Synthetic motor oil and baking soda safety for our guys.....

[strdsk]

Hey all! So first off....I use baking soda at the bottom of my guy's cage...under it's floor's griddle...to help with odor. This was recommended to me online. It works. But now I read it kills rats. Is this a danger to my lil one? Finally, after losing a wild to rat trap poison this week, it was recommended to me to cover city rat trap bait boxes with synthetic motor oil. In that it would repel animals. Is this also a safe practice? Hate to poison them further. Thanks!!!!

[CritterMom]

I don't much like the idea of ANY kind of powder that could be made airborne by a breeze or fan and be inhaled, so I wouldn't do the baking sode.

And the motor oil idea was mine but not synthetic, just regular old motor oil - the cheap stuff. It smells like a petroleum distillate because that is what it is, and I sincerely doubt any squirrel (or anything else for that matter) would get anywhere near it because it is so clearly not something edible. At best a sniff and a full yucky face!

[strdsk]

Got it....thanks! The only clear oil I could find was synthetic. I bought it but could get other. That safer to get black oil? Hate to attract attention to it...

[CritterMom]

Does it stink? That is what you want.

Another option is a clear but scented dishwashing liquid. I like the oil because it doesn't wash away very easily.

[strdsk]

Not super stinky...no. I tried pepper water on my baseboards....vinegar...my squirrel liked them more....lol....