Animal Of The Month
This story appears as an on-going series in the "Gilroy Dispatch", "Morgan Hill Times" and "Hollister Freelance".
March 2016: Anybody Home?
By Colleen Grzan
werc@werc-ca.org
March 2016: Anybody Home?
By Colleen Grzan
werc@werc-ca.org
Two Young Skunks
Spring is just around the corner and soon mommy raccoons, skunks and opossums will be looking for nursery space. In the natural world, these critters will find an ideal location in the wild to raise their babies—whether it be a hole in a tree or a burrow in the ground. But, to the exasperation of human residents, urbanized wildlife has found that our dwellings can provide safe havens for them, too. Have you put out a welcome sign on your house for them? Now is the time to check your house, roof, chimney, and decks so you can eliminate any openings that these animals can use to set up a den.
A professional can help you determine if there is an unwanted critter in the house. But if you prefer do-it-yourself, first thoroughly inspect your roof and foundation. If you find a hole and want to know if an animal is using it, you can put a thin layer of flour in front of the opening and check back later to see if there are paw prints. For nocturnal animals such as the above mentioned, spread the flour before dusk and inspect for prints in the morning. Repeat this routine for three days. If there is no activity, close it up. However, if you discover that you have a boarder, you can tape a sheet of newspaper over the hole during the day, put down more flour and check in the evening to see if the critter has gone out for dinner. If the prints show it has gone then put up a board to prevent it getting back in, then clean out the space and repair the hole during the day. BUT…don’t do this if you even suspect that there may be babies underneath—you do not want them trapped beneath your house or in the attic. You will have to wait until the youngsters are leaving with the mother (check for multiple prints in the flour). You can build a one way door from hardware cloth to cover the opening so the critters can get out but can’t get back in. If you are using flap-type pet doors, be sure to lock the door at dusk after your pets are inside. Prevention is the best approach.
Do not trap the animals. There are strict laws about where mammals may be released. Besides, for apparent reasons, trapping a skunk is definitely not a good idea for the untrained person! Ideally, it is best to let them relocate on their own, as many are nomadic and will soon move on after their young are more mature. Then seal up the entryways and take away the welcome mat. And finally, don’t leave pet food out at night – eliminate both the bed and the breakfast!
A valuable source for advice on effective and humane approaches for solving problems with wildlife can be found at http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/wild_neighbors/.
A professional can help you determine if there is an unwanted critter in the house. But if you prefer do-it-yourself, first thoroughly inspect your roof and foundation. If you find a hole and want to know if an animal is using it, you can put a thin layer of flour in front of the opening and check back later to see if there are paw prints. For nocturnal animals such as the above mentioned, spread the flour before dusk and inspect for prints in the morning. Repeat this routine for three days. If there is no activity, close it up. However, if you discover that you have a boarder, you can tape a sheet of newspaper over the hole during the day, put down more flour and check in the evening to see if the critter has gone out for dinner. If the prints show it has gone then put up a board to prevent it getting back in, then clean out the space and repair the hole during the day. BUT…don’t do this if you even suspect that there may be babies underneath—you do not want them trapped beneath your house or in the attic. You will have to wait until the youngsters are leaving with the mother (check for multiple prints in the flour). You can build a one way door from hardware cloth to cover the opening so the critters can get out but can’t get back in. If you are using flap-type pet doors, be sure to lock the door at dusk after your pets are inside. Prevention is the best approach.
Do not trap the animals. There are strict laws about where mammals may be released. Besides, for apparent reasons, trapping a skunk is definitely not a good idea for the untrained person! Ideally, it is best to let them relocate on their own, as many are nomadic and will soon move on after their young are more mature. Then seal up the entryways and take away the welcome mat. And finally, don’t leave pet food out at night – eliminate both the bed and the breakfast!
A valuable source for advice on effective and humane approaches for solving problems with wildlife can be found at http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/wild_neighbors/.