Native hawks are part of nature’s most powerful pest control crew! A single red-tail hawk can eat dozens of rats, mice, and other potential pests in a single week. This benefits humans by reducing the spread of disease and keeping crops and homes safe from damage.
Like most predators, hawks will often target prey that is slow, sick, and easy to catch… such as, for example, a rodent that has been poisoned. When hawks ingest poisoned rats and mice, they can eventually succumb to poisoning themselves.
This epidemic is catastrophic for predators and their families, and it’s not good for us, either. When a family of hawks (or other rodent-eating predators) dies of secondary poisoning, it causes a local explosion in rats and mice, creating a treadmill of repeated poison use that can also eventually impact foxes, snakes, skunks, raccoons, cats, and dogs.
There are many humane pest control methods to eliminate rodents without poison. Trap-and-release, scent and taste repellents, proper home hygiene, and exclusion are ideal. If you must use poison, consider using a formula designed to minimize the risk of harm to predators.
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