Wildlife Exclusion Techniques

In general we receive request(s) for service on wildlife. Some are for animals just passing through, attracted by a food source, or using shelter. Under most circumstances these problems can be dealt with without trapping.

Animals passing through a yard are no real problem. An inspection of the premises is indicated to see if there are any attractants, like food, water, or shelter. Often investigating neighbors to see what attraction they are pro-viding will be useful. Usually the resident that you received the Request for Service from has a good idea about what is going on.

Pet food is the most common attractant. The garbage containment situation should be looked into because it can be a key attractant. Sometimes grubs in the soil are the attracting food. Reduced watering or turf treatment will often remove or reduce the grub attraction.

Shelter should be eliminated, reduced, or otherwise made less attractive by the use of repellents.

In the event that an animal has taken up residence under a home the first method of removal should be exclusion. The first step is to identify the animal you are trying to exclude. More often than not the resident will be able to tell you what they have seen, or smelled. It is important to know what the animal is because you want to be able to determine if they have young living in the structure with them. If they have young, under most circumstances they will have to wait until the young are old enough to walk out on their own. Trapping young in a structure will not only make the mother furious, but they will eventually die and become an odor problem. There is also the potential problem of ectoparasites such as fleas, mites or ticks that will be in search of a new host.

Basic wildlife exclusion can be done by determining all possible entrances to the structure in question. After this is done, you need to find the most commonly used entrance. This may have to be done by the use of tracking powder. Talcum or baby powders are the best choices. Sprinkle a light coating around the opening during the day and recheck the next day. This may also tell you the number of animals.

Seal up all openings except the one used the most. Once all the other openings are sealed, you can prepare to exclude the animal. Prepare the building material that you will use to exclude the animal. Often this is as simple as buying a new vent screen, and having nails or screws ready to attach it in the opening. Sometimes the resident must be creative in coming up with a way to seal the opening. It must be stressed that a permanent solution is what is wanted.

In general most animals will be out foraging by midnight. If there is any question about this time tracking powder can be used again. The resident must go out and check, and if there are prints going out-- seal the opening well. When the animal returns there may be some scratching or digging around-- attempting to defeat the exclusion, but a good job will usually hold up. If there is continuing, furious attempts to reenter, this may be a sign that young are present.

It should be as simple as this in the majority of situations. The animals will move on to better habitat.

Trapping should only be done under extreme circumstances. The United States Department of Agriculture Animal Damage Control Representative should be available for most of the situations that trapping is determined the only solution.