Nuisance Wildlife

Dealing with Pests

It is impossible to live in Florida without encountering wildlife daily. Many of these experiences are enjoyable, but some can be unpleasant. Negative interactions with our wild neighbors can result in injury, property damage, and minor nuisances. Some of our frustrations with wildlife can be taken care of just by properly preventing a situation before it occurs; others may require control management actions.

Wildlife Problems

• Snakes
• Armadillos
• Bats
• Woodpeckers
• Raccoons, Skunks, and Opossums
A Note on Trapping & Relocation

Wildlife Problems

Snakes

The danger of highway accidents is a hundred times greater than being bitten by a venomous snake.
Snake-bite-related deaths have occurred in Florida at a rate of approximately one death every four or five years—less than deaths from lightning strikes.
Snakes prefer shaded areas where they might come across prey like mice and toads.
Snakes will not charge or chase after people. Their typical reaction is to crawl away and hide.
When threatened, some will hiss, shake their tail, and even try to bite an intimidating object.
All snakes stick out their tongue frequently to smell their environment. A snake showing its tongue is not acting aggressively or threateningly.

Prevention and Control

For most people, snakes are unwanted visitors in homes and on properties, especially venomous snakes.

Snakes can be deterred from your yard and home by eliminating firewood stacks, debris, boards, and other objects lying close to the ground that create cool, dark shelters and prey habitat areas. Remove snakes from buildings by placing glueboards or funneled minnow traps in snake-traveled areas, such as along walls.

There are no repellents, toxicants, or fumigants registered for snakes. Unless a home remedy has been scientifically tested, its effectiveness is questionable.

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Armadillos

More than ninety percent of the armadillo's diet is made up of insects, larvae, and other invertebrates in the soil.
Armadillos are most active at night, when they root in the ground for food.

Prevention and Control

Slanted fencing that is partially buried can be used to exclude armadillos from an area. This is a somewhat effective barrier.

It is difficult, but some people are successful with live trapping. Florida law requires that “nuisance” animals that have been trapped be humanely killed or released on the same contiguous property as they were caught. This prevents ecological disturbances and disease spread.

Shooting is an option, and armadillo meat is edible; however, remember that it is illegal to discharge firearms in some areas and that it is illegal to use artificial lights to aid in shooting.

There are no successful repellents, toxicants, or fumigants registered for armadillos. Using insecticides on soil insects has not been proven to reduce armadillo digging.

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Bats

Bats are nocturnal and roost during the day, normally in caves and trees.
Bats enter buildings and can roost in walls, attics, and chimneys. Their accumulated droppings cause an undesirable mess and smells.
They can squeeze into cracks as small as 3/8 of an inch.
Bats eat insects and are often attracted by flying insects around street lights.
The incidence of rabies in bats is exaggerated; only eight deaths in the US and Canada in the past thirty years have been from bat-transmitted rabies.

Prevention and Control

Exclusion is the only legal method for getting rid of bats in buildings. Exclusion can only be done starting in August, through the winter months. From April to August it is illegal to exclude bats from buildings because baby bats will likely be trapped inside. For more information on effective bat exclusion methods, contact your local Extension agent or read Bats in Buildings.

Bat repellents such as illumination and high-frequency sounds can serve as temporary solutions. Roosting boxes can attract excluded bats, but is not considered a control method.

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Woodpeckers

Woodpeckers can peck holes in a home’s exterior, causing structural damage and a noise nuisance.
Woodpeckers peck to “drum” to establish territories and attract mates; feed on insects; and excavate nest sites.

Prevention and Control

Hanging mesh or nylon netting provides effective protection for home siding. Make sure it is at least three inches off the siding.

Covering siding in plastic sheets will keep the woodpeckers from being able to perch on the house.

Woodpeckers are persistent and not easily driven away from established sites. Visual or sounds repellants (model owl or hawk silhouettes, noise-making devices) should be used as soon as a problem develops.

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Raccoons, Skunks, and Opossums

These animals frequently get into garbage cans, home gardens, attics, and crawl spaces beneath homes. Raccoons also den in uncapped chimneys.
All three are opportunistic and well adapted to urban environments. They will eat any plant, insect, or animal food available.
Raccoons are a major rabies carrier in Florida.

Prevention and Control

Keep these animals out of your yard by preventing access to food. Use metal or tough plastic garbage cans with tight-fitting or clamped or weighted lids. Also support them so that they cannot be tipped over. Do not leave pet food out at night.

Cap chimneys and seal off entrances underneath homes. Repellants are sometimes temporarily effective.

Live trapping can work as a method for dealing with garden damage. Florida law requires that “nuisance” animals that have been trapped be humanely killed or released on the same contiguous property as they were caught. This prevents ecological disturbances and disease spread.

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A Note on Trapping & Relocation

Trapping should be a matter of last resort. Once an animal is caught, another problem is created: what to do with it. As previously mentioned, Florida law requires that “nuisance” animals that have been trapped be humanely killed or released on the same contiguous property as they were caught. Animals can only be transported if they are being taken in for a euthanasia procedure.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission regulates and manages the state's native wildlife resources. There are certain laws, rules, and regulations with which anyone who is baiting, trapping, transporting, or killing nuisance wildlife should be familiar. For more information or to find out who to contact for wildlife problems in your area, visit the FWC's Nuisance Wildlife page.