Fifth-generation California farmer Daniel Palla said killing the bugs that bedevil his Central Valley pistachio orchard is “easy.” Killing the rodents is harder.
Palla, who’s also the director of the Kern County Farm Bureau, has seen a steady increase in rats, squirrels and gophers on farms across the state in recent years. But the arsenal of poisons traditionally used to keep rodents at bay can also put people and other wildlife at risk, prompting a recent flurry of state regulations on rodenticide use.
As a result, Palla said, some farmers hesitate to act after they see the first signs of an infestation…