A Field Guide for Living with Wildlife this Spring!

How to Watch out for Animal Safety

These tips will help you live in harmony with nature and prevent injuring a baby animal or causing it to be orphaned.

With regards to chimneys and vents:

Truth be told, an open chimney or dryer/stove vent is considered an “open house” invitation from a wild animal’s viewpoint. Why? Because they make appealing places to have young and are generally cozy environments. Don’t be shocked or too surprised if you should happen to find some guests in your chimney this spring… If you can possibly let them be- just temporarily- that would be one option. However, once the babies have left, then you should have the area decontaminated and the chimney should be closed off or capped.

A word of caution: NEVER attempt to evacuate the chimney by smoking out the animals… it can have deadly consequences. Baby animals may not be able to get out on their own.

Most birds are protected by the Migratory Bird Act and cannot be killed or moved. Unless you are able to exclude birds out early, prior to them laying eggs, you must leave them alone for a few weeks until the young are able to fly on their own.

There is a way to humanely attempt to provoke the animals to leave and they are as follows:

1. Place a radio in the fireplace and turn up the volume.
2. Turn on lights.
3. Carefully place rags soaked in cider vinegar (but not ammonia) in the fireplace.

Animals in the Attic:

Before commencing to spring clean out your attic, check around for any animals that might have taken up residence there.

Don’t even try to evict any animals– there could be babies and you never want to separate mama from a baby wild animal. Since wild animals can cause a lot of damage not to mention some serious health risks, you may need professional help to determine the species of the animal and legally trap and relocate the family of guests. This is the safest, best and most humane way of solving this problem of animals in homes.

 

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Outdoors:

Windows and Sliding Doors

Sometimes birds can fly right into glass pane windows or sliding glass doors. To avoid this you can place a visual deterrant or obstruction of Mylar tape from the top of the glass outside in front of the window.

Siding

There are special places that animals like to come in to your home from. Check behind appliances, anywhere that pipes enter into the building. Some animals can get in to even a 1/2″ to a 1/4″ hole or crack for example snakes or mice. Cover up those holes with insualtion, paper, cloth– then give it a few days and see if those materials have been pushed out. Afterwards seal up those gaps.

Lawns

In order to protect baby wildlife you should walk around the yard before mowing to take a look. You are looking for things like turtles, and nests of baby rabbits. Turtles are fine to gently relocate. However rabbit nests should be left alone, so that the mom rabbit can be sure to return to the same place when she returns to feed them. They’ll be grown up and ready to live on their own in just 3 weeks. A great tip is to leave a safety zone of grass around the nest until they are gone.

Trees

Keep branches around your house trimmed in order to dissuade wild critters from climbing. Be sure to look carefully at the limbs for birds and squirrels prior to trimming. Make sure that there are no nests there. If by chance a nest is accidentally knocked out here are some guidelines for preserving the animals..

Retrieve the babies and the nest and move them to a secure nearby area.

If the nest is damaged, do your best to mend it or replace it with something of similar size.

It is ok to use a household container as long as it hasn’t been used previously for cleaners.

You could punch holes in the bottom of plastic containers to help for drainage.

Be on the lookout for the mother to come back. Do not worry that if a human scent gets on the babym it will cause the mother to reject it. That is a myth.

Got Nuisance WILDLIFE? Call 1-866-263 WILD!

Nuisance Wildlife Removal Inc is  a locally and family-owned business that has been operating in Manatee and Sarasota county for 20 years. We are the real experts and have the long-time experience to prove it. Don’t trust your home or family to a new kid on the block. Call today to speak with a trusted professional. 

To read part II of our Raccoon FAQ installment series “Are Raccoons Dangerous During the Day?” click here

To read part I of our Raccoon FAQ installment series “How to Get Rid of a Raccoon?” click here

Nuisance Wildlife Removal Inc