California-based Lenz Pest Control’s field experience—including 96 rats trapped in three months—shows how pest professionals are successfully putting poison-free rodent-control methods into practice
SONOMA, Calif., Aug. 31, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — As pest-management professionals prepare for a future with fewer chemical options, Automatic Trap Company (ATC) is helping the industry move beyond traditional rodenticides by giving professionals practical, field-tested tools for controlling rodents without poison.
Lenz Pest Control, a Santa Barbara, California-based pest-management company, is among the professionals putting that approach into practice. Rather than waiting for changing regulations to dictate how it manages rodents, Lenz has spent years testing nonchemical methods in real-world environments—and sharing what it learns with other pest-management professionals.
“Pest control is changing, and professionals need alternatives that can perform in the real world—not simply products that sound good in theory,” said Blair Calder of Automatic Trap Company. “What Lenz Pest Control is doing is important because they are testing these approaches in the field, refining them and then helping other professionals understand how poison-free rodent control can become a practical part of modern pest management.”
Turning Field Experience Into Education
Dale Shreve, General Manager of Lenz Pest Control, has taken that experience beyond his company’s own customers.
Shreve teaches a continuing-education course for pest-management professionals, “How to Achieve Effective Ground Squirrel Control Without Rodenticides.” Approved by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) for continuing-education units, the course introduces professionals to the TerraTrap GS system while addressing a larger question facing the industry: how to effectively control ground squirrels when rodenticides are not the preferred—or available—solution.
“We believe poison-free rodent control is going to become an increasingly important part of our industry,” Shreve said. “We wanted to show professionals that there are effective alternatives, and that we need to start learning how to use them now rather than waiting until regulations force us to change.”
According to Shreve, professionals attending the course are interested in alternatives but consistently come back to the same question: Does it actually work?
For Lenz, answering that question has required years of field testing.
The company doesn’t adopt a new pest-control method simply because it is new. Instead, its technicians test approaches on actual accounts, refine how they are deployed and continue using the methods that produce repeatable results.
96 Rats in Three Months: Putting Automatic Trapping to the Test
One of the tools Lenz uses is Automatic Trap Company’s A24, a CO₂-powered trap that automatically resets following each strike. That allows the device to continue operating without requiring a technician to manually reset the trap following every catch.
At one high-end residential estate experiencing a significant rat problem, Lenz removed the property’s poison stations and installed six A24 traps along with targeted repellents.
The traps recorded 96 rats in three months.
The result, however, didn’t happen simply by placing traps and walking away.
Shreve said his initial experience with the A24 was unremarkable. Rather than dismissing the technology, Lenz continued testing different approaches until adjustments to bait selection and trap placement produced a method the company could successfully repeat across accounts.
“Failure is part of the process,” Shreve said. “But every failure teaches us something and gets us closer to a better system.”
That willingness to rethink established pest-management practices extends to other technologies Lenz is evaluating.
With the TerraTrap system, for example, Lenz has explored an approach that challenges a long-standing trapping assumption. Instead of designing a program to keep scavengers away from trapped animals, the system allows scavengers to remove carcasses as part of the process.
Preparing Pest Management for What Comes Next
For Automatic Trap Company, the experience of professionals such as Lenz demonstrates why the industry’s transition toward nonchemical rodent management involves more than replacing one product with another.
It requires learning new methods, understanding animal behavior, testing placement and bait strategies, and developing repeatable systems that pest-management professionals can confidently deploy for customers.
“The goal isn’t to suggest that one trap or one technique solves every rodent problem,” Calder said. “The opportunity is to give pest professionals more effective tools and more options. Companies like Lenz are showing what can happen when experienced professionals combine new technology with the knowledge they’ve built over decades in the field.”
For Lenz, that evolution is already underway.
“Our goal isn’t simply to use less poison,” Shreve said. “Our goal is to become better at controlling pests without needing it.”
About Automatic Trap Company
Automatic Trap Company (ATC) provides humane, non-toxic pest-control solutions built around innovative trapping technology. The company works with homeowners, land managers and professional pest-control operators seeking effective approaches to rodent management that reduce reliance on toxic rodenticides and minimize ongoing maintenance. Visit https://www.automatictrap.com/ to learn more.
About Lenz Pest Control
Lenz Pest Control Inc. is a Santa Barbara, California-based pest-control company providing residential, commercial and specialty pest-management services. The company focuses on practical solutions and continues to test and develop new approaches to pest control in the field. Visit https://lenzpest.com/ to learn more.
Media Contact
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Automatic Trap Company
(877) 992-8868
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