While recognizing the difficulty of controlling pests—particularly rats—we also want to protect our campus wildlife and pets from secondary exposure to poisons sometimes used in pest control.
In the last few years a number of bobcats on campus have died from a notoedric mange that has been linked to secondary poisoning from ingesting rats killed with anti-coagulant poisons.
Photos taken in the last few days show a campus bobcat suffering from this mange. There are a number of methods to effectively control rats that do not require poisons. These include removing pest attractants from your home, eliminating access points for pests and non-chemical traps. More information is available online.
