page_title: Pest control
section_title: Natural rodent control
hierarchical_section_title: Pest control / In homes and cities / Methods for specific pests / Natural rodent control
caption_attribution_description: English: Mice control underground
context_page_description: Pest control is the regulation or management of a species defined as a pest, a member of the animal kingdom that impacts adversely on human activities. The human response depends on the importance of the damage done, and will range from tolerance, through deterrence and management, to attempts to completely eradicate the pest. Pest control measures may be performed as part of an integrated pest management strategy.
  In agriculture, pests are kept at bay by cultural, chemical and biological means. Ploughing and cultivation of the soil before sowing mitigate the pest burden and there is a modern trend to limit the use of pesticides as far as possible. This can be achieved by monitoring the crop, only applying insecticides when mandatory, and by growing varieties and crops which are resistant to pests. Where possible, biological means are used, encouraging the natural enemies of the pests and introducing suitable predators or parasites.
  In homes and urban environments, the pests are the rodents, birds, insects and other organisms that share the habitat with humans, and that feed on and spoil possessions.
context_section_description: Several wildlife rehabilitation organizations encourage natural form of rodent control through exclusion and predator support and preventing secondary poisoning altogether. The United States Environmental Protection Agency notes in its Proposed Risk Mitigation Decision for Nine Rodenticides that "without habitat modification to make areas less attractive to commensal rodents, even eradication will not prevent new populations from recolonizing the habitat." The United States Environmental Protection Agency has  prescribed guidelines for natural rodent control and for safe trapping in residential areas with subsequent release to the wild. People sometimes attempt to limit rodent damage using repellents. Balsam fir oil from the tree Abies balsamea is an EPA approved non-toxic rodent repellent. Acacia polyacantha subsp. campylacantha root emits chemical compounds that repel animals including rats.
caption: Brown rat infestation
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