Rodenticide bans leave California residents with no effective legal rat control options

California's Poison-Free Wildlife Act (AB 2552), effective January 1, 2025, bans both first- and second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides in residential settings, restaurants, schools, offices, and most agricultural areas. The ban is well-intentioned -- over 85% of tested California mountain lions, bobcats, and Pacific fishers showed rodenticide exposure from secondary poisoning. But the law created a practical vacuum: homeowners facing rat infestations now have no legal chemical option that actually works at scale. Snap traps require daily checking and disposal (impractical for attic or crawlspace infestations), electronic traps cost $30-$50 each and handle one rat at a time, and exclusion work (sealing entry points) runs $1,000-$5,000 for a typical home. Pest control companies report that customers are paying 2-3x more for labor-intensive trapping programs that take weeks instead of days. Meanwhile, violations carry $25,000/day fines, so no legitimate operator will risk using the banned products. The problem persists because the legislation banned the old solution without funding or scaling effective alternatives, and rodent populations in urban California continue to grow.