This product is usually imported illegally from the Dominican Republic, Mexico and other Latin American countries. The name means "three little steps" in Spanish. The name implies that the product is so poisonous, mice will die very quickly after eating the poison. The active ingredient in Tres Pasitos is aldicarb. The EPA considers aldicarb to be a very toxic chemical that should never be used in your home.
Children and pets are especially vulnerable to poisoning by Tres Pasitos. The product is made of small brown grains that look like food. Tres Pasitos is often sold in sandwich bags with little or no labeling. Touching, breathing or swallowing even a small amount of Tres Pasitos can cause vomiting, weakness, dizziness, sweating, and shortness of breath.
Aldicarb is a carbamate insecticide which is the active substance in the pesticide Temik. It is effective against thrips, aphids, spider mites, lygus, fleahoppers, and leafminers, but is primarily used as a nematicide.[1] Aldicarb is a cholinesterase inhibitor which prevents the breakdown of acetylcholine in the synapse. In case of severe poisoning, the victim dies of respiratory failure.
Aldicarb is one of the most widely used pesticides internationally, and is also one of the most environmentally toxic. Aldicarb poisoning from agricultural water runoff has led to the destruction of healthy ecosystems and the irreversible poisoning of fertile agricultural land. Poisoning from this pesticide is also believed to be linked to high cancer rates in communities located around the Aral Sea.
