Love them or hate them, squirrels have been known to frequent the bluffs near La Jolla beaches.<\/p>\n
But some residents are raising concerns about the use of poisonous chemicals to address what the city of San Diego calls \u201coverpopulation\u201d of \u201cvery invasive\u201d squirrels in the Windansea area.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn California, ground squirrels in park areas can wreak havoc on natural habitat and park facilities,\u201d said city spokesman Benny Cartwright. \u201cAs members of the rodent family, they can contain vector diseases and hamper or halt the establishment of plant material. \u2026 [They also] burrow into fragile bluffs, causing destabilization and erosion.\u201d<\/p>\n
But residents such as Molly Bowman-Styles feel the animals contribute to the overall enjoyment of the beach.<\/p>\n
Bowman-Styles said she was used to seeing a family of squirrels on her morning walks with her dog and was dismayed when they disappeared.<\/p>\n
\u201cI sensed something was wrong [in late June] when a squirrel family who lived in a lush bush near the stairs at the end of Nautilus Street vanished one morning,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Weeks before, Bowman-Styles said, \u201cfive baby squirrels emerged from the bush and began exploring their new surroundings. They climbed branches, sampled the flowers in their tiny paws and played together.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the group of squirrels disappeared, some residents became concerned that they may have been killed through use of poisonous chemicals as part of the city\u2019s effort to reduce the number of rodents that can carry diseases transmitted to humans or animals through a bite.<\/p>\n
Cartwright said the city Parks & Recreation Department has a certified vendor \u201cto identify areas of overpopulation and to perform the necessary abatement services as needed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Methods include a combination of techniques including habitat modification and, \u201cwhen population numbers require it, eradication,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The use of chemicals, he added, is considered only \u201cwhen other options have been exhausted.\u201d<\/p>\n
All city staff members who perform grounds maintenance are trained in integrated pest management, a strategy for \u201cthe long-term management of the equilibrium in our environment,\u201d Cartwright said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe city chooses qualified contractors to maintain healthy population numbers,\u201d he added. \u201cVendors use chemicals approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that have been reported safe to use in California. The Parks & Recreation Department is constantly being monitored by both the [state] Department of Pesticide Regulation and the county agriculture department to ensure compliance with the proper use of each chemical.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cartwright did not immediately answer questions from the La Jolla Light about how the chemicals are administered, how they kept away from other animals and whether they are used in other areas of La Jolla.<\/p>\n
Bowman-Styles argued that \u201cthere must be a more humane way to ward off cliff erosion.\u201d<\/p>\n
She also contended that human activity is responsible for damaging the bluffs, including \u201crunning and walking up and down the cliffs as opposed to using the stairs, and dragging heavy wagons filled with beach gear down to the beach on unmarked trails.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKilling squirrels with poison,\u201d she added, \u201cnot only is dangerous to the poor squirrels, it\u2019s also hazardous to birds, other wildlife and dogs who might come in contact with the poisoned carcasses.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure poisoning the squirrels of Windansea is the city\u2019s most cost-effective option, but it\u2019s also the most cruel and inhumane.\u201d \u2666<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Love them or hate them, squirrels have been known to frequent the bluffs near La Jolla beaches. But…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":62596,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,3548,7354,19284,3549,3550,7264,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-62595","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-la-jolla","12":"tag-la-jolla-light","13":"tag-la-jolla-light-news","14":"tag-san-diego","15":"tag-san-diego-county","16":"tag-sandiego","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-united-states-of-america","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","21":"tag-us","22":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114846742768353560","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62595\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}