Killing Rats with Antifreeze | Should You Use It?

Who doesn’t like a clean, tidy and hygenic house? Who deosn’t want a house with no rodents like rats, mice or chipmunks? However, these rodents might be silently creating damages in your furniture and electric wires without you knowing. 

And if they already invade your place, I guess you’re tired of dealing with these arrogant rats. Running around is too tiring, and you might think of getting rid of rats with numerous methods. Many have turned to using antifreeze for killing unwanted rodents and get rid of them for good.

Killing rats with antifreeze is a commonly used method, but proper usage and safety precautions are a must. Antifreeze should be used in a responsible manner.

Important Note: If you're tired of pests and want a reliable solution, then you should definitely consider seeking help from a professional pest control company. DIY solutions can be effective, but if you're dealing with a significant pest infestation, you don't want to rely solely on DIY methods. Pest control companies typically don't charge huge fees. You can fill out this form to receive free quotes from the top local pest control companies, and compare the quotes and see for yourself. Then, finally, your pest problems will be eliminated for good.

But wait a minute do you even know what an Antifreeze is? Let me give you an insight

What is an Antifreeze?

Antifreeze rat poison

Antifreeze is an additive known as an engine coolant that lowers a water-based liquid’s freezing point. People use this antifreeze substance to reach freezing-point depression for environments with cold temperatures and achieve boiling point elevation for places with higher-coolant temperatures.

Antifreeze is used for vehicles to regulate your car’s engine during intense temperatures by maintaining its operating temperature and preventing the engine from getting damaged. Despite its purpose for car engines, it’s has a sweet substance that attracts pets.

Will Antifreeze Kill Rats?

Antifreeze is a hazardous chemical, which means, you can kill rats with antifreeze. However, using antifreeze as your method can put anything or anyone in your home at risk. Your pets can be at risk, which means they can also die from this lethal poison if you’re not careful in using the antifreeze.

If you don’t want any of this to happen and you are looking for a safe solution. Also you don’t want to DIY. Then I can provide you with FREE qoutations from few Relibale Local Pesticide Companies. To get these free qoutations fill the form given below –

However, if you insist to use antifreeze as your rat killer, here are some ways to follow. BE CAREFUL!

Precautions to Take with Antifreeze

Antifreeze has been extensively used to disturb and kill pests. Rats, chipmunks, mice, and other rodents are captives for sweet substances. The antifreeze’s smell can lure them, and it depends on how you deal with the antifreeze.

If you have pet rodents in your house, or other pets, stay away from the antifreeze: this will poison them, too. Antifreeze can poison humans, too, so you should take precautions. You can either use any other method in this instance or fill theform given above to get free qoutations from few Reliable Local Pesticide Companies.

  • You should wear protective equipment when dealing with antifreeze.
  • Ensure your area where you plan to place your bait and keep your pets away (if you have any) from any possibility of them getting poisoned.
  • Prepare either a container or bread if you want different baits for your rats.

Methods to Kill Rats With Antifreeze

killing rats with antifreeze

Firstly, look for the areas where rats and other rodents passed. Please take note, you should keep the antifreeze away from your pets. It can kill anything or anyone with no exception.

If you have found a spot, prepare your lethal chemical. Avoid smelling the antifreeze because it’s a poisonous substance. You don’t want a headache from smelling the antifreeze while planning to eliminate the rats from your home.

Method 1 – Antifreeze Prison

  • Use a small tray or container where rats can hop right on easily. Pour your rat poison into the container, and make sure it’s the right amount you need.
  • You can also use a pail or any receptacle that has a deeper length. Pour enough amount of antifreeze that rats can drink. Once rats and other rodents jump right into the receptacle, they would have a hard time going out. In this case, the container should be placed with locks or blocks around it, so it won’t fall off once the rat tries to go out.

Method 2 – Anifreeze-Soaked Bread

  • Another method is killing rats, chipmunks, and mice with antifreeze-soaked bread. Depending on which area you want to place it, you may use a plate or anything that you can use to put the bread. Soak the bread with antifreeze, and you can soak them generously. Make sure the bread won’t break, so it will be pleasing to the rats’ eyes.
  • Place your rat poison in areas away from your pets. Once your pets can smell the sweet scent of antifreeze, it may kill them in an instant.
antifreeze-soaked bread to kill rats

How Long Does It Take A Rat to Die From Antifreeze?

Depending on how you use the antifreeze, it can kill rats and other rodents within an ample time. Suppose you lure them with an antifreeze directly without any material as your medium.

In that case, it can cause instant cell damage to various body organs, and the kidney is the most and widely affected. The liver can be attacked by the poisonous antifreeze substance, which can eventually lead to heart failure, resulting in death right after.

If you kill them with antifreeze-soaked bread, it may take a bit longer to penetrate their system, since it is not a concentrated antifreeze.

However, it would entice the rats to eat the bread because it’s food, and secondly, the sweet smell is attached to it. Rats consuming the bread can also kill them if they plan to eat the bread a lot. 

It may take a long time for rats to be killed, but it is an effective method. If you still haven’t seen dead rats around your home despite seeing them drink or eat your lethal poison, wait for a bit because it may kill them overnight.

Final Words

A rat infestation can be bad for your home and you can use various home remedies for rats to eliminate them but killing with antifreeze substance is a dangerous idea.

It may kill them the way you want rats and other rodents to be eliminated, but it may kill other living things that you don’t intend to kill.

If you truly insist on using antifreeze, there’s one thing you have to keep in mind: be careful. You may be exposed to a dangerous poison, but you can satisfy yourself with being free from rat infestation in your home.

However, it is better to go for other methods for killing these rodents like rats, mice, chipmunks etc. Or you can also get a FREE qoutation from a few Reliable Local Pesticide Companies by filling the form given above.

This guide should have made your view clearer on using antifreeze in your home correctly and gave you more knowledge to handle pests.

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Author

Daniel White
I'm Daniel White, and I live in Jacksonville, Florida. The warm and humid climate of Florida gives an ideal habitat for many different kinds of pests. So, if I had to live in Florida, I had to learn how to deal with these pests. Now, I have 7 years of experience in Pest Control.

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