Sunday, December 23, 2007  12:18 AM

Nippon Mouse Killer

Nippon Mouse Killer

(This is the first of an occasional series of posts on stuff found outside of Japan which uses the image of Japan or the Japanese language in strange and / or mysterious ways. Sort of like Engrish in reverse.)

Right now I'm visiting my parents in the UK, and as they live deep in the inaka they are engaged in semi-permanent conflict with large sections of the flora and particularly the fauna. Mice are a particular problem, and what else would the discerning householder use to control the domestic rodent population other than "NIPPON Mouse Killer Pellets"?

A product of British company Vitax, they're just one of a range of pest control products marketed under their registered trademark NIPPON.

Quite why the Japanese name for Japan should be associated with animal and insect poison is a good question and one which does not seemed to be explained on their website. Any suggestions?


Posted in Orientalish
Comments
Oh, so you're over here, and over there. Shall join you tomorrow to stock up on Britishness to get me through the rest of the winter. Hope this finds you well and festive.
Posted by: BiB | 2007-12-23 12:09
Yup, slowly putting on another expat hat. Not sure about the Britishness, but there's plenty of Welshness and Polishness going around hereabouts. Happy Xmas in "Merry Old England" and all that.
Posted by: ThePenguin | 2007-12-23 23:38
If you have a mouse problem, here is the perfect ECO solution.

Place down a layer of dry Oats and Concrete powder under a sheltered run. The mice will prefer to run under the shelter and will appreciate the oats to nibble upon as they go.

At either end of the run place fresh water for the mice to have a quick drink. Thus the water will turn the powder into concrete and solidify in their guts. The worst result of this is that your cat might loose a tooth on the hardened intestines.
Posted by: Contamination | 2007-12-27 15:41
Thanks for that tip, Contamination. I'll pass it on (although the Nippon stuff in combination with "humane" mouse traps does appear to be pretty effective, or so I am told).
Posted by: ThePenguin | 2007-12-30 20:16
You ask:
Quite why the Japanese name for Japan should be associated with animal and insect poison is a good question and one which does not seemed to be explained on their website. Any suggestions?

On the Vitax website itself, the FAQs section does give the answer:

From where is the name 'Nippon' derived?
The original product was based on a Japanese formulation introduced into the country in the 1930’s under the Nippon Ant Destroyer name.
Posted by: Alan Siegrist | 2008-01-29 03:28
Ah, an excellent find, thanks! I'm sure I looked all through the site, but evidently not hard enough.
Posted by: ThePenguin | 2008-01-29 05:56
I'm lucky that I have yet seen a rat in my house, but the las house we rented, the rat was half the size of a cat. I just bash the little sucker on its head, while screaming loud enough to awaken the dead. :-)
Posted by: lina | 2008-02-01 14:40
Nippon Ant (-killing) Powder was very popular, so popular, it was the only brand on the market, in the mid-to-late 1980s in the London area. Just because it was popular, it doesn't mean it was much good. A kettle full of boiling water was much more effective.
Posted by: d.z. bodenberg | 2008-02-03 22:08