Legislative changes could transform California into a rodent haven
By Renee Pinel
“Two Rats Can Become 15,000 In One Year.” (National Geographic, 5/9/13)
“They’re Breeding, They’re Getting Bigger, They’re Spreading Throughout This Development.” (KESQ- ABC 3, 7/2/23)
“Rodents Invaded A California DMV Call Center. State Workers Say The Stench Made Them Sick.” (Sacramento Bee, 10/18/23)
“Invasive Rodents Called Nutria Could Threaten The Stability of Aging Levees And Earthen Dams in California’s Central Valley Region If The State Fails to Control Their Population.” (New Scientist, 4/14/23)
“Baby Found with More Than 50 Rat Bites Covering His Body.” (People, 9/24/23)
“Olvera Street Merchants Concerned About Homeless, Rampant Rats.” (KTLA 5, 10/6/23)
These headlines above highlight the real dangers of rodents.
In 2023, four California cities were ranked among the most rodent-infested in the United States. In light of these concerns, we are addressing and educating members of the California State Legislature and state regulators about the health and economic dangers posed by recently introduced legislation, Assembly Bill 2552.
This bill, introduced by Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-Burbank), seeks to ban first- and second-generation rodenticides in any “open space” with a 5,000-foot buffer zone while giving rodents unprecedented legal protection.
AB 2552 would redefine wildlife areas as any “open space,” requiring a substantial 5,000 ft buffer zone, and does not include any exemptions for agricultural use. It also allows individuals the right to sue (private right of action) rodenticide applicators that “harass,” not necessarily kill, any wildlife species or pest. This provision, in effect, gives rodents human status.
To complicate matters, “harassment” is broadly defined. “Harassment” includes injury to an animal by annoying it to such an extent as to disrupt normal behavioral patterns, including, but not limited to, breeding, feeding, or sheltering.
The implications of AB 2552 are concerning as it could drastically limit the use of rodenticides, which are vital for protecting the public and food supplies from rodent-borne diseases.
The U.S. National Park Service notes that rodents are carriers of fatal diseases and directly transmit several viruses, including hantavirus, leptospirosis, listeria, rat bite fever, rat lung disease, and salmonellosis. “These pathogens can infect humans through various routes, including direct handling, bites, or contact (through breathing in air or eating food) with feces, urine, or saliva. They also serve as the hosts for ectoparasite vectors (such as ticks or fleas) that transmit other diseases, including Lyme disease, bubonic plague, tularemia, murine typhus, and tick-borne relapsing fever.”
These diseases have critical health implications, from respiratory issues and asthma—especially in children—to food contamination on farms, in homes, and restaurants.
Students and teachers at Villa Park Elementary School “were covered in itchy, red bites after rats invaded an elementary school in Southern California.” CBS Los Angeles reported that “rats were found underneath some portable classrooms. Health officials said the bumps that were reported by the students and faculty were caused by tiny bugs that live on rats.” After the news broke, vector control workers were sent to eradicate the rodents.
In the agricultural sector, roof rats can run rampant in California orchards, according to UC Agriculture and Natural Resources scientists. “In pistachio and other nut orchards, roof rats are burrowing and nesting in the ground where they’re chewing on irrigation lines, causing extensive damage,” said Rachael Long, UC Cooperative Extension advisor. And it’s not just the fruit damage. They nest in citrus trees, feeding on the fruit and terrifying field workers when they jump out as people are picking the fruit. The chewing pests are also girdling tree limbs, causing branch dieback.”
Maintaining the use of rodenticides is supported by their proven effectiveness. California’s Integrated Pest Management Programs, which include rodenticides, are essential for preventing and eradicating pests.
California’s stringent regulations on rodenticide applications and decades of scientific and health-related studies show that rodenticides protect public health and the environment, highlighting the necessity of these tools for pest control.
Renee Pinel is the president and CEO of Western Plant Health (WPH), a Sacramento-based trade association whose member companies promote the environmentally safe and agronomically sound use of their products.