Move Out of the Way Pesticides, Birds are Coming Through!

Some winemakers in California, United States are turning away from toxic chemicals and using birds instead, in an effort to eliminate pests in a healthier, more sustainable way. 

A multi-year research project underway at Humboldt State University involves students carrying out studies on how birds could replace pesticides and eliminate pests naturally. By replacing pesticides with barn owls, the students and the winemakers are discovering that nature itself has its own plant-protection program in place. 

The farmers begin by creating nesting boxes on the farms which lures the birds in. According to Bay Nature, the studies have so far found that “a farm with 20 nest boxes can expect barn owls to remove about 70,000 rodents from the vineyard and surrounding landscape.”. Further, the farmers that have put nesting boxes in place have reported using rodenticides at a lower rate than those who have not created any barn owl boxes. 

The use of barn owls over pesticides comes with a myriad of advantages from cost savings, to being more eco-friendly, to contributing to an overall healthier product for human consumption without toxic chemicals. The ongoing studies are proving that there is power when humans work together with the natural environment.