How many of you have seen the black boxes near the trash cans labeled, “Caution – Poison Bait – Do Not Touch” and wondered just what they were? I didn’t pay much attention to them until I walked my dog along the cliffs and he was very inquisitive about the contents. It took me a few moments to realize that he was sniffing the box before I pulled him away.
I decided to call the number on the box to find out what was in the box; how successful they were; and approximately how long had they been there.
“Tom” called me this morning to answer my questions. He said the bait stations were there to destroy the rats that congregate in the area. He said that our weather is so perfect that the rats do not ever need to hibernate and they multiply quite rapidly because there is an abundance of food for them year round. 
(Of course the visitors to Sunset Cliffs do not always toss their garbage in the trash cans and the rats, along with the birds, skunks, and squirrels have a daily feast.) He also told me that the trash cans on the cliffs are designed so that the vermin cannot climb up the sides of the cans and get into the trash.
The poison is on a suspended bar inside the trap. The animal must go inside the trap in order to eat the poison. I told him about my dog Shadow sniffing and/or licking the trap and he said that studies had shown that a dog his size – 80 pounds – could eat the entire trap and get very sick but not die. He further said that there was no danger to cats or even squirrels because they cannot get into the trap.
I told him that just a few days ago two crows flew over my back yard and “dropped” a rat. The dog proceeded to run to the rat – which was comatose – and tried to play with it. Tom assured me that if the rat had ingested the poison from their traps nothing would happen to the dog. 
Their studies showed that there was no problem from secondary poisoning. However, many homeowners put out rat bait to kill the animals, and that bait is different than what his company uses. (He also told me that what they use is of a commercial grade; used to be sold at Home Depot and other such stores, but has been taken off the market except for commercial users.) They have been using this bait for more than one year.
Do I feel more comfortable about walking the dog along Sunset Cliffs amid the black boxes? Yes, I do. The rats are a problem, carry disease, and burrow into the cliffs themselves, causing erosion. But will I let Shadow continue to sniff and/or lick the box? Definitely not!