Winery Turns to Owls for Rodent Control
From Staff and Wire Reports
A Novato winery is the latest to try owls instead of toxic poisons to control rodents that eat grapevines.
Four owl boxes are spread around Pacheco Ranch Winery’s vineyards, and owners Herb and Debbie Rowland are welcoming any owls that want to move in.
Alex Godbe, program director for Wildcare’s Hungry Owl Project, said she and five volunteers already have put up boxes at 75 sites. Some owls found the shelters and moved in. A family of owls, which average from five to seven members, can eat 20,000 rodents a year, Godbe said.