Local organization works on solution to Carmel rat problem

Published March 31st, 2026

BY SOPHIE CANAN 

In response to the rat problem that many Carmel residents have expressed concerns about through social media, a local organization powered by volunteers called Carmel Owls has been building platforms for great horned owls, natural rat predators, throughout Carmel since November.

“We want to teach people that there are better ways to deal with rats,” says Paul Falworth, founder of Carmel Owls. “Owls prey on seven rodents a night, every night, and they don’t kill pets.”

Falworth had been building and selling birdhouses for a year when he decided to start building great horned owl platforms after noticing many of the owls’ roosting areas and trees had been cut down. 

“Slowly, the great horned owls disappear,” Falworth explains. “Once they leave a neighborhood, or the Monterey Peninsula, it’s difficult to get them back.”

At the same time, many of Falworth’s neighbors were experiencing rat problems that caused thousands of dollars of damage to both their houses and cars, just one example of the many costly issues that rats cause to much of Carmel. 

“Rats have six to twelve babies every 23 days, and one day after giving birth, they’re pregnant again,” says Falworth. “Once you get to an exponential growth curve, you’ve lost control and the rats have taken over.”

Poison and rat traps that are usually put out to kill rats can cause even more issues, since locals’ pets and local wildlife could eat the poison or poisoned rats and end up dying as well, whereas owls offer an alternative form of pest control that supports the ecosystem. 

With great horned owls being natural predators for rats, Falworth realized that the platforms could solve both problems.

These redwood platforms keep up great horned owl populations, since these owls don’t build their own nests. The process for putting up these platforms requires expensive and bulky equipment like large cherry pickers, which allows volunteers to reach the high points where owls nest. 

Falworth also describes how the trees have to meet specific requirements, such as being three times the size of a telephone pole or spaced out enough so the owls don’t become territorial. 

“Trees for owl platforms can’t be covered with lots of branches because the owls can’t fly in, so they have to be bare trunk trees and also have to be sturdy,” Falworth describes. “These things have to last in the wind, sun and rain.”

Carmel Owls hopes to start education programs and activities in schools as well, by giving out owl pellets, which are regurgitated rat bones and fur, as well as dissection kits to schools where students can dissect pellets to identify bones. 

As of November, Carmel Owls has built and installed six platforms which provide coverage for most of Carmel, but continues building and installing more platforms in hopes of expanding beyond Carmel and continuing to educate people on more environmentally friendly forms of pest control.

“We hope to keep putting out as many owl platforms as appropriate,” says Falworth. “By having strategically placed owl platforms, we can have happy owls everywhere.”

More information on ordering and installing free owl platforms can be found on carmelowls.org.