Members of the Conservation Commission came to speak with the Board of Selectmen at its April 6 meeting concerning a policy restricting rodenticides, particularly First Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides (FGARs) and Second Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides (SGARs).

Conservation Commission Chairman Holly Kocet said that rodenticides were "an area of great concern" and noted that bait boxes using SGAR seen outside Newtown Youth Association and Newsylum were a problem. She said her commission has attempted to reach out to the ownership of both to request they stop using the bait boxes, but hasn’t been able to reach either. They also thought it was possible that the boxes were old and no longer in use.

SGAR is a "deadly toxin" that can "greatly harm the ecosystem," said Kocet. Once a rodent takes some of the poison from the bait box, it takes up to ten days for the rodent to slowly die, and in the meantime, they become a hazard to predators, house pets, and children, and the poison can even soak into the soil and water supply. The poison is a slow, painful death, with no antidote if ingested by other animals.

"During that time they are like toxic time bombs, moving about our forests, neighborhoods, and homes," said Lisa Shirk, vice-chairman of the Conservation Commission. "Secondary poisoning happens when non-target animals such as owls, eagles, hawks, foxes, bobcats, and other predators eat a poisoned rodent. They too suffer the same horrific death..."

Shirk noted one red-tailed hawk can eat up to 1,500 rodents per year; with less natural predators, the rodent population can rise. This creates a bigger long term problem against the short term solution of the poison.

In 2025, rodenticides were the number one toxin reported to the National Pet Poison Helpline, according to Shirk. She said that Emily Whitaker, Newtown's animal control officer, believes rodenticides pose an even higher risk to cats that are allowed to roam.

The risk is not just limited to animals, continued Shirk. There were 2,923 rodenticide poisonings of children in 2024, with 2,000 of those children under the age of 5.

Shirk noted that there are many proven effective and safe alternative control methods, such as snap traps, zap traps, noise makers, airtight storage containers, cayenne paper, and mint oil. Fertility control is also a humane, affordable, and effective method that starts to work within 15 minutes of ingestion.

"We are not looking to put pest companies out of business," said Shirk. "But instead to shift to remove poisons from their tool box."

There are 40 towns in Massachusetts that have already banned SGARs and FGARs. None in Connecticut have yet, but Fairfield is running a pilot program that may lead to a ban.

Selectman Jeff Capeci wanted to know if the Conservation Commission members would be presenting to the Board of Education, but it was noted that the BOE is already prevented from using the rodenticides by state statute.

Selectman Paul Lundquist said he saw no downsides, but why had no other towns banned them. Nicole Rivard of Friends of Animals, an international organization based in Connecticut, noted that many towns may have been waiting for state action. Last year, the state considered a ban, but it was weakened to only stop homeowners from using FGARs and SGARs; pest control companies could still use them.

No decision was made at the April 6 meeting, with selectmen wanting to know any potential financial implications to the town as well as who would enforce a ban.

Editor Jim Taylor can be reached at jim@thebee.com.