The Smallest Lives Matter: What Jane Goodall's Legacy Teaches Us About Rodent Control

Dr. Jane Goodall, who passed away just days ago at 91, spent her life proving that animals have minds, emotions, and individual personalities worthy of respect. "The least I can do is speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves” - Dr. Jane Goodall

Her work reminds me that compassion and science belong hand in hand and that even the smallest lives matter.

It’s time we bring that same compassion to rodent control.

The Killing Never Stops

Picture this: a homeowner calls a pest-control company because they hear scratching in the attic. The technician shows up, sets bait stations, maybe a few snap traps, collects payment, and leaves. A few months later, the scratching is back. So they call again. More bait. More traps. More money. Repeat forever.

This has become normalized. Somewhere along the way, we stopped questioning it.

This approach doesn’t solve the problem it manages it. And in doing so, it sentences countless rodents to die, month after month, year after year, with no end in sight.

Worse yet, many “standard” methods rely on second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides AKA poisons so potent they don’t just kill the target rodent. They kill the hawks, owls, bobcats, and even family pets that eat poisoned prey.

Recent studies show that over 90 percent of raptors tested in North America carry rodenticides in their systems, and at Tufts Wildlife Clinic in Massachusetts, every single red-tailed hawk admitted between 2017 and 2019 showed contamination. Each bait box on a property adds to this silent chain of suffering.

As Jane Goodall said, “If we kill off the wild, then we are killing a part of our souls." And when we poison rodents endlessly, we’re not just killing them which is bad enough...we’re poisoning the hawks, the owls, the bobcats and more. We're killing the wild, one bait block at a time.

It’s Not Bad People...It’s a Broken System

Most people in this trade mean well. They show up, work hard, and follow the protocols they were taught. But when those protocols stop at baiting and trapping - without explaining why rodents are entering in the first place - even good intentions can fall short.

The goal isn’t for technicians to become carpenters or exclusion specialists; it’s to inform, educate, and advocate for real repairs. When customers understand where their home is vulnerable, they can choose to fix it and end the problem permanently.

The truth is, the system rewards speed, not permanence... moral compromises can snowball in a competitive industry. That’s not a knock on anyone. It’s a reminder that we can raise the bar together.

When we focus on education and prevention instead of endless control cycles, we restore pride in the work and give customers what they truly deserve: peace that lasts.

Goodall believed in dialogue, not blame. "Change happens by listening and then starting a dialogue with the people who are doing something you don’t believe is right” she said.

I believe most of us got into this work to solve problems. The solution isn’t blame...t’s better training, better communication, and a shift toward prevention over endless killing.

Every Home Can Be Made Rodent-Proof

Here’s what needs to be said clearly: Every single home and business can be made rodent-proof.

Homes are built from solid, inherently rodent proof materials like concrete, wood, metal, brick. The problem isn’t the materials themselves... it’s where they meet. Gaps around vents, soffits, foundation cracks, and poorly sealed doors create the edges rodents exploit. They can’t bore through solid surfaces, but they can gnaw at existing imperfections until they break through.

When those openings are properly sealed, the results are immediate and lasting. In field studies, complete mechanical exclusion has proven to be 100% effective at stopping re-infestation. Once every gap is sealed, the scratching stops for good.

Mice need a bit more than a ¼-inch gap (the size of your finger) to enter. But they are not "magic or "like water" they are physically limited my their skull size.

“Nature can win if we give her a chance” Goodall said. When we seal homes properly, nature does win. The rodents stay outside where they belong. Without the refuge offered inside buildings, natural predation occurs, and balance is restored. The owls hunt without poison or the rats having an unfair advantage. The cycle ends.

The Industry Needs a New Direction

Many pest-control companies genuinely want to offer exclusion, but they weren’t trained or equipped for it. Their systems were built around chemical management, not construction.

That’s where collaboration helps. A nimble exclusion specialist can step in where large companies can’t, offering permanent structural sealing while pest companies handle monitoring or sanitation. Everyone wins. Homeowners get real solutions, technicians gain trusted partners, and the needless killing ends.

We Need Legal Change

The science is clear, but policy is lagging. We need laws that make prevention the rule, not the exception.

1. Mandate IPM Reports for Poison Use

Before any poison is deployed or at the very least, continued companies should document what exclusion and sanitation steps need to be taken. Homeowners, businesses, and landlords alike must also be held accountable for making those repairs. True accountability drives real improvement.

2. Ban Unlimited Poison Service Plans

No home should be on an indefinite poison plan. After six months without structural progress, regulations should mandate a pause of rodenticide use until repairs are complete. Rodent control should be a one-time intervention followed by permanent repairs and ongoing monitoring not an endless cycle of killing.

Forward-thinking states are already moving. California’s 2024 Poison-Free Wildlife Act bans all anticoagulant rodenticides, and British Columbia adopted a similar rule in 2023. These policies show what’s possible when ethics and ecology align.

Here in Florida, our wildlife is no less vulnerable. From red-shouldered hawks to burrowing owls, each plays a vital role in keeping our ecosystems balanced. They deserve protection too.

A Call to Homeowners: Ask Better Questions

If you’ve been paying a pest-control company month after month with no end in sight, start asking questions... your home and our environment are too important to stay silent.

• “Are there areas of my home vulnerable to wildlife?”

• “Why are there bait boxes around my home, work, school and restaurants? ”

• “Can you show me exactly where the rodents are getting in and what it would cost to fix those entry points?”

If the answers aren’t clear or if someone tells you sealing “doesn’t work”...get a second opinion. Permanent solutions do exist. You just have to ask for them.

“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make” Goodall said. Every question you ask, every service you choose, it matters.

To My Fellow Pest-Control Professionals: Let’s Lead the Change

Change is hard. I’ve been in this business for more than 25 years, and I’ve watched it evolve in some ways and stay stubborn in others. But most of us started this work because we wanted to help people.

So here’s the question: What if we could help them better?

What if instead of managing problems indefinitely, we could solve them permanently? What if we could protect homes and protect the environment at the same time?

We can. We can learn exclusion principles, partner with specialists, and educate our customers about smarter options. It may cost a little more time upfront, but in the long run it builds something stronger: trust, reputation, and real solutions that last.

“I think empathy is really important, and I think only when our clever brain and our human heart work together in harmony can we achieve our full potential” Goodall said. That's what this work can be—brain and heart, working together.

The Path Forward

Change is possible. We’ve seen it before in farming, waste management, and wildlife protection. When society demands better, systems adapt.

The pest-control industry can evolve too. It will take pressure from homeowners, leadership from within, and laws that make the ethical choice the easy one.

Dr. Goodall once said, “Only if we understand, will we care. Only if we care, will we help. Only if we help shall all be saved.”

We have the tools to understand rodent biology. We have the materials to seal every gap. We have the compassion to choose methods that protect all living things.

The smallest lives matter. The choice is ours.

Let’s prove that compassion and craftsmanship belong on the same side of the toolbox.

About the Author

Paul Trapp

Owner, Seal Em Out LLC

Fort Myers

Serving Southwest Florida

Website: sealemout.com 

Phone: 239-722-8243

Seal Em Out – Pests Out, Peace In.