ABSTRACT
Rodenticides are a diverse group of chemically and structurally unrelated compounds. Unlike the herbicides and insecticides, whose toxicity is uniformly categorized according to their chemical classification, the rodenticides are functionally organized according to their general category and their toxicity in rodents. The acute and chronic toxic profiles of the rodenticides differ significantly from each other in severity and mechanism. The warfarins and “superwarfarins” are popular rodenticides, whose properties were originally isolated from the sweet clover plant. Warfarins are incorporated in rodent powder bait formulas and in rodent drinking water at concentrations from 0.025% to 0.5%. White phosphorus is a white or colorless, spontaneously flammable, highly toxic solid. It readily combines with oxidizing agents to form explosive mixtures. It is used in inorganic analytical chemistry and as a rodenticide. Thallium was used among the ancient civilizations for the treatment of syphilis, dysentery, tuberculosis, and ringworm, and as a depilatory agent.
