By Kian & Joel Schulmanm of Poison Free Malibu

A super-toxic variety of rat poison called anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) are causing tremendous problems for wildlife in our local open space and elsewhere. The problem is that rodents such as rats, mice, gophers, and squirrels do not die rapidly from this kind of long-lived poison. It takes several days, giving predators ample time to catch and eat the weakened rodents and become poisoned in turn. Studies show that  hawks, owls, foxes, bobcats, coyotes, mountain lions, and other predators have poison in their systems.

It is preferable to solve rodent problems without using poisons. Most commonly the answer is simple - eliminate food, shelter, and water sources that promote rodents, and seal up buildings. We have encouraged a number of businesses and homeowner associations to eliminate rodent problems by adopting simple sanitation practices. The most effective is just common sense –enclose all trash, keeping dumpster lids closed and surrounding areas clean. A number of businesses in Malibu, including Pepperdine University, the City of Malibu itself, and several shopping centers, have gone rodent poison, and rodent, free by implementing careful sanitation practices and non-poisonous trapping.

It cannot be surprising that exposed trash, as seen in this above photo feeds and produces rats in abundance. This is a typical sight behind the scenes in the back of shopping centers. The solution is seen on the right side of the photo – dumpsters closed and locked. In fact, open lids on dumpsters is a violation of city municipal codes. Keep a look out for the poison boxes put out by the pest control companies as shown in Figure 2. Many people believe that the rodents die in the boxes. Not so! They freely exit and proceed to poison the food chain. Once you recognize these boxes, you will see them all over.

A common misconception we often hear is that it is necessary to place these poison boxes all over the outside of a property because rodents have been found inside a building. Rodents inside are a health hazard and can do severe damage. They must be eliminated, but the only truly effective way that actually solves the problem is to SEAL UP the building. Do-it-yourself materials are available at hardware stores, but there are rodent proofing and exclusion companies that specialize in solving the problem this way without poisons.

Great news for the Santa Monica Mountains occurred on October 10, 2014.  A new “Local Coastal Program” (LCP) came into effect for the unincorporated portion of the Santa Monica Mountains that lies within the Coastal Zone, a very large portion! It includes a clause specifically forbidding the use of all anticoagulant rodenticides in this Zone! If you see anyone using the poisons you can contact Los Angeles County Enforcement - phone (213) 974-6453, or email ZoningEnforcement@Planning.LACounty.gov.

The Malibu City Council passed a Resolution on July 8, 2013 urging businesses and property owners to no longer use or sell anticoagulant rodenticides and commits the City of Malibu to not use anticoagulant rodenticides for City-owned parks and facilities. This action subsequently inspired multiple cities to pass similar Resolutions, including Calabasas, Agoura Hills, Hidden Hills, Westlake Village, Moorpark, Ojai, and Whittier. We are now working on spreading this movement to Thousand Oaks (April 14), Simi Valley, and other cities in Ventura County. If you would like to help, please contact us at PoisonFreeMalibu@gmail.com. Let's all commit to stop the use of these cruel and unnecessary poisons.

For more information please see our website EarthFriendlyManagement.com and also UrbanCarnivores.com by UCLA graduate scientist, Dr. Laurel Serieys.

Figure 2