Best Methods for Resolving Human-Wildlife Conflicts (Vol. 1, Art. 2, June, 2011)
What can be done to prevent, reduce or resolve wildlife conflicts or damage? Here are some pointers on methods we use and recommend:
Avoid doing anything to attract wildlife: Like people, wildlife needs food, water and shelter (i.e., a safe place to live or hide). If you are doing anything that provides food, water or shelter (i.e., cover or housing), intentionally or unintentionally, you will be attracting wildlife and increasing the likelihood of conflict or damage. For example:
Food sources: seed/fruit-bearing plants, shrubs, trees; lush lawns/gardens; pet food outside; bird feeders. (Note: Bird feeders also attract voles, mice, squirrels, skunks, raccoons, deer and bears.)
Water sources: lawn irrigation; bird baths; fish ponds; water features.
Shelter: bird/squirrel nest boxes; settling around concrete; house gable/soffit gaps; openings under sheds/decks; open chimney flues/covers; dense shrubbery/hedges; faulty skirting around mobile homes/modular buildings, etc.
Minimizing/eliminating these attractions creates less favorable habitat and thereby reduces the presence of wildlife. In the wildlife control industry these actions are referred to as habitat modification or cultural methods.
Take action to deter, repel or discourage wildlife: These methods go a step further and deter or discourage wildlife from wanting to be on your property. They make wildlife not want to be there by giving animals a bad experience. Typically they frighten, repel or obstruct the animal in some way.
Frightening methods: These include sound or sonic devices; visual deterrents (e.g., strobe lights, predator effigies); hazing/harassing; guard dogs; etc.
Repellents: In addition to sonic or visual deterrents, repellents include things like taste, odor or tactile products that are offensive to animals.
Obstructions: These methods hinder or impede animals. They include things like ledge products (e.g., bird spikes or wire coils); temporary netting; tree collars; etc.
These methods are often not a long-term solution and may require variety or repeated applications.
Remove the problem animal from the site: These can be non-lethal or lethal methods that remove the animal.
Non-lethal methods: These include one-way doors (coupled with exclusion repairs) and live capture/relocation (e.g., netting, tranquillizing or cage-trapping the animal and releasing it in another suitable location).
Lethal methods: These methods take the life of the animal as efficiently and humanely as practical. They include: live trapping followed by euthanasia/dispatch; lethal trapping (e.g., mouse or rat snap traps); shooting (where allowable); and toxicants/pesticides (e.g. fumigation or poison baits for gophers or prairie dogs).
Most people prefer non-lethal methods because they just want to get rid of the animal, not harm it. These are very common practices, but lack of suitable habitat, season of year, weather conditions, predators and over-crowding can greatly reduce the survival rate of relocated animals. Plus, state wildlife policy prohibits the relocation of striped skunks due to the recent rabies outbreak. Lethal methods can be very safe, effective and humane. With the rapid escalation of urban/suburban wildlife, lethal methods are often the best approach. Exclude or prevent wildlife from living at the site or doing damage: These are measures that keep animals away from places they can damage (e.g., lawns, gardens, trees, water features) or prevent them from living in places they don’t belong (e.g., attics, soffits, crawl spaces, under decks/porches/sheds, chimneys, etc.). They include hole or gap repairs (using wire mesh or flashing), permanent netting, above ground or underground fencing, chimney caps, etc. Ultimately exclusion repairs and prevention are the best long-term solutions to wildlife problems.
Alpine Wildlife Control
Wildlife Conflicts
Best Methods for Resolving Human-Wildlife Conflicts (Vol. 1, Art. 2, June, 2011)
What can be done to prevent, reduce or resolve wildlife conflicts or damage? Here are some pointers on methods we use and recommend:
Avoid doing anything to attract wildlife: Like people, wildlife needs food, water and shelter (i.e., a safe place to live or hide). If you are doing anything that provides food, water or shelter (i.e., cover or housing), intentionally or unintentionally, you will be attracting wildlife and increasing the likelihood of conflict or damage. For example:
Food sources: seed/fruit-bearing plants, shrubs, trees; lush lawns/gardens; pet food outside; bird feeders. (Note: Bird feeders also attract voles, mice, squirrels, skunks, raccoons, deer and bears.)
Water sources: lawn irrigation; bird baths; fish ponds; water features.
Shelter: bird/squirrel nest boxes; settling around concrete; house gable/soffit gaps; openings under sheds/decks; open chimney flues/covers; dense shrubbery/hedges; faulty skirting around mobile homes/modular buildings, etc.
Minimizing/eliminating these attractions creates less favorable habitat and thereby reduces the presence of wildlife. In the wildlife control industry these actions are referred to as habitat modification or cultural methods.
Take action to deter, repel or discourage wildlife: These methods go a step further and deter or discourage wildlife from wanting to be on your property. They make wildlife not want to be there by giving animals a bad experience. Typically they frighten, repel or obstruct the animal in some way.
Frightening methods: These include sound or sonic devices; visual deterrents (e.g., strobe lights, predator effigies); hazing/harassing; guard dogs; etc.
Repellents: In addition to sonic or visual deterrents, repellents include things like taste, odor or tactile products that are offensive to animals.
Obstructions: These methods hinder or impede animals. They include things like ledge products (e.g., bird spikes or wire coils); temporary netting; tree collars; etc.
These methods are often not a long-term solution and may require variety or repeated applications.
Remove the problem animal from the site: These can be non-lethal or lethal methods that remove the animal.
Non-lethal methods: These include one-way doors (coupled with exclusion repairs) and live capture/relocation (e.g., netting, tranquillizing or cage-trapping the animal and releasing it in another suitable location).
Lethal methods: These methods take the life of the animal as efficiently and humanely as practical. They include: live trapping followed by euthanasia/dispatch; lethal trapping (e.g., mouse or rat snap traps); shooting (where allowable); and toxicants/pesticides (e.g. fumigation or poison baits for gophers or prairie dogs).
Most people prefer non-lethal methods because they just want to get rid of the animal, not harm it. These are very common practices, but lack of suitable habitat, season of year, weather conditions, predators and over-crowding can greatly reduce the survival rate of relocated animals. Plus, state wildlife policy prohibits the relocation of striped skunks due to the recent rabies outbreak. Lethal methods can be very safe, effective and humane. With the rapid escalation of urban/suburban wildlife, lethal methods are often the best approach. Exclude or prevent wildlife from living at the site or doing damage: These are measures that keep animals away from places they can damage (e.g., lawns, gardens, trees, water features) or prevent them from living in places they don’t belong (e.g., attics, soffits, crawl spaces, under decks/porches/sheds, chimneys, etc.). They include hole or gap repairs (using wire mesh or flashing), permanent netting, above ground or underground fencing, chimney caps, etc. Ultimately exclusion repairs and prevention are the best long-term solutions to wildlife problems.