Barn Owls – Pest Killers at Large

Sometimes the hoot-hoot hits in the day. Or night around sunset. Even heard it in the dead of night, full moon or not. Barn owls. Not that there need to be any farms nearby. They just need a place to stay. And if you hear the familiar sound, don’t get spooked. These are the good guys. Why? They have an insatiable appetite for rodents.

They don’t care what the variety of rat is. All the same to them. Sewer rats, roof rats, black rats. Barn owls even enjoy a sweet little mouse every now-and-then.

Poison

Not to say getting rid of the disease carrying critters can’t be done with poison. The rat will nip-away at some pesticide, wander-off and kick the bucket. Problem is, if it’s somewhere you frequent, as it turns to dust, it stinks.

Wanna prevent ‘em altogether? Keep your act clean. By leaving your trash as far away from your house will help. Your basic barn owl is not going to be intimidated by you. They work cheap. Just need a place to stay. That’s why if you hear a hoot-or-two, you need to encourage these ghoulish night creatures to set-up shop around the house.

Rental Property for Rodent Haters

This might seem like a wacky suggestion, but you might be able to score some points with your community. Make an appointment with your local high school principal. Here’s your proposal – you have a project for the shop class. And since it’s so simple, virtually every kid can get involved.

You’d like to volunteer an afternoon-or-two to supervise the kids to build a bunch of barn owl homes. Talk to a local lumber supply company and see it they will donate some scrap wood, nails and a few hammers.

Make an appointment with the chief honcho at the local cable teevee company, enlisting their help, too. They’ll simply hammer the homes to phone poles once the students have crafted these living quarters for the world’s best rodent killers. Encourage the children to name their homes – give them addresses.

The Actual Plan

Again, you’re going to be amazed just how easy it will be for the young’uns to slam a dozen or so of these together. Likewise, get them involved in where they’d like to place them so the guys and gals with the cherry pickers have a map.

The size and placement of the hole needs to the only detail the students should concern themselves with. You don’t want any of the barn owls natural predators to mess with the baby owlettes as they hatch. That means no outside perch, but small drainage holes in the bottom and sides for airflow.

Blueprint

Take a look at this blueprint. It could be a good template for the kid’s barn owl project.

barn

That’s all it takes. It’s a good community-enhancing thing for the kids. But most importantly, it will help rid the community of rodents that carry disease and god knows what else.

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