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nourishment for your
household pet, you can be sure
that other animals will show up
to share the bounty.
Putting the food “out of sight"
in a garage, for example, will not
deter an animal focused on
survival. I did that once for our
cats when we had to be away for
a weekend.
Leaving the door open for
them also meant leaving it open
for the raccoon and opossum
who were both in residence when
I returned!
The first rule for not turning a
wild animal into a nuisance is
not to provide access to any
household food products. The
flip side of that is that you
should
provide natural food
sources in areas that wildlife
can visit without causing any
problems for you.
There are many good nature
field guides which will give you
insights into the habits of each
creature and what it likes to
eat, when it is active, and what
type of shelter it prefers.
The Cooperative Extension
Service, the State Department
of Natural Resources, and the
U.S. Agriculture Department all
offer fact sheets on a variety of
wildlife, and there are also
Internet sites for just about
every species.
When homeowners start
trying to follow basic habitat
replacement practices, such as
planting wildflower areas, letting
grasses grow taller, or creating
brush piles, the most frequent
concern expressed by people
who are less knowledgeable
about wildlife is that such
habitat will attract rats.
Studies have been done to
confirm that this simply is not
the case (for further details,
visit the Weed Laws site listed
under Internet Resources).
Rats are attracted by food.
If you fill your bird feeders
with seed that is not
completely consumed, and let
it accumulate and stay on the
ground, then you may indeed
attract rats, as well as mice
and voles and other wildlife.
Naturally planted areas,
however, will also provide seed
for birds, but they won’t
attract rodents.
Sometimes animals become
so used to people and so
comfortable around houses
that the only solution is to
trap them. This should
generally only be handled by a
professional wearing the proper
protective gear.
Even something as seemingly
safe as cleaning up after mice
can result in inhaling the
airborne bacteria that cause
the dangerous hanta virus.
Normally the risks from wild
creatures are relatively low,
and can be minimized by
increasing your knowledge
about each species, but it is
safer – and often required by
law – to have a licensed
professional involved, if the
animal must be physically
moved.
The best way to prevent
wildlife problems inside your
home is to take preventive
steps before problems ever
develop. Be sure that any easy
entry points are blocked off.
This includes chimneys (there
are special caps which let
smoke escape but keep birds
and raccoons out), open areas
under decks or stairs (these
can be blocked by lattice
screens or wire mesh), or holes
under eaves which provide
access to the attic (wood or
insulation can be used to close
these openings).
Trash cans should have
locking lids, and food should
never be left in the open. Most
wild animals are creatures of
habit, and once they learn that
a certain location will provide
food or shelter, they are likely to
return.
From what we are hearing,
the animal causing the most
concerns in suburbia these
days is the Whitetail Deer. This
isn’t surprising, since a single
deer needs to eat more than
five lbs. of leaves a day.
