detect the smell of one of their fallen comrades!

• What time of year to put out rat poison: It’s recommended to put out rat poison at the beginning of the autumn. This is because autumn is the time of year when temperatures start to go down, and rats will start to look for warm places to hide.

• Poisons that contain Bitrex: Bitrex is an especially bitter compound. Some companies mix it with their rat poison. This deters children and pets from eating the poison by mistake--the bitter taste dissuades them from eating it, and instead, they’ll immediately spit it out. An example is Nectus Bait Packs.

• Poisons that are effective on other types of rodents: You should prefer rat poisons that are good against many types of pests. The Nectus Rodenticide is good against many types of rats, as well as mice and voles.

• Safe around children and pets: Many people opt for natural rat poisons, since they are safe around children and pets. For example, the anticoagulant rat poisons are lethal for other animals as well. There are also safe rat poisons that you can make at home, using ingredients that are commonly available in a hardware store or supermarket. For example, mixtures of 1 part cornmeal, 1 part sugar or chocolate powdered mix, and 1 cup of either baking soda or plaster of Paris are effective mixtures to eliminate rats. Baking soda reacts with the rat’s stomach acids, producing carbon dioxide gas. This either causes their stomach to rupture, or blocks their digestive system. Plaster of Paris will react with water in the rat’s stomach and eventually harden, essentially mummifying them!   

• Using a bait station: Because of a rat’s eating habits, it’s recommended to use a bait station. It doesn’t have to be more than a small box where you put the rat poison and bait. But since it gives the rat a sense of privacy--that way, they will probably eat more of the toxic bait. There’s also a better chance that the rat will die within the bait station (instead of somewhere else in the house, where you’ll have to look for him). Also, it keeps the poison in a confined place, away from children and pets.

• Prefer second-generation poisons: You’ll see that there are first- and second-generation rat poisons. First-generation rat poisons are designed to kill rats after several doses. A favorite was warfarin, an anticoagulant which started being used as a rat poison in 1948. This strategy was used because rats tend to not eat very much of an unfamiliar food. You’ll still see multiple-feed anticoagulants, such as Tomcat’s rat poison pellets and extruded blocks containing Diphacinone. But, noticing that rats have developed a resistance to certain rodenticides, second-generation poisons  were developed, which can kill rodents in a single feeding. The most popular rat poisons are second-generation poisons, containing Bromadiolone and Diphacinone. These are anticoagulants that will cause the rat to die from internal bleeding.

• Neogen Ramik is based in Lexington, Kentucky. They are makers of products for agriculture and care of livestock, as well as pest control products.

• Motomco is owned by Bell Laboratories, and is located in Madison, Wisconsin. They are makers of products to control populations of various rodent pests, such as rats, mice, moles, and more. They also make bait stations and glue boards to trap and eliminate rodents.

• Tomcat founded in 2002, is a brand of the Scotts Company, makers of agricultural products such as Scotts Miracle-Gro. Scotts was founded by Orlando McLean Scott in 1868 in Marysville, Ohio, as a provider of seed and fertilizer.