Plagued with pests? Here’s how to deal with pests in a vegan household

When you’re an animal lover, getting rid of unwanted visitors can be an ethical minefield. Lex Rigby from Viva! explains how to do ‘pest’ control humanely

Pigeons, mice, rats, ants, squirrels, wasps, slugs as well as foxes are often regarded as pests due to their outstanding ability to thrive in human society. To some people, their mere presence is considered a nuisance and it comes as no surprise that we’ve sought ways to control and even eradicate them.

Mostly, we use misleading justifications that these animals are dirty and spread disease or that they cause damage when they ‘invade’ our homes and gardens.

This demonisation is unjust and, as compassionate vegans, we want to encourage tolerance and promote ethical alternatives to lethal control methods – many start with removing food sources.

Pests and diseases

Animals are largely driven by a survival instinct to find food and shelter. A copious food supply can directly impact the success of breeding pairs, as well as the number of young in a brood.

The animals we may consider ‘pests’ are resourceful and adaptable in their ability to move from wild spaces to towns and cities; where food is either intentionally left out or tossed away.

In the UK, we spend more than £250 million a year on feeding birds! That amounts to in excess of 150,000 tonnes of bird food – including peanuts, sunflower hearts, dried insects and suet.

In helping garden birds’ diets, we’ve started to see once declining populations of house sparrows making a steady comeback. But at the same time, by allowing dirt and bacteria to build up on feeders we’re also directly responsible for facilitating the spread of deadly diseases¹.

Trichomonosis, a disease caused by the protozoan parasite trichomonas gallinae, for example, has led to a significant reduction in greenfinch populations² and may well be the cause of a similar crash in chaffinches.

However, while we welcome sparrows, greenfinches and chaffinches, we seem less pleased when feral pigeons or grey squirrels come to cash in on the spilt seeds, and even less pleased when inevitably rats arrive.

What I’ve learnt from watching a family of rats in my garden though is how remarkably undeterred by obstacles and tolerant of bigger pigeons fighting for space they can be.

I’ve seen a caring mother rat with an injured back foot return to my garden three years running and the cutest babies take tentative steps from under the shed towards feeding alongside pigeons and magpies. I’ve also watched in horror as a sparrowhawk swooped in and snatched a goldfinch right off the feeder. Isn’t nature enthralling!

Historically, rats get a rough time due to misconceptions about them being plague carrying ‘vermin’ – aterm more often used in a derogatory way to describe something or someone as despicable. For a long time, rats have been blamed for spreading ‘Black Death’ through the fleas they carry; which killed an estimated 25 million people in Europe from 1347-1351.

However, a recent study suggests that rats weren’t the main carriers of the fleas and lice that spread the plague³. It was humans. There’s now consensus that the disease simply spread too quickly for rats to be responsible.

Preventing pests

Nevertheless, as much as I find rats fascinating and am happy for them to spend as much time as they like in my garden, I’m with most people in that I’d rather they didn’t find a way into my kitchen. The tell-tale sign of a gnawed cereal packet, a scattering of faeces in the cupboard or an audible scratching sound can be a vegan’s worst nightmare; but it doesn’t have to be.

Typically, rats and mice breed all year-round so they could be looking for cosy nesting spots at any time of the year. In winter, they’ll be in search of somewhere extra warm and activity in our homes may be more likely as we crank up the heating. This is why it’s important to block up holes near boilers, radiators and pipework.

Since rodents generally avoid running in open spaces, any gap – even one as small as your little finger – along walls or tucked in a corner should be considered a weak point.

An important difference between mice and rats in their nesting habits though is that rats tend to burrow; digging extensive systems under buildings, fences and decking, whereas mice nest in covered areas and shred soft materials like cardboard or paper to create bedding.

One of the best things to use in your home to block potential entry points is steel wool as rodents’ teeth are unable to chew through it. Larger holes can be filled with cement or metal sheeting and vents covered with wire mesh. Don’t forget to tidy away anything that could serve as nesting material as well.

Vegan pest control methods

To tackle unwanted guests in our homes, common methods include loathsome snap traps, poison and electrical zappers – all of which result in slow painful deaths and are completely ineffective at tackling the root problem and discouraging other would-be intruders.

Remember the point above about food sources? Make it a habit to clear away crumbs, wipe down surfaces, seal food containers and store waste correctly and all these things will help stop rodents coming inside in the first place.

If you do find yourself needing to remove visitors from your home (of the non-human type), humane animal control does exist! And I don’t mean capturing a terrified mouse with your bare hands and carrying them away outside somewhere safe like my friend once did.

You can use live traps, plug-in repellents, peppermint oil or ammonia, but you need to be as persistent as the little critters and not give up. If you start to feel that the humane traps and repellents aren’t working, it’s likely because you haven’t used enough or there are still gaps leading a way into your property to be found.

It could also be that you’re putting them in the wrong place. Don’t forget, rats and mice like to keep to walls and edges, so place the traps there and try different baits – peanut butter has been found to be exceptionally effective.

Finally, if you do catch a rodent, let them free a good distance from your home. It’s important to keep within a 90-metre radius of where they were found, as animals who are relocated beyond their natural area may struggle to find food, water and shelter, then simply put more bait in and replace the trap.

For more about tackling other animals like slugs, ants, flies, woodlice and moths, visit viva.org.uk/vegan-animal-control.

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Featured photo © Evergreen Planet via Getty Images