British Columbia is poised to make a temporary ban on favoured rodenticides for mice and rat control permanent within commercial and residential properties. A proposed amendment to the provincial integrated pest management regulation would limit application of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) to a small list of designated essential scenarios.

SGARs, which contain the active ingredients brodifacoum, bromadiolone or difethialone, are described as “the preferred pesticide product choice by most pest management professionals” in the B.C. government’s newly released draft of intended new policies and rules. Health care facilities, food production and distribution facilities, critical infrastructure sites, mortuaries and agricultural land would be among the few venues where they’d be allowed in the future.

“The abundant use of SGARs to control rodents has led to an unacceptable level of non-target wildlife poisonings. The proposed changes aim to broadly reduce access to SGARs to reduce overall exposure of wildlife to these products,” the intentions paper states.

The amendment is tentatively scheduled to take effect in January 2023 as a current 18-month ban on SGARs lapses. Stakeholders and the broader public have until June 19 to submit comments on the proposed new rules.

As outlined, even where allowed, rodenticides would have to be applied within the context of an approved integrated pest management program and could not be used as preventative bait. Designated essential users would have to be licensed to purchase the product and employ a certified technician to apply it. Vendors would have to request and keep records of purchasers’ documentation. The intentions paper also hints at future increased fines for non-compliance with the regulation.

As for commercial and residential venues where the rodenticides would be disallowed, the intentions paper maintains that they have become an over-used option among a range of potential solutions.

“Good rodent management relies on a combination of approaches such as prevention, exclusion, trapping and potentially the responsible use of rodenticides,” it states. “Solely relying on direct SGAR baiting as normal practice is not effective rodent management. Alternative control measures must be considered to resolve rodent infestations over the long term.”