What do you suppose this is used for?

[KCFoggin]

There is an abandoned warehouse on the other side of the swash that I visit and yesterday I took a walk around the back of it. I don't usually go back there cause there is not much space to get a good purchase and I don't feature sliding into the swash. This box was attached to the back of the warehouse. If you have trouble reading what is embossed on the top of the box it says "Poison Do Not Touch" The embossing on the front says "Protecta" and I did a cursory search and all I could come up with was industrial fittings for safety.

[IanF]

Looks a bit like the ones that our local McDonald's use. They have them all over the place to trap rats and mice, there's two in the drive-thu section. I think the idea is that the poison is enclosed in the box so that pets and kids can accidently pick it up, but vermin can find a way in.

[KCFoggin]

Okay, thanks Ian. It just surprised me to see it and I wondered if there was any danger of it's contents getting down into the swash.

[Booga]

Yep it's a baitbox for rats. They eat the bait, which is a slow acting diaretic. Once it starts to work, after maybe 2 or 3 weeks. the Rats will go back to their water source and die, humanely I might add.

It's standard practice to have them as a deterrant for restaruants, hospitals, and anywhere where there is a potential rat problem.

How do I know this? Cos I have 4 of them dotted around my back garden from a visitor last year!

Also the poison used, as it is so slow working, will not be fatal to pets or other wildlife if they feed on the corpse, although smaller animals might get an upset stomach for a while.

[KCFoggin]

Okay, now I feel much, much better about my find. Thanks Wil.