Project Overview

Reports

Commodities

• Agronomic: barley, buckwheat, clovers, cover crops, oats, peas (field, cowpeas), potatoes, rye, sunflower, vetches

• Community and Urban Pest Management: food preparation, safety & storage, institution/shelters/municipal buildings/public places, public health, residential/housing

• Fruits: berries (blueberries), berries (strawberries), melons, paw-paws

• Human Health: workers, residents, applicators

• Vegetables: beans, beans (snap), beets, brassicas, cabbages, carrots, celery, cucurbits, eggplant, garlic, greens (leafy), greens (lettuces), leeks, okra, onions, other, peas (culinary), peppers, radishes (culinary), rutabagas, sweet corn, tomatoes, turnips

Target Pests

• Target Pests: rodents

Practices

• Pest Management: chemical control, cultivation, exclusion, mulches - general, prevention, row covers (for pests), sanitation, smother crops

• Crop Production: conservation tillage, cover crops, crop rotation, double cropping, food product quality/safety, intercropping, irrigation, no-till, nutrient management, organic fertilizers, pollination/pollinator health/habitat, postharvest treatment, row covers (for season extension)

• Soil Management: composting, earthworms, organic matter, soil quality/health

• Sustainable Communities: local and regional food systems, public participation, urban agriculture

South Lawn Farm (SLF), operated by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Monroe County (CCE-Monroe), is a ¼-acre urban educational farm that provides hands-on agricultural experience to Rochester residents facing barriers to employment, including low-income adults. Since 2022, SLF has served as the primary training site for GROWS (Gaining Relevant and Outstanding Work Skills), a workforce development program that strengthens job readiness, agricultural competencies, and teamwork. SLF also hosts weekly experiential learning programs with the Rochester School for the Deaf, Lifetime Assistance Inc., and the Arc of Monroe. In 2025, the farm produced 1,562 pounds of fresh vegetables contributing to community food security. 

Despite its successes, SLF faces persistent challenges from rodent activity. During the 2025 growing season, approximately 160 pounds of produce were lost due to rodent damage, significant losses for a small urban food production site serving food-insecure residents. Fourteen groundhogs were captured using live traps, while gaps in fencing and aging infrastructure enabled rats and mice to enter production areas undetected. The extent of nocturnal rodent activity cannot yet be accurately measured. 

Rodents present notable safety and public health risks. They carry more zoonotic pathogens than any other group (Egan et al., 2024). In urban environments, brown rats (Rattus norvegicus), and house mice (Mus musculus) thrive in dense development and deteriorating structures, often contaminating crops with urine, feces, or saliva containing pathogens such as Salmonella or Leptospira (Kilonzo et al., 2013). Groundhogs pose additional hazards: their powerful incisors can inflict severe bite wounds and may carry rabies, while the ticks they host can transmit Powassan virus, Lyme disease, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. They can also harbor Baylisascaris spp., a parasite capable of causing neurological disease in humans (Bellezza et al., 2015). 

Traditional rodent control approaches, especially rodenticides, pose risks to wildlife, raise animal welfare concerns, and increasingly fail due to rodent resistance (van Gerwen et al., 2024; Buckle & Smith, 2012). For urban farms like SLF, there is a critical need for sustainable rodent management strategies that protect crops, safeguard workforce participants, and preserve ecological health. 

This project will establish a replicable Integrated Pest Management (IPM) model for rodent exclusion, monitoring, and sanitation in urban agriculture. 

To achieve this, SLF will implement six coordinated components: 

1. Fence Repairs and Upgrades: 
   SLF will install improved fencing to block access by rodents and wildlife, reducing crop damage.
2. Farm-Wide Sanitation Assessment and Improvements: 
   An IPM specialist will identify structural conditions that enable rodent presence. SLF will implement corrective actions and install a compliant post-harvest wash station. 
3. Rodent Activity Monitoring: 
   Cameras will be installed to capture rodent behavior, quantify infestation levels, and assess IPM effectiveness.
4. Burrow Treatment Using the Burrow RX®: 
   The Burrow RX® will introduce carbon monoxide into active rat and mouse burrows, reducing underground populations while avoiding non-target impacts and eliminating the need to handle carcasses.
5. Community Access and Training: 
   Because the Burrow RX® is costly, SLF will make it a shared community resource. After receiving training from the IPM specialist, SLF staff will train local growers and organizations in exclusion, sanitation, and safe device use.
6. Workforce Development Integration: 
   GROWS participants and volunteers will participate in fence installation, monitoring, sanitation improvements, and other IPM activities, gaining transferable skills in tool use, farm safety, and sustainable pest management. 

This project will generate a scalable, research-based model for rodent IPM tailored to urban agriculture. Insights from SLF will support other urban farms and community gardens across the Rochester region and the Northeastern United States. By combining infrastructure improvements, technology, workforce development, and community engagement, SLF will strengthen food safety, urban farm resilience, and regional food security.