Nuisance Wildlife

Dealing with Pests

Introduction
Wildlife Myths vs. Facts
Wildlife Problems: Facts & Solutions

• Snakes
• Armadillos
• Bats
• Woodpeckers
• Raccoons, Skunks & Opossums
Trapping & Relocation

Introduction

It is impossible to live in Florida without encountering wildlife daily. Many of these experiences are enjoyable, while others are unpleasant. Unpleasant interactions with our wild neighbors can result in human death, injury, property damage, and minor nuisances. Some of our frustrations with wildlife can be taken care of just by learning why a situation occurs. Other difficulties with wildlife require action.

Wildlife Myths vs. Facts

Knowing why the snake is in your garden, why the armadillo is digging up your lawn, or why the woodpecker is drilling holes in the side of your house is an essential first step toward resolving these and other wildlife nuisance problems. Often the reasons are obvious. Snakes prefer shaded areas where they might find a toad, mouse, or other food item. Armadillos don't excavate lawns as a prank--they are merely looking for ants, grubs, and other soil-dwelling insects.

Some problems--such as woodpeckers damaging house siding--may be puzzling and require some research. You may need the opinion of a wildlife expert to help interpret your findings. For example, you may not know that loud resonating pecking in one spot is a method woodpeckers use to mark territories. Other pecking patterns may be the result of woodpeckers foraging for wood-boring insects that have infested your siding.

Misunderstandings are common causes of many frustrations and fears that people have about wildlife. For example, contrary to popular belief, most snakes in Florida can't hurt you--let alone kill you--and most bats don't carry rabies. Separating myths from facts can alleviate many fears and help you to appreciate wildlife more, particularly in urban environments.

Wildlife Problems: Facts & Solutions

Snakes

Facts

People are not born with an innate fear of snakes. Instead, most of us were taught at an early age to fear snakes as dangerous creatures.
Statistics show that the potential danger of highway accidents is at least a hundred times greater than the chance of being bitten by a venomous snake. There are over 100,000 reported cases of dog bites in Florida each year, compared to only an estimated two hundred people bitten by venomous snakes.
Snake-bite-related deaths have occurred in Florida at a rate of approximately one death every four or five years--mortality statistics for lightning strikes and bee stings are much greater!
Snakes are not aggressive and will not charge or chase after people. Their typical reaction to a human intruder is to crawl away and hide.
When threatened, snakes may not crawl away and hide. 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, much the same way a dog sniffs at things. A snake showing his tongue is not acting aggressively or threateningly.

Solutions

There are no repellents, toxicants, or fumigants registered for snakes.
Many home remedies--such as blood, hair, and various chemicals--may seem to work in some situations. However, unless the item has been scientifically tested, its effectiveness is questionable.
You can reduce the frequency of snake visits to your yard and home by eliminating firewood stacks, debris, boards, and other objects lying close to the ground that create appealingly cool, damp, and dark shelters and prey habitat areas.
Snakes can be removed from inside buildings by placing glueboards or funneled minnow traps in snake-traveled areas, such as along walls.

Armadillos

Facts

The most notable armadillo damage occurs as a result of their rooting in lawns, vegetable gardens, and flower beds.
Armadillos live in dens. Some damage can be caused by their burrowing under foundations, driveways, and other structures.
More than ninety percent of the armadillo's diet is made up of insects and their larvae that live in the soil. They also feed on earthworms, scorpions, spiders, and other invertebrates.
Armadillos are most active at night, when they make small cone-shaped holes in the ground while rooting for food.

Solutions

There are no successful repellents, toxicants, or fumigants registered for armadillos.
The use of insecticides to reduce food sources also has not been proven to stop armadillo digging.
A fence slanted outward at a 40° angle--with a portion buried--may be a somewhat effective barrier under certain conditions.
Although live-trapping armadillos is very difficult, some people have experienced limited success by using a 10×12×32 inch (25×30×80 cm) live or box trap. The bait used by successful trappers is earthworms in a ball of dirt and placed in the toe of an old nylon stocking.
Trapping is most effective when leaf litter or soil is placed over the trap entrance. Armadillos caught in these traps can be released in an area where you have obtained landowner permission to do so, ideally several miles away from your home.
Shooting is another effective method to eliminate nuisance armadillos. However, discharging firearms is illegal in some areas. It also is illegal to use artificial lights other than outdoor house lights to aid in shooting at night.
Armadillo meat is edible if properly prepared.

Bats

Facts

Bats may enter buildings and become a nuisance by their squeaking, scratching, scrambling, and crawling in attics, walls, and chimneys.
Bat droppings can accumulate and cause quite a stench inside buildings and an unsightly mess on the outside of buildings.
Bats are active at night and seek dark and secluded roosting areas during the day. Their natural roosting habitats are caves and trees.
Most bats are able to squeeze through slits and cracks no wider than 3/8 inch.
Bats commonly enter a house through the overhang of the roof or eaves. Inside, they are most often found in attics, between roofs and ceilings, in crevices around the roof, in walls, in chimneys, and occasionally in crawl spaces.
Outside, they may roost behind shutters or under wood shingles, roofing, drain gutters, awnings, overhang trim, and flashing around chimneys.
Bats also fly around swimming pools to drink and to catch insects.
Street and porch lights may attract flying insects which in turn attract bats.
Rabies is a potential health hazard with bats, but the incidence of rabies in bats has been greatly exaggerated. During the past thirty years, only eight human fatalities in the United States and Canada have been attributed to rabid bats. More people die annually from dog attacks, bee stings, lightning, or household accidents than from bat-transmitted rabies.

Solutions

Excluding bats from buildings is the soundest long-term solution.
Bats should be out of the building before bat proofing begins so as not to seal bats inside.
Holes should be blocked in the early evening after dark, when the bats have left the structure to feed.
Several successful bat excluders with one-way valve doors and funnel screens have been developed.
During the summer, a bat colony may contain a large number of baby bats too young to fly that are left alone in the colony while their mothers are out feeding. If the entrances to the colony are blocked while young or adult bats are inside, they will eventually die and create an offensive odor in the house. They also may search for ways out of the house and end up in the living quarters.
Repellents such naphthalene crystals, illumination, and high frequency sounds have provided temporary relief in some situations.
Roosting boxes may attract bats that are excluded from a building, but this is not recommended as a reliable bat control method.

Woodpeckers

Facts

Woodpeckers can peck holes in wooden house siding, gutters, drainpipes, and chimney and exhaust vents.
The noise and damage from this pecking activity sometimes is annoying.
There are three reasons why woodpeckers peck on houses:
- The first and most common reason is to establish territories and attract mates. This predominantly springtime behavior--called "drumming"--generally is done in rapid succession on resonant dead tree trunks or limbs. However, buildings and utility poles are often used as alternatives. Drumming may occur a number of times during a single day, and may last for days or months.
- The second reason woodpeckers attack our houses is to feed on insects that may have infested our siding. They naturally search vertical surfaces of tree trunks and branches for woodboring beetles, carpenter ants, and other insects. The pecking style used for feeding is much different than drumming. Only a few pecks are made and then the resulting hole is explored with the bird's bill and tongue. This behavior will continue until an insect is found or the bird is satisfied that one is not there. Then the woodpecker may hop a few inches away and peck at another place. The damage from this feeding activity usually occurs in horizontal lines that follow tunnels made by the insects.
- The third reason for woodpecker damage occurs when they excavate nesting cavities through house siding. Cedar siding is fairly soft and particularly vulnerable to woodpecker attacks of this nature. Fortunately, this attack is not very common.

Solutions

One of the most effective methods of preventing woodpeckers from damaging wood siding is to cover the siding with lightweight mesh nylon or plastic netting hung from the eaves. The netting should stand at least three inches out from the siding.
Another exclusion technique is to cover the siding with sheets of plastic. Woodpeckers will not be able to perch on this smooth surface.
In some situations, you can achieve limited success by using model owl or hawk silhouettes or various noise-making devices.
Woodpeckers can be very persistent and are not easily driven from their territories or selected pecking sites. For this reason, visual or sound types of repellents should be employed as soon as the problem is identified and before territories are well established.

Raccoons, Skunks & Opossums

Facts

These animals quite often make pests of themselves by getting into garbage cans, eating pet food, getting into attics or beneath houses, and eating home-grown fruits and vegetables.
Raccoons are a major carrier of rabies in Florida.
Raccoons, skunks, and opossums are all opportunistic and have adapted well to urbanization. They will eat any plant, insect, or other animal food that is readily available.
Raccoons have learned that uncapped chimneys make very adequate substitutes for more traditional hollow den trees.

Solutions

Garbage can raids may be prevented by using metal or tough plastic containers with tight-fitting lids. If lids do not fit tightly, it may be necessary to wire, weight, or clamp them down.
Tie garbage containers also to a support or a rack to prevent raccoons from tipping them over.
These animals will not be as attracted to your property if you do not leave pet food outside at night.
Access to chimneys can be prevented by fastening a commercial cap of sheet metal and hardware cloth over the top of the chimney.
These animals can be kept out from underneath houses by sealing off all possible entrances. To determine whether the animal is out of the sheltered area, sprinkle a liberal amount of baking flour near the entrance. Wait until an hour or so after dusk, and see if there are any tracks leading out of the entrance. If there are, then seal it off.
In certain cases, constructing an electric fence six inches off the ground will solve the problem.
Repellents such as naphthalene crystals and noise-making devices may have limited temporary effectiveness.
Live traps baited with sardines or cat food are effective for garden damage situations.

Trapping & Relocation

Once an animal is caught, another problem is created--what to do with it? Trap-and-release of wildlife is seldom biologically sound. Areas that appear suitable for release probably are not. Areas without a resident population of the same species as the relocated animal most likely do not meet its habitat requirements.

Relocating animals to already-occupied areas causes problems for both the relocated creature and the resident population of the same species. Relocation permits from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) are required to transport and release any native wildlife species. For raccoons in particular, relocation is discouraged, and relocation permits will not be issued in many areas because of the possibility of spreading rabies.

The Florida FWC 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 locate an authorized nuisance wildlife trapper in your area, visit Florida FWC's Nuisance Wildlife Trappers page.