12 NEWS
Some pest controls can do more harm than good
BY KIERSTEN MOSS
AFN Contributor
W
hen most people see something
slithery in their yards, the im-
mediate thoughts of “kill it” and
“I want it gone” cross their minds.
But what are the actual repercussions of
inhumane pest disposal?
According to the Arizona Game and Fish
Department, a total 13 rattlesnake species
live in Arizona.
Bryan Hughes, owner of Rattlesnake So-
lutions and amateur field herpetologist, is
used to getting calls about some of these
species.
“If we get a call, the first thing we do is
assess the situation to see if we can help
and it also tells us how much time we have
to get there,” Hughes said.
“Basically, we ask where it is and what
it’s doing. From that, we can get all the in-
formation we need,” he added. “If it’s a rat-
tlesnake, which is most of our calls, we will
ask them to stay put and look at it. That’s
kind of complicated because people don’t
want to be looking at a snake to begin with,
that’s why they’re calling us.”
Hughes, who is working on a field proj-
ect with the Phoenix Mountain Reserves
on dead animals in the wild, has wit-
nessed the effects of inhumane forms of
pest control.
“One of those would be poison traps for
rodents, and we see the effects of that,”
he said. “We’ve seen snakes that have in-
gested poison rodents and are killed by it.
Bobcats, owls and other animals are killed
by that poison as well.”
During his field project, “Some of the
rattlesnakes I’ve tagged are dead only in
neighborhoods where traps are heavily
used.”
Katelyn Garcia, education and outreach
director at the Phoenix Herpetological
Society, said small prey animals that feed
larger reptiles can have a larger impact on
the environment and humans.
“People see them, they know that
they’re venomous. They’d rather have it
ot
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New
AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MAY 20, 2020
sometimes and saving living creatures as a difficult choice.
reptiles are so re- “I am a vegetarian veteran so I have to
silient they can last start by saying that I hate killing or hurt-
months without ing any living creature. But some pests
food and water…to do immeasurable harm to people,” Gouge
be stuck in it is just said. “I guess I decided long ago to put
torture.” people first.”
Trash left behind Sometimes, killing certain species also
can also affect the benefits for the environment.
local wildlife. “I get a large number of calls from home-
James O’Brien, a owners worried about wild honey bees in
veterinary techni- Arizona,” Gouge said. “When colonies can
cian at the South- be moved, that’s preferable. But some-
west Wildlife Con- times they cannot be relocated safely and
servation Center, have to be killed. Little do most people
has seen such cases know that wild honey bees were histori-
first-hand. cally an invasive species and have dis-
“Game and Fish placed many of the native bees.
brought us a jave- “The Sonoran desert region has more
lina about a year than 1,000 bee species and areas around
ago, where the Tucson host a greater diversity of bee spe-
game warden actu- cies than anywhere else in the world.”
ally saw the jave- Gouge feels that there are certain types
lina playing with a of pest control that have a negative impact
box of rodenticide,” on the environment regardless of which
O’Brien said, say- species you use them on.
ing the javelina was “There are rodenticide baits that cause
“throwing it up in painful rodent deaths and secondary poi-
the air and catching sonings of non-target wildlife and other
it, chewing on it.” animals,” Gouge said.
Across the coun- “Similarly, there are bird toxicants that
Volunteers carefully free a rattlesnake from a glue trap, one of the more inhumane
ways of countering pests, according to some experts. (Phoenix Herpetological Society)
try, rehabilitators cause disturbing bird fatalities and sec-
and sanctuaries are ondary poisonings. Lethal traps can cause
dead than be around their kids or pets, pushing for more humane pest control. slow and agonizing deaths, such as rodent
which we hear all the time.” One method O’Brien recommends isn’t glue boards.”
But reptiles not only eat rodents but a standard form of pest control – including She said glue boards also impact “non-
also “do more beneficial things like spread fences that “deliver a little buzz” to a dog target animals” while snap traps “do not
seeds,” Garcia said. wearing a shock collar. kill rodents instantly, they often suffo-
“So when they eat one of those rodents He said he’s watched what happens cate them.”
with a bunch of seeds in their mouth, their when coyotes near his neighbor’s yard. Gouge feels that while some pest-man-
digestive tract actually germinate those “I’ve actually watched wild coyotes try agement products shouldn’t be used,
seeds, and then they spread it when they to bait the dog out but they will not cross “overuse or misuse of even a relatively
go to the bathroom.” that line,” he said. “I don’t know how that benign product can do environmental
Garcia believes poison traps dramati- process works but I know when I go home damage.”
cally affect the environment. tonight, I’ll see those three coyotes right “Ecosystems are dynamic in nature and
“Glue traps are another awful, awful on the edge of their yard and their dog on humans are an influential part of that
thing that people use,” Garcia said. “They the other side.” ecosystem,” Gouge said. “Luckily for us
put them out because, again, they’re wor- Dr. Dawn Gouge, a public health ento- nature is resilient, but large-scale control
ried about themselves or their family but mologist at the University of Arizona, sees of any pest organism can cause ecosystem
those animals are stuck, suffering for days the decision between helping people and changes.”
Contact Paul Maryniak at 480-898-5647 or pmaryniak@timespublications.com