Title: The ecological origins and consequences of the rodent bait station
[C Kelty 2023 Medical Anthropology 42(4)] -- Abstract: This article describes the origin of the rodent bait station, a globally distributed system for controlling rats, currently creating a secondary ecological crisis affecting wildlife who eat rats that have eaten the poison. It is argued that this system is tied to settler colonial places like California and that banning poison will not address the crisis. It details the history of this box as a scientific ecological solution to rat control, created by Charles Elton and his research group during WWII. This account is then paired with an account of contemporary science into the ecological crisis of rodenticides. Full-text available here.
Image: A typical southern California bait station on the inside, with snails and snail poop. Photo by author.
