Biological rodent control

Yes, if it’s an anticoagulant. That includes most of the rodenticides commonly used on farms.

Anticoagulants are designed to persist in a rodent’s body, which makes them effective, but also dangerous. When an owl eats a poisoned rat, it absorbs that same toxin. Over time, this causes internal bleeding, failed breeding, and death.

Even small traces can be fatal - especially for owlets in the nest, who are fed a steady diet of poisoned prey. And since this system relies on successful owl breeding to control rat numbers, anticoagulants directly undermine the process from the inside out.

For this approach to work, anticoagulants need to be removed from your pest management program. That doesn’t mean you’re left without tools, but it does mean switching to ones that don’t stay in the food chain.

During transition periods - or when conditions drive sudden outbreaks - we support using less toxic options like cholecalciferol, which is already available in Australia and does not bioaccumulate in predators.

We work with landholders who:

·       Have already stopped using anticoagulants

·       Are actively phasing them out

·       Can commit to bait-free buffer zones around owl habitat

This is a non-negotiable. The presence of second-generation rodenticides in the food web puts owls - and the entire system - at risk.

Barn owls (Tyto alba) are found throughout Australia, especially in open habitats like farmland and lightly wooded areas.  They are present in most farming regions, and their distribution is primarily limited by habitat and food availability. 

However, their presence on your property depends on suitable conditions. The greatest downward pressure on barn owl populations is the lack of available breeding hollows. Land clearing and the use of rodenticides have reduced natural nesting sites and prey availability.

By installing nest boxes and eliminating harmful rodenticides, you create an environment conducive to barn owl habitation. While we primarily target Tyto alba, other native owl species may also take up residence, contributing to natural pest control.

It’s important to note that owls are wild animals and their colonization of new habitats can take time. In some cases, owls may begin using a site within weeks; in others, it may take months or longer. We assess each property for habitat quality, connectivity, and bait history before installation to provide the best chance of successes here

This approach works best on small to medium-scale farms with a genuine commitment to biodiversity. Not just tolerance, but  actual value placed on living systems.

That means:

• Some level of structural complexity in the landscape — tree lines, windbreaks, remnant vegetation, or connected bushland
• A willingness to stop using anticoagulant rodenticides — across the entire site
• Farming practices that support soil life, habitat edges, and natural food webs
• A property size and layout that makes meaningful buffer zones around owl habitat possible

We cannot work with:

• Broadacre monocultures stripped of cover and edge habitat
• Sites surrounded by heavy rodenticide use
• Industrial farms operating at scales where natural control isn’t viable

This isn’t a judgement — it’s a matter of function. Owls don’t breed in desertified landscapes, and they can’t survive where bait is still part of the system.

If you’re building toward a more connected, biodiverse farm system, we can work with you — and we’ll tell you honestly what’s feasible on your site.

Owls don’t recognise fencelines.

If second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides are used on neighbouring properties, it puts the entire system at risk. Poisoned rats don’t stay where they’re baited — and when owls hunt them, the toxins move up the food chain.

We don’t install owl habitat in landscapes where anticoagulants are still actively used — whether that’s on your farm or next door. One poisoned brood is enough to undo a season’s effort.

That said, we’re happy to work with neighbours in low-risk situations to offer alternatives and reduce exposure across the landscape. We recognise that isn’t always feasible — especially in bait-heavy districts.

If your property is large and ecologically complex enough to support a parliament of owls, that may create a workable buffer — even if some surrounding risk remains.

We don’t yet know exactly what that threshold is — which is why we’re still researching it. But where the space and conditions are right, we’re open to testing those boundaries carefully.

If the risk can’t be mitigated, we won’t proceed. Not because we’re inflexible — but because the system won’t work.

This is a collective model. For owls to succeed, the landscape has to make space for them.

The owls are free — but we have to charge you for the rest.

We’re not selling a product. We’re helping you build a long-term, poison-free pest management system. That means the cost will depend on:

• Your property size and layout
• How much infrastructure is needed (like nest boxes)
• Monitoring and support requirements
• How ready your site is in terms of habitat and rodenticide history

There’s no flat rate, but we’ll give you a clear, practical cost breakdown after we assess your site.

We’re also working to keep this approach accessible — blending landholder contributions with grant funding, partnerships, and shared investment where possible.

And while the upfront costs may seem higher than buying bait, we’re confident that over time, the system will cost less than ongoing rodenticide programs — especially when you factor in application, compliance, and non-target risk.

If you’re committed to reducing poison and building a more resilient farm system, we’ll work with you to make it viable.

Yes — as long as they don’t harm the system we’re trying to build.

This project is designed to work as part of an integrated pest management (IPM) approach. That means combining different tools to manage rodent pressure while reducing risk to non-target species like owls.

We support and actively explore methods such as:

• Mechanical control (traps, barriers, exclusion)
• Habitat and sanitation strategies (cover control, food source management)
• Short-term use of cholecalciferol-based baits during peak pressure
• Future integration of fertility control where it becomes legally available

What we can’t work with is anything that leaves poison in the food chain — particularly second-generation anticoagulants.

This is a systems-based approach. That means the more your farm supports biodiversity and limits chemical intervention, the better it works — and the less you’ll need to rely on control measures at all.

We believe it can — and we’re building the research to prove it.

Our monitoring has shown that, under the right conditions, a single owl breeding cycle can remove around 1,000 rats.

At our monitored sites, we’ve identified multiple breeding events occurring in the same boxes within a single season — indicating a high local owl density and strong habitat uptake, even in early-stage landscapes.

Here’s the pattern we’re modelling:

• Year 1: Establish owls through habitat and monitoring
• Year 2: Stabilise rat populations
• Year 3: Suppress local populations through sustained predation

Because owls take time to establish, we recommend supplementary IPM options during the early phases, including:

• Cholecalciferol-based baits (non-anticoagulant, low secondary risk)
• Fertility control (when it becomes available)
• Trapping and exclusion
• Hygiene and habitat management to reduce attractants

These tools help protect crops while natural control builds up — and ensure the system functions without relying on poisons that threaten owl populations.

We’re now working to replicate and test these outcomes across partner farms, as part of a formal, multi-site research program.

This is real-world, in-field work — and the results so far are promising enough to keep scaling.

If you want to be part of shaping that next phase, we’re looking for the right kind of farms to partner with.