The complete case — secondary poisoning science, local wildlife data, the Marco Island proof of concept, and what your property can do right now.
The industry's own science said structural fixes work better.
In 1950, the researcher who ran the first anticoagulant rodenticide field trial wrote that environmental changes — reducing harborage, eliminating food supply — would give "more profound and more permanent control" than poison. The industry read that paper. They chose poison anyway. Not because it worked better. Because it billed monthly.
Rats enter buildings through structural failures.
Poison ignores the structure.
Rats are not roaches. They enter through gaps — gaps that can be found, sealed, and guaranteed against. Once a building is properly sealed, the entire justification for the monthly bait contract disappears. That's not a side effect of exclusion work. That's the point of it. One fix. One warranty. No more monthly invoice.
Marco Island understood this. Their vote was unanimous.
In 2025, Marco Island became the first city in Florida to eliminate rodenticides from all city-managed properties. One park. One pilot. 60% population reduction. Zero complaints. That's the blueprint.
The chemistry varies. The outcome doesn't. Every rodenticide currently approved for use in the United States causes secondary poisoning — meaning the predators that eat poisoned rodents are also poisoned. Owls. Hawks. Bobcats. Florida panthers. Domestic cats and dogs.
The compounds most commonly deployed — anticoagulants — persist in liver tissue for over 100 days. A single poisoned rat is enough to kill a barn owl. Once that owl is gone, the rats it would have caught aren't. The poison doesn't solve the rodent problem. It eliminates the ecosystem's solution to it.
The industry chose to sell the product anyway — and to structure the contract so the customer keeps paying monthly whether the problem is solved or not.
The damage from rodenticide isn't happening somewhere else. It's in Marco Island parks, in the preserves Brittany spent years fighting to protect, on the canal banks behind your condo.
Rat populations at Mackle Park reduced 60% during the pilot combining Seal Em Out exclusion and GoodBites fertility control. Zero documented resident complaints post-exclusion.
Marco Island City Council agreed unanimously to eliminate rodenticides from all 6 city-managed facilities — replacing poison with Seal Em Out exclusion and GoodBites monitoring stations.
Top-rated across Google, Angi, and Thumbtack. Angi Super Service Award. Nextdoor Neighborhood Favorite. Every review reflects a permanent building fix — not a monthly poison subscription.
The Exclusion First approach addresses the structural failure that allows rodents to enter, eliminates the food sources that attract them, and naturally reduces outdoor populations without harming a single predator.
This is not pest management. This is how you solve a structural problem — permanently, with a warranty, and without monthly fees.
In 2025, a Florida island city agreed unanimously to eliminate rat poison from every municipally-managed property. Here's the full story — because it's a blueprint any community can replicate.
Brittany Piersma and Audubon Western Everglades spent five years building the scientific case — monitoring owl populations from 2020, collecting deceased birds, and building the toxicology dataset. The city funded a 12-month GoodBites pilot at Mackle Park. Marco Island's city manager reached out to Paul Trapp about the structural exclusion piece. The two efforts came together.
The pilot results alone weren't enough to move a city council. What opened the door was Brittany's burrowing owl data — five years of field monitoring showing dramatically rising rodenticide-positive rates combined with her Conservation Collier advocacy work. Science plus solution made the case irrefutable.
Marco Island's City Council agreed unanimously to eliminate rodenticides from all city-managed properties — 6 facilities, replacing the conventional poison service with Seal Em Out exclusion and GoodBites monitoring. John Quinlan of the Beach & Coastal Advisory Committee championed the proposal internally. The vote was unanimous.
The Marco Island model is replicable for HOAs, condos, businesses, schools, and homeowners across Southwest Florida. Secure the city properties, enroll the willing condo associations and commercial sites, and help residents seal entry points so the work holds long term.
If you're a board member, property manager, or HOA president, one conversation can change what's happening on your land right now. Marco Island's city manager made that call. The result was unanimous.
At your next board meeting, ask your pest control vendor: what products are being used on our property? If the answer includes any rodenticide bait station, you have options.
Paul Trapp can provide a satellite-measured quote for your property. No site visit required for initial pricing. Most HOA exclusion projects complete in 7–10 days with a written warranty.
Paul and Brittany present in person or via video to HOA boards, condo associations, and city councils across Southwest Florida. The same presentation that moved Marco Island's council — for your community.
The Mackle Park pilot and burrowing owl rodenticide data have attracted consistent local press attention. The story is being told — and growing.
A fully developed community presentation covering secondary poisoning science, the vacuum effect, the three-step exclusion solution, and the Marco Island proof of concept. Available for HOA meetings, condo board sessions, city council presentations, school programs, and conservation events across Southwest Florida.
This presentation combines local field data, public regulatory science, and direct case study documentation. Use these links when sharing with boards, managers, and elected officials.