The zeal to address the area's rodent crisis has seen the City try a variety of approaches. Unfortunately, one of those approaches is having a tragically negative impact on other wildlife. Second Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides (SGARs) are a commonly-used rodenticide that has been blamed for the deaths of raptors, the birds like hawks and owls who are natural predators of rodents and ingest the poison when eating rodents.
We've known these wildlife deaths were occurring. Last year the City Council's Rodent Issues Special Committee discussed the issue with members of the community and City staff, who shared a plan to move away from widespread use of these SGARs. It was an encouraging update at the time that gave hope we would be seeing fewer wildlife deaths in the area due to SGARs.
But then in December a resident posted to social media about the death of an owl in their Somerville yard. Subsequent testing revealed high levels of SGARs in the bird's system. Then just two weeks ago another social media post announced another owl death, with a comment on that post revealing a third dead owl had been discovered in Somerville the previous week.
Laura Kiesel of Save Arlington Wildlife has been very active on the issue of rodenticide impacts on raptors, and she announced last week that an examination of the second owl mentioned above pointed to SGAR poisoning. She went on to share the sobering statistic that this was the 11th dead bird of prey in the Arlington/Cambridge/Somerville area she had been involved with investigating the cause of death in less than three months.
I stand with the community in being upset about these recent death of these birds of prey. I submitted a council order for last week's regular meeting requesting an update from City staff on current SGAR usage practices, as well as what we plan on doing about any SGARs already out there on the ground in those black bait boxes we see all over the city. I requested this item be sent to the Rodent Issues Special Committee that I now chair, and I'm looking forward to discussing this at our February 19 meeting.
I believe an ordinance banning the use of SGARs on public property is well worth exploring, and we have it in our power to do this right now. And while it would require a home rule petition to take a more significant step, I also think we should ban the use of SGARs on private property in Somerville as well. Neighboring communities like Arlington, Newton, and Brookline have approved similar home rule petitions, and while progress on home rule petitions on Beacon Hill can be slow and frustrating, it can only help having more communities joining the fight.
In the meantime, please avoid using SGARs for rodent mitigation. If you have hired private pest management, ensure they are not deploying SGARs as part of their mitigation strategy. If you need assistance with rodents, the Residential Rodent Control Assistance Program offers residents free rodent control services. Please contact Somerville Constituent Services' 311 to request assistance or to learn more about the rodent mitigation services the City is able to provide.
It's ultimately on all of us to decrease our city's rodent numbers. This means not giving rodents the food, water, and shelter they need to thrive. Composting reduces food waste in our trash. Ensuring that your trash receptacle is fully closed and hasn't been chewed threw will keep rodents out and deny them food. And not letting yards get overgrown and avoiding leaving standing water on your property also will help. Changing behavior is the only way we can effective win The War on Rats, and we all need to commit to this as a city and do our part as individuals.
Do you like this page?