I feed squirrels, all kinds of birds and certainly was very disappointed when our raccoons left the area! I studied quite a few books about rats, (know thy enemy) and the big thing I learned: rats will not live where there are coons! Poison will never work more than a few months because the rats very quickly develop immunity. If it's one or the other, I choose coons, its easier to keep them out of my living space.
But heck, I trap mice in the kitchen sink to avoid killing them. I hate to kill if there is any other option. I put a little water in the bottom of a stopped up sink, add some bread crumbs and peanut butter to a plate and float it in the sink. Next morning, collect the mice and move them out to a field away from the house. When squirrels got into the house via my attic, I removed them and put coyote urine soaked rags in plastic containers all around the attic. They have not been back.
As for weeds in an acre of lawn, grow clover or some other attractive ground cover, don't poison the planet for temporary aesthetics. I have a small back yard lawn and pull weeds after every rain, they are easier to remove after a good soak. I plant my whole front yard with wild flowers in a grow as you please and whimsical fashion. I pull weed a lot in the spring and fall. The rest of the time they are too small to bother me.
A good question to ask one's self if there is a living thing where one does not want it, what would nature do? After all, a weed is a plant growing where it is not wanted and animals attend situations that we make attractive to them. We really can't afford to poison the earth that feeds us! Look what we are doing to bees and all the other pollinators.
