Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue
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Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue
  • Home
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Our Staff
    • Newsletters
    • Community Partners
    • SCWR in the News
  • Found an Animal?
  • The Work We Do
  • Volunteer
  • Donate

BARN OWL MAINTENCE PROGRAM

Our Barn Owl Maintenance Program, or BOMP,  encourages the use of barn owl boxes to aid in the control of rodents, thereby reducing the use of rodenticides and advancing sustainability living in partnership with wildlife.

About BOMP

Our Barn Owl Maintenance Program, or BOMP installs, monitors and maintains barn owl boxes throughout Sonoma County, providing our community with an organic pest control option that promotes the peaceful coexistence and conservation of wildlife. 


Having a barn owl box in your vineyard or backyard provides valuable habitat for barn owls, and valuable pest control for you! Barn owls are efficient hunters and dedicated parents. With a family hunting over 1,000 rodents in a single nesting season!


We operate alongside our BOMP Coalition, or BOMPCO, a network of wildlife professionals with a shared commitment to operate with the highest standards, ethics and practices in all Barn Owl Maintenance Programs. 

Read more about our BOMP Coalition mission here: www.bompco.org


All proceeds from our services help fund Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue's mission statement.

Barn Owl Box Features

Don't let appearances fool you! A barn owl box is more than just a box with a hole on a pole. While it may seem expensive to invest in a barn owl box, there's a lot of work, materials, and time that goes into making our boxes. A badly designed box can do more harm than good for the owls. We've carefully designed our boxes to best meet the needs of barn owls. Let's go over some of the features that make our boxes the best for owls available.


Predation Prevention Features:

  • There is a special wall in each box to give chicks a space to hide if a predator manages to stick its head or paw through the hole
  • Our holes are oval instead of round to reduce the risk of Great Horned Owl predation.
  • The poles are made of galvanized steel, too slick for raccoons to climb up and steal babies.


Construction Features:

  • We use a full sheet of marine grade plywood in each of our boxes, so we can provide an ample sun shade to keep chicks from overheating.
  • We have grips cut into the space below the hole so the owl can more easily enter the box or hang on to toss food in for the chicks.
  • We've included a maintenance flap so that the boxes can be easily cleaned and maintained.
  • All the fittings are galvanized steel, so they won't rust and make the box fall apart.
  • All walls are both screwed and glued together under pressure, so they are strongly bonded and can take the weather.
  • All corners are reinforced to improve the integrity of the box.

Barn owls as Pest Control

Barn owls are an excellent alternative to harmful rodenticides, otherwise known as rat poison. Rodenticides weaken the rodents before killing them, making them slow and attractive to predators. Then, when they are caught and eaten, the poison spreads and kills the predators of the rodents. This makes the rodent problem even worse, because there are fewer predators to control their population. Instead of using cruel poisons, whose effects spread beyond your intentions, we recommend an approach called Integrated Pest Management. This is a systemic way of thinking about pests in the environment, which addresses the root of the problem instead of only the symptoms. 


A key part of IPM is encouraging beneficial predators in your environment. By providing a home for barn owls, you encourage them to breed and stay in the area. Unlike many predators, barn owls are not bothered by others of their kind roosting nearby, so you can benefit by having multiple boxes, and potentially multiple owls, on one property.  

Barn owl box lined with rodent bones. 

Habitat Needs

Barn owls have specific habitat needs and not all properties will be well suited for them. Barn owls' preferred habitats are grasslands and vineyards. As their number one predator, the great horned owl, prefers to nest in heavily forested and developed habitats, barn owls rarely occupy boxes in these areas and we do not recommend installing boxes in these locations. 


Unsure if your property is suitable? Reach out to us! We're happy to briefly assess your property over the phone or through email. Please be sure to include your name, telephone number and address in any email correspondence.

(707) 992-0274 or bomp@scwildliferescue.org


Please Note: As a nonprofit, our staff time is extremely limited, if you receive a phone or email consultation and it's determined that your property is not a good fit or if you opt not to use our services, please consider making a donation devoted to our staff's time and expertise. 

Our Services & Pricing

consultations & Service calls

Scheduling a site visit is generally the first step to becoming a client of a BOMP. A visit from a BOMP professional will let you know if our program can fit your needs, if you have adequate habitat for barn owls and help you discover the best possible location sites for barn owl box installations This service cost is also charged for all visits to perform research and or maintenance. It covers the costs of our vehicles use, fuel, loading and unloading equipment, use of tools, insurance, personal protection gear, administrative costs and so on. All of our vehicle tires and other equipment and tools are cleaned in-between vineyards to prevent possible cross contamination. 


BOMP SERVICE CALL & CONSULTATION: $140 per visit***


***Service call charge has been temporarily increased to offset the rise in transportation costs.

Barn Owl Box Installation

 Our cutting-edge boxes are ethically designed and inspired for the needs of the barn owls that will occupy these boxes.  Everything from the color, size, and shape of this unique box was expertly designed specifically for the wellbeing and comfort of the owls. Regarding the craftsmanship of these boxes, we use only high-quality materials and each box is built with integrity and future longevity in mind. We use marine grade plywood, stainless steel hardware, all the edges are screwed and glued together. We apply 2 coats of exterior paint, paying special attention to the finished project’s aesthetic qualities. We expect these boxes to last at least 15 to 20 years as long as they are properly maintained. This is an excellent investment towards your all-natural rodent control needs.

 

We strongly recommend you place your new box on one of our galvanized steel, 11 gauge, 2 7/8th inch diameter, 12-foot-tall poles. The sturdiness of the poles attached to the bottom center of the box, prevents high winds from rocking the box back and forth, thus sparing the life through wear and tear. It comes with a 4-inch square steel plate welded to the top, ready to be attached to your new box. This also includes the 4-inch square, plywood reinforcement that attaches to the floor of your box. The bottom of the pole has a 4-inch steel kickstand to prevent the pole from turning or rising from the ground over time. Of course, all hardwood is included. The slickness of the pole also prevents predators like raccoons climbing up into the nest box to predate on the owlets, as wood poles would allow predation by predators.

 

Want us to install the box for you? We'd love to! We provide the box, pole, and perform the installation, being sure they are placed in optimal locations to increase the likelihood of barn owl habitation. A 50 to 60 pound bag of QuickSet cement is included in the the price of each installation. 


BARN OWL BOX PRICING (per box):

Barn Owl Box only - $350

Barn Owl Box with Mounting Pole - $450

Barn Owl Box with Pole & Installation - $525*

Additional Hard Labor Fee** - $50 per half hour additional


A discount of $25 will be applied per box for installations of 7 or more boxes!


*Price does not include $140 service call charge*** which is applicable to all visited locations. 

**For installations that take longer than 30 minutes to dig the hole. 

***Service call charge has been temporarily increased to offset the rise in transportation costs.

Barn Owl BOX Monitoring

 We generally schedule box research in the spring and early summer. We highly recommend that you participate in our annual box research. In researching boxes, we are able to provide you with valuable information regarding box activity.


MONITORING PRICING (per box):

Barn Owl Box Monitoring 1-6 Boxes: $125.00*

Barn Owl Box Monitoring 7 or more boxes: $100.00*


*Price does not include $140 service call charge*** which is applicable to all visited locations.

***Service call charge has been temporarily increased to offset the rise in transportation costs.

Barn Owl BOX Maintenance

Owl Box Maintenance is performed in late fall and is a critical part of box ownership. Owls do not clean up after themselves so it’s important to schedule annual maintenance.


MONITORING PRICING (per box):

Barn Owl Box Maintenance 1-6 Boxes: $125.00*

Barn Owl Box Maintenance 7 or more boxes: $100.00*


Please Note: Due to the labor-intensive activity of box maintenance, we associate a fee for all inspected boxes regardless of occupancy results.


*Price does not include $140 service call charge*** which is applicable to all visited locations. 

***Service call charge has been temporarily increased to offset the rise in transportation costs.

BARN OWL PRESENTATION

In this informative Barn Owl Maintenance Program Presentation, a BOMP professional will review many aspects of barn owl natural history, challenges barn owls face and solutions to support them, how our program operates and what you can expect from us as professionals to support your needs. This is the perfect presentation if you are interested in, integrated pest management or organic sustainably.  


Here are some examples of businesses and organizations who requested a presentation:

• Vineyard Management Companies

• Homeowners Associations

• Schools and Educational Programs

• Continuing Education for Staff

• Farm Bureaus


BOMP Presentation: $300


Have more questions than you thought? Want to spend more time with your BOMP professional? Each additional consultation hour - $50.00

Why Should You Choose Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue's Barn Owl Maintenance Program?

  • Through years of experience, we have designed a barn owl box catered to the specific needs of barn owls.
  • Our spring monitoring services offer valuable information on the occupancy of your box, allowing you to make important decisions regarding your integrated pest management program.
  • Our fall maintenance services provide a safe and clean space for owls to raise their young and encourages continued use and new tenants.
  • We have a permit with US Fish and Wildlife allowing us to handle birds and provide treatment if needed.
  • We are certified participants of the 24-hour Hazwopper program by the CA Department of Fish and Wildlife allowing us to work with hazardous materials safely.
  • We are insured for high liability work through our Wildlife Exclusion Service.
  • We have our own work vehicles and equipment.
  • Maintenance in your vineyard or on your property is a tax-deductible expense.
  • All proceeds earned through BOMP helps fund the Raptor Rehabilitation Program at Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue.

READY TO REACH OUT ABOUT OUR BARN OWL MAINTENANCE PROGRAM?

Contact us!

We're happy to breifly assess your property over the phone or through email. Please be sure to include your name, telephone number and address in any email correspondence. 


Please Note: As a nonprofit, our staff time is extremely limited, if you receive a phone or email consultation and its determined that your property is not a good fit or if you opt not to use our services, please consider making a donation towards to our staff's time and expertise. 


Phone: (707) 992-0274

Email: bomp@scwildliferescue.org 


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