Natural Rat Control

Keeping birds of prey safe while managing rats

It is that time of year again; Unscrupulous door-to-door marketers are out peddling pest control contracts in my neighborhood. Not only are these services expensive, featuring high fees for early cancellation, but they use rat poisons known to kill our magnificent birds of prey. They aren’t exactly motivated to change their methods: fewer hawks and owls means more business for them as rat populations further surge out of control.

If you have already been tricked into a pest control contract, sit down and do the math. Even though the cancellation fee is high, if you have many months left, you can still save a lot of money just by cancelling and paying the fee.

If rats are having a negative impact on your home, there are simple steps you can take without resorting to these dangerous poisons.

Photo by Dan Vickers. This image makes me cry every time I see it. A beautiful, but doomed hawk eating the blue-dyed guts of a poisoned rat. These birds want to help us with our rat problem! So let’s stop poisoning them for doing so!

Clear a buffer zone around your house

Landscaping plants too close to the house is an incredibly common rat-promoting mistake. It is crucial to leave a walkable gap between your house and your plants. It can feel hard to do because you may have inherited a set of beds and walkways building this mistake right into your garden.