Send this story Print this story

Adjust text size

Going Green: A wiser form of pest control
WildCare's Hungry Owl Project is already turning heads...

by Tanya Henry

As many as 15,000 children under the age of 6 accidentally eat rat poison ever year. In fact, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, rat poison was responsible for nearly 60,000 poisonings between 2001 and 2003.

In May of this year the EPA passed a ruling that now requires rat poisons to be kept in bait stations above ground and in containers that meet agency standards. Loose bait, such as pellets, and the four most hazardous types of pesticides, known as "second-generation anticoagulants," are no longer sold for personal use. While environmentalists, animal lovers and parents of young children praise the EPA for these restrictions, many feel there are still better, less toxic methods for pest control.

Alex Godbe is one of those people.

A self-described animal lover, she recounts growing up in her native U.K. with parents who loved animals of all kinds: "I was surrounded by pets as a kid, so my devotion to animals started at an early age."

Following her passion, Godbe enrolled in a local college and began studying zoology with the intention of becoming a veterinarian. But in her words, "A restless wind took me off around the world on a spiritual quest."

Fifteen years ago she arrived in the States and in 1998 she began volunteering at WildCare.

It was here at the San Rafael-based wildlife rehabilitation center that Godbe began her mission of educating people on ways to create safe habitats for wild creatures. "I was horrifed by the number of different species of animals I saw coming to WildCare showing signs of being poisoned," says Godbe, whose primary focus over the years has become raptors. She describes how a spotted owl chick found in Fairfax spent weeks at WildCare recovering from eating poisoned rats. She also witnessed a river otter convulsing and unconscious from pesticide poisoning. It was stories like these that prompted Godbe to begin her Hungry Owl Project—also known as HOP.

HOP began in 2002 as a WildCare program with a lengthy mission statement that vows to reduce the need for harmful pesticides and rodenticides by encouraging natural predators through conservation of habitat, erecting nest boxes when appropriate; through research and education; and by providing information on alternative methods of sustainable pest manangement.

Godbe placed an advertisement in the WildCare newsletter requesting help building owl boxes and the response was overwhelming. People began purchasing her boxes in the hopes that the birds would take up residence in their yards and help them extinguish their rodent problems.

Today, HOP offers Godbe's specially designed barn owl boxes or the option to purchase plans to "build your own."

So, is erecting a Barn Owl box really all it takes to rid an area of rodents?

Godbe says yes, but admits the process has several stages and requires vigilance and commitment. It helps that barn owls are, well, strange birds.

Unlike most raptors, they are nonterritorial. This means the number of owls that can be attracted to an area is limited only by the availability of nesting sites and available prey. They also have huge appetites. A family of barn owls can eat over 3,000 rodents in a four-month breeding cycle. A single owl can eat over 50 pounds of gophers in a year! They also have large clutches, or litters, of three to 11, and they often have two to three clutches a year. Owl chicks can eat six rodents in one night.

But the most important component of installing these boxes is placement. Placing boxes in their preferred habitats will significantly increase the likelihood that owls will move in. Barn owls naturally hunt over open fields and meadows. So ideal locations for boxes are in open areas that give the birds clear visibility for their flight patterns. As their name implies, they used to build their nests in barns, but with those structures in decline, the birds have fewer places to nest. They have been found in palm trees and hay bales, but often their young fall out or predators get to them.

The boxes also need to be maintained. Godbe's special design allows the bottom to drop out for cleaning. This is an especially nice feature considering these birds don't bring anything nearly as nice as twigs, leaves or twine to make their nests; instead they use regurgitated pellets or, as Godbe describes, "not-so-pleasant matter." This "matter" can build up and chicks can fall out or the birds might eventually be unable to fit in the boxes.

The Marin Art & Garden Center's Charlotte Torgovitsky proudly recounts how the center successfully fledged seven barn owl eggs in their owl boxes. She says it is difficult to measure the success of the rodent control, but the opportunity to show the nests to children's groups and educate them about the birds has been invaluable.

Paul Edwards, who owns vineyards in Sleepy Hollow, is a strong proponent of using these birds for rodent control. "We've seen the populations of rats and gophers decrease since the owls have moved in," says Edwards, who has several boxes and believes this is the safest and "greenest" way to control the large number of rodents in Marin.

This is also Godbe's message. However, her mission is not for rodent control alone. She clearly loves these unique birds and is intent on getting the word out on the importance of creating safe habitats for them. She encourages entire neighborhoods to work together in offering these safe havens for not only barn owls but for other species as well. Godbe puts much effort into reaching out to children through school programs to introduce them at an early age to the importance of providing safe habitats for wildlife. Godbe is also quick to point out that even if an owl box is not the right answer for a residence, the use of rat poison can have far-reaching effects higher up the food chain. She explains that if barn owls eat rats that have been poisoned, they become sick and their predators, such as the great horned owl, will also be poisoned, and so on further up the food chain. She urges everyone to look to alternative ways to manage pests—not just for the love of animals, but for her even bigger love for the planet.

To learn more about the Hungry Owl Project, visit www.hungryowl.org .

Help raptors and solve rodent problems

If you have a rodent problem, try nonchemical methods first. The key aspects are:

• Remove piles of yard debris, trash, construction waste, etc., where rats or mice could make homes.

• Eliminate food sources. Don't leave pet food outside. Keep wild birdseed and other materials rats or mice may eat (such as some organic fertilizers) in rodent-proof containers. Collect and remove fallen fruit from fruit trees in the yard.

• Exclude rodents from your home. Rodents can squeeze through amazingly small holes—1/4 inch for mice and 1/2 inch for rats. Go around the outside of your house looking for openings and seal them with metal, hardware cloth, mortar, concrete, or Stuf-fit Copper Mesh Wool, which can be found online or at hardware stores.