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 An Important Part of Our Integrated Pest Management Program
Animals are on nearly everyone's mind when they drive to the San Pasqual Valley, home to Orfila Vineyards and the famed San Diego Wild Animal Park.
Most visitors are focused on the lions, tigers and bears in the park, but the local falcons, bats and barn owls are more important to the local environment. This trio of winged critters are natural and voracious predators and a key part of the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program. They help keep grape marauders, such as starlings, rodents and insects in check.
Visitors often notice the “owl boxes” that are strategically positioned in the vineyard. Each barn owl box provides a place for the barn owls to roost in the fall and a safe place to nest and raise a family of owlets (5-7 per box) in the spring. The IPM
program is part of our efforts to support sustainable watershed management
and be both good neighbors and good caretakers of the land.
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Elevated owl houses give an owl’s-eye-view of the vines at Orfila Vineyards. Barn owls are natural and voracious predators in the winery's Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program.
Orfila Vineyards, a conscientious caretaker of the land, plants “cover crops” between the rows of vines. These plants reduce soil erosion, increase soil fertility and improve soil structure.
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