Brooklynites Beware: Rat Poison And Rat Traps Are Making Pets, Birds, And Even People Sick

Errant rat traps laced with rat poison are being left out in the open sidewalk and catching not rats, but birds, squirrels, and even pets, say residents from across Brooklyn, including Fort Greene.

Here, along South Oxford Street and around Cuyler Gore Park on Fulton Street, resident Chris Cobb said he sees the traps “all over the place” and that squirrels and house sparrows such as the ones pictured above have “the misfortune of both eating from the same baited trap.

“I know the city has been leaning on homeowners to be more aggressive about placing rat traps around their property, but the unintended consequence of their poorly considered placement is that other animals can get killed,” said Cobb. “Needless to say, the trap should not have been left in the open, as many are. Improper placement could result in more birds dying and possibly small children being hurt.”

That isn’t just hypothetical speculation, either. As the New York Post and several TV news organizations reported earlier this week, a Boerum Hill pooch named Angel died after after “apparently eating poison off the sidewalk” while on a walk along Butler Street this past October, and Cobble Hill resident Jennifer Lastra, 51, became sick herself after somehow getting trace amounts of poison pellet powder from her dog Sally’s leash onto her hand and mouth.

“My tongue had exploded,” said Lastra. Her mouth, tongue and inside cheeks bled and were full of sores. She called poison control and they said she must have gotten traces of the rat poison in her mouth and needed to take Vitamin K immediately.

Over a week after the event, her tongue is still scarred. “I never dreamed I could get contaminated so easily.” said Lastra. “I’m a grown-up. If that was a little kid, it could have killed them.”

Salty was also affected that night: he started licking his paws incessantly and threw up twice.

More suspected poison was found in the following days. On Dec. 2, green crushed pellets were found in two spots on Butler, between Smith and Hoyt streets. Two days later, a 6-inch-wide circle of suspected poison was discovered near the sidewalk of a school on Butler.

The Department of Environmental Protection and the NYPD both responded, and samples were taken. “Our lab analysis has been unable to confirm if it is or is not rat poison,” a DEP spokesperson said.

As for Cobb, he said he’s taking extra care when walking his boston terrier/pug mix, Enid, in the neighborhood.Have you spotted rat traps and green or blue powder on the sidewalks lately?