Voles, Owls, And the cost of a perfect lawn

On my first morning in Golden, Colorado, I settled into my new home with a cup of tea, ready to enjoy a peaceful meditation. But then…
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.

Every minute, a high-pitched noise broke the silence. I searched high and low, convinced it had to be something in my house, only to realize it was coming from my neighbor’s yard. The sound was too high-pitched for some older ears to catch but sharp enough to fray anyone’s nerves.

After several days of this, I finally asked my neighbor about it. “Oh, that’s my vole deterrent device,” he explained. “They’ve been ruining my lawn, so I’m using a two-step approach: poison and this beeping gadget. It’s been a huge success!” He proudly gestured toward his pristine lawn.

I mentioned how the noise was affecting my peace, and he kindly turned it off a few days later- “What good is a perfect lawn if your neighbors despise you?” -He joked.

A Nighttime Visitor

A few nights later, I watched a beautiful great horned owl glide silently into the tree between our houses. These incredible birds of prey, with wingspans nearing two meters, are masters of silent flight, built to catch small mammals like voles.

But my sense of wonder quickly turned into concern. If the voles in my neighbor’s yard had been poisoned, this majestic owl might be next in line to suffer. That thought stuck with me, especially as I recalled something I’d read in Tom Brown’s Guide to Healing the Earth. He describes how voles are a keystone species—when they thrive, it’s a sign that the entire ecosystem is healthy and balanced, when the voles disappear it is usually a sign of a much larger imbalance in the system.

The Bigger Picture

This situation isn’t just about owls and voles—it’s about how our attempts to control nature often have unintended consequences. The poisons and chemicals we use to "fix" one issue inevitably ripple outward, affecting not only wildlife but also us.

For example, glyphosate, a common agricultural weed killer, has been associated with a 4.5-fold increase in breast cancer risk, with 38% higher levels of its metabolite, AMPA, found in the urine of women with breast cancer. Exposure to pesticides has been linked to increased rates of childhood leukemia in children whose mothers were exposed during pregnancy, as well as higher leukemia rates in golf course workers. Rodenticides, like the ones used for voles, are linked to cancers such as non-Hodgkin lymphoma, prostate, and kidney cancers.

These substances don’t just disappear—they linger in our food, water, and air, quietly shaping the health of our ecosystems and our bodies.

We’re All Neighbors

At the heart of it, we’re all connected. Humans, animals, plants, and the earth—we’re all neighbors. No lawn, no matter how pristine, is worth the cost to our health or the health of the ecosystems we depend on.

Michael Pollan said it best: “What is good for the planet is good for our bodies, and what is good for our bodies is good for the planet.”

A big part of my work with patients is helping them identify exposures they may have had over their lifetimes—whether through water quality, air pollution, or other environmental factors. From there, we create a plan to detoxify and support the body in repairing damage before it becomes irreversible. This work is so important that I’m working on an entire module in my upcoming cancer course to create a cancer-free home environment.

If this post resonates with you and you’re ready to take an empowered, holistic approach to your health, I’d love to support you. Let’s get to work!

If you would like to be the first to know when my Cancer Foundations Course is live, subscribe to my email list and you’ll be first in line!

Yours in Health,
Dr. Elise Sulser ND