A Win for Marco’s Burrowing Owls

Back in 2020 when I began working full-time for Audubon Western Everglades as their wildlife biologist, I quickly realized the high mortality of burrowing owls on Marco Island. Car strikes weren’t the only issue. Many owls were found deceased lying by their burrows with no obvious cause of death. Hawks and larger owls were found extremely emaciated and not able to fly. After providing enough data to the state for two years, we were finally able to test birds of prey for rat poison in 2022, thanks to partnerships of the von Arx Hospital, FWC, and the SCWDS Lab of UGA. Only freshly deceased owls can be tested, but all mortality is documented. My incredible army of over 100 volunteers helps monitor around 400 owl sites on Marco Island year-round. Fifty-nine burrowing owls were tested, with 55 having positive levels of rat poison in their systems of various levels and types. Some owls had multiple types of rat poison affecting them. Four other hawk and owl species were tested, with three resulting in positive levels of rat poison. From 2021-2025, 138 owls were found deceased. Ninety-five of those were presumed either car strike or toxins. Oftentimes, increased car strikes occur when birds impacted neurologically by poisons cannot react normally. There is no safe poison. Each type has different side effects with most leading to a suffering death.

It became one of my biggest goals to end the use of rat poison on Marco Island. I knew this was not a simple task, but partnerships have helped along the way. Wisdom Good Works has successfully created a safe and effective rat fertility feed that has passed the pilot stage and is currently in use in many cities, agricultural areas, parks, and animal rescues countrywide. Male and female rats eat the feed in a secure box and there are no impacts to other animals in the food chain due to the small dose and 15-minute half-life of the ingredient TwHF in a healthy pellet of nuts, seeds, and grains. One single female rat can produce anywhere between 30-80 pups in one year. Fertility feed is the future of controlling rats. Our team was able to help test this product at Mackle Park with a 60% reduction of the rat population and a lesson learned in the necessary steps of exclusion with buildings. Paul from Seal Em Out fixed all entry points to prevent rats from entering the building.

The Beach and Coastal Resources Advisory Committee was an essential part of this mission to find alternatives to rat poison and educate the public. Jim Scarpa from BACR stated, “As soon as the deceased owl test results were available, it was unmistakably clear that rodenticide was a major contributor to the death of burrowing owls and other species. The committee and Audubon Western Everglades led the charge to find a solution. This led to the Good Bites trial at Mackle Park in partnership with AWE and Wisdom Good Works and ultimately to the decision by Marco Island city staff, with unanimous support of the City Council, to eliminate the use of rodenticide poison on all city properties by February. The City of Marco Island has set the example for all residents to follow. This is a major step forward, but hardly the last. We must now step up our public awareness efforts with Marco Island businesses and residents and urge them to follow the City’s example and eliminate rodenticide poison from use to preserve the wildlife on our beautiful island. It’s time to call our pest control services and have the black boxes filled with rodenticide removed and replaced by a non-toxic method of population control and an exclusion program to prevent entry into homes and buildings.”

We are happy to report that the Marco City Council and city staff have agreed to go poison-free at all of their properties starting February 2026! This is a huge step in leading the way to protect all wildlife on the island and to help educate other businesses, churches, condos, hotels, and residentials. Marco Island can be a role model for all other cities in their support of conservation efforts. Audubon Western Everglades will continue to provide outreach and work with our partners towards the goal of an island free of poison.

Seal ’Em Out will be implementing the city poison free plan. Seal ‘Em Out owner, Paul Trapp, stated, “The city program starts February 1st with six municipal facilities. We’ll be installing Good Bites fertility control stations, as well as monitoring and trapping stations in conjunction with monthly monitoring, and entry point identification and repair coordination. The goal is to prove that poison-free rodent management works, with documented results. Exclusion is the foundation of everything I do. When you seal a building properly, you take away the artificial shelter that lets rodent populations explode. You’re not managing a problem anymore. You’re solving it. Monitoring, trapping, and fertility control handle population pressure over time without putting toxins into the food chain. When combined with proper sealing and repairs, rodents are left to fend for themselves. I want this city program to become a model for the rest of the island, the state, and even the country. Once residents, businesses, officials, and HOAs see real actions with real results, the conversation changes. It stops being “can we do this without poison?” and becomes “why didn’t we do this sooner?” Marco Island has a chance to show the rest of the state and country that there’s a better way forward that doesn’t include blanketing every property with boxes of poison.

If you are interested in a better way of controlling rats that is poison-free, Seal ’Em Out can be reached at 239-722-8243.

Please spread the word to all pest control companies to find safe alternatives to rat poison!

Email owlwatchmarco@gmail.com for any other questions or volunteer opportunities!