Gary Menin Sr. hands award in April to Elaine Crowder. / Menin photo
Glenbrook Estates, townhouses off Summer Street, has received the first Massachusetts O.W.L. award from California-based Raptors are the Solution (RATS).
Gary Menin Sr., from RATS-Massachusetts chapter, presented the award this month at the site of the action, the Glenbrook dumpster.
Red-tail hawk eats a Norway rat grabbed from the Glenbrook Estates dumpster in 2016. / Elaine Crowder photo
Remember the story of the “wise old owl?” Raptors are the Solution, an Earth Island Institute Project, that builds on the “wisdom” of owls — and their great rodent-control abilities — to encourage nonpoisonous solutions to rodent infestations, a news release from Menin says.
The organization’s Owl Wise Leader (O.W.L.) award recognizes businesses, homeowners’ associations and other entities that eliminate rat poison products from their rat-control arsenal, thus protecting owls, hawks, other raptors and all wildlife — as well as domestic pets — from the ravages of internal bleeding from poison.
Effort in 2016
The Glenbrook Estates Condominium Association, spearheaded by trustee Elaine Crowder, recognized the dangers to our environment posed by rodenticides. Crowder observed and photographed hawks helpfully taking out rats at their dumpster. So the association decided to tackle its 2016 rat population with green methods that would not harm these majestic natural rat predators.
At the suggestion of Charlotte Milan, town recycling coordinator, the association engaged a green pesticide company, which treated burrows surrounding their dumpster with dry ice. Why dry ice? As it evaporates, it releases carbon dioxide in the burrows that suffocates rats as they sleep.
At four to eight rats per burrow, this method rapidly cuts down large populations, resulting in many more rat deaths than could be killed using poison bait. Additionally, this method keeps carcasses safely buried underground, out of sight and with a minimum of smell.
Waiting to dump food
Glenbrook Estates followed up an initial weeklong treatment with a change in community dumpster practice. Rather than throwing food away at any time during the week, they attempt to keep food and enticing smells out of the dumpster until just before pickup. Rats need to eat every day, and they don’t venture far between burrow and food source.
So refusing rats food seemed the best way to keep them away. The result? The rat population has been kept at bay for three years since initial treatment. Rats have not returned to carve out burrows in the land around their dumpster.
The association still employs a pest company to monitor for return of the rats. Nonpoisonous, baited snap-trap boxes serve as an early warning signal of rat activity. But the decision to refrain from feeding the rats has been the most effective deterrent.
Through this first O.W.L. award in Massachusetts, RATS is reaching out to neighboring businesses, condo associations and others — encouraging them to follow Glenbrook Estate’s example and be a positive force for change.
For more information, contact Menin at gcmeninsr at gmail.com or Crowder at ecrowder at communication-exchange.com.
This news summary published Tuesday, April 23, 2019.
