Most rat poisons sold in California are now illegal to buy or use at home. Between 2021 and 2025, the state banned every anticoagulant rodenticide for residential and most commercial settings, leaving only three non-anticoagulant active ingredients available to consumers. Using or selling a banned product can cost up to $25,000 per day in civil penalties, and criminal and animal cruelty charges can stack on top.
Which Rat Poisons Are Banned
Every anticoagulant rodenticide is now off-limits to California consumers. That covers both generations of the chemistry:
- Second-generation anticoagulants (SGARs): brodifacoum, bromadiolone, difenacoum, and difethialone. Banned for most uses since January 1, 2021.1Department of Pesticide Regulation. New Second Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticide Prohibitions and Allowed Uses – Questions and Answers
- Diphacinone, a first-generation anticoagulant. Banned for most uses since January 1, 2024.2Department of Pesticide Regulation. Diphacinone Restricted Material Status, Prohibitions, Allowed Uses, and Questions and Answers
- Warfarin and chlorophacinone, the last two first-generation anticoagulants that had remained on shelves. Restricted since January 1, 2025; retailers can no longer sell them to end users except through a DPR-licensed pest control dealer, and residential and most commercial uses are prohibited.3Department of Pesticide Regulation. Chlorophacinone and Warfarin Restricted Material Status, Prohibitions, Allowed Uses, and Questions and Answers
A rough shortcut: if the active ingredient on the label ends in “-one” or “-coum,” a homeowner cannot legally use it.
What’s Still Legal at Home
Three non-anticoagulant active ingredients remain available for residential use: bromethalin, cholecalciferol (vitamin D3), and zinc phosphide.4UC Agriculture and Natural Resources. Rodenticides: Further Restrictions in 2025 They work differently from anticoagulants and generally break down faster, which reduces but does not eliminate the risk to a pet or wild animal that eats a poisoned rodent. All three remain under review by the Department of Pesticide Regulation, and further limits are possible.
Even legal products come with federal packaging and placement rules. Consumer rodenticides must be sold in ready-to-use, tamper-resistant bait stations, and outdoor placement is limited to within 50 feet of a building.5US EPA. Restrictions on Rodenticide Products Loose pellets scattered in a yard or under a shed are not legal, regardless of the active ingredient.
Who Can Still Use the Banned Products
The anticoagulant bans have exemptions, but they are narrow and mostly professional. A homeowner or ordinary landlord will not qualify. The exemptions cover certified vector control technicians handling public health threats; government workers protecting drinking-water infrastructure; agricultural sites such as farms, ranches, orchards, and vineyards, along with food processing facilities; medical and food-safety facilities including hospitals, veterinary clinics, and pet shops; conservation projects targeting invasive rodents on offshore islands or protecting endangered species; and declared public health emergencies.1Department of Pesticide Regulation. New Second Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticide Prohibitions and Allowed Uses – Questions and Answers
Even where an exemption applies, the product’s label must authorize the specific use. If the label doesn’t cover it, the exemption doesn’t help.
Penalties for Illegal Sale or Use
The civil fine for selling or using an anticoagulant rodenticide in violation of Food and Agricultural Code section 12978.7 is up to $25,000 per day, per violation, and stacks with other penalties.6California Legislative Information. California Code FAC 12997.8
On the criminal side, violating any pesticide provision in Division 7 of the Food and Agricultural Code is a misdemeanor carrying fines of $5,000 to $50,000, up to six months in jail, or both. A second conviction raises the fine range to $10,000 to $75,000. An intentional or negligent violation that creates a hazard to human health or the environment can be charged as a felony, with potential state prison time and fines of $15,000 to $100,000.7California Legislative Information. California Code FAC 12996
If a pet, wild animal, or protected species is poisoned, prosecutors can add charges under Penal Code section 597, California’s animal cruelty statute. It’s a wobbler, chargeable as a misdemeanor or a felony, with fines up to $20,000. A misdemeanor conviction carries up to a year in county jail; a felony can bring up to three years in state prison.8California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 597 Cases involving endangered species draw the harshest treatment, and the Department of Fish and Wildlife investigates them actively.
Pest control businesses that misuse restricted rodenticides also risk permit suspension or revocation, and county agricultural commissioners can seize illegally held product during inspections.
What to Do With Old Product You Already Own
Many Californians still have anticoagulant rodenticides in a garage or shed from before the bans took effect. Throwing them in household trash or pouring them down a drain is illegal. Pesticides count as household hazardous waste and must be brought to a designated collection facility.9Department of Toxic Substances Control. Household Hazardous Waste
Most cities and counties run permanent collection sites or periodic drop-off events, usually free. The Department of Toxic Substances Control has a search tool on its website for locating the nearest facility.
Legal Ways to Deal With a Rat Problem
With anticoagulants off the table, the state’s pesticide regulator encourages non-chemical methods first.
- Exclusion. Sealing entry points is the most effective long-term fix. Mice can pass through a quarter-inch gap. Steel wool, metal flashing, and hardware cloth are common materials. Professional exclusion work runs from a few hundred dollars to over a thousand depending on the building.
- Sanitation. Secure garbage, clean up fallen fruit, and clear clutter that provides harborage.
- Trapping. Snap traps and electronic traps are legal, widely sold, and don’t create secondary poisoning risks.
- Legal baits. Bromethalin and cholecalciferol products are still available in tamper-resistant stations, though they can still harm pets and are best treated as a last resort.
For a serious infestation, a licensed pest control operator has access to a broader toolkit and can apply restricted products where a specific exemption allows it.
Landlord Duties Haven’t Changed
California landlords must keep rentals habitable, and adequate rodent control is a listed habitability requirement under Civil Code section 1941.1.10California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General. Know Your Rights Habitability English The bans don’t excuse ignoring a rat problem. What a landlord cannot do is put out anticoagulant bait in a residential unit; the residential prohibition applies whoever places the bait. Old product should go to hazardous waste, and a licensed pest control company using legal methods is the safer route for both tenants and liability.
Reporting Illegal Use
To report suspected illegal rodenticide use, call the state pesticide incident hotline at 1-877-378-5463 (1-87-PESTLINE), which routes to your county agricultural commissioner. You can ask that your identifying information be kept confidential. CalEPA also takes complaints through an online form.11Department of Pesticide Regulation. Report a Pesticide Incident If someone is being actively exposed and having trouble breathing or showing other health effects, call 911. For non-emergency poisoning questions, Poison Control is at 1-800-222-1222.