Integrated Vertebrate Pest Management

Integrated Vertebrate Pest Management

Tim Hammerich
Tim Hammerich
News Reporter
With California Ag Today, I’m Tim Hammerich.

The University of California Ag and Natural Resources (UCANR) recently published a new manual called “Burrowing Rodents: Developing a Management Plan for Organic Agriculture”. Extension specialist Roger Baldwin says the guide helps with an integrated approach, which is greatly needed, especially in organic agriculture.

Baldwin… “We really don't want to rely on just one tool. We want to come up with a holistic process for trying to deal with these sort of pests. And this is important in all kinds of production systems, but it's particularly important in organic production systems because we have less tools. And once they build up to really high densities, they can become very challenging with non chemical options to reduce those numbers back down. So trying to maintain those rodent densities at a manageable level throughout the life of the field is going to be really important in organic production systems.”

Baldwin says the manual is helpful for anyone who needs to manage burrowing rodent pests.

Baldwin… “It contains some good information about species identification, the kind of damage they cause, a little of basic information about their biology, but then you're really jumping into the different management tools. Some of the different options that you have for managing, when to implement them, and then ultimately how to try to combine all of that information into an integrated pest management approach.”

Get your free copy of the “Burrowing Rodents” guide on the UCANR website.

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