You think you just have nuisance wildlife, but what are they REALLY trying to tell you?

1. •Raccoons: You probably have too many food sources available to them. Remove pet foods and trash at night.
   

2. •Skunks: You probably have grubs and bugs (or bees) in or near your house.
   

3. •Fox: You probably have mice.
   

4. •Whitetail Deer: You have plants they like (and if it’s been a tough year, they are HUNGRY).
   

5. •Bear: You are providing a food source. Trash and pet foods are the most common. Electric fencing works well to keep bear away from beehives.
   

6. •Snakes: You have mice or other rodents.
   

7. •Mice/Rats: You might have grains, seeds or human foods out that they are being fed from. Keep the area clean of food droppings.
   

8. •Opposum: You need to bring pet foods and trash in at night.
   

9. •Woodpeckers: You have bugs in your siding.
   

10. •Moles/Voles: You have grubs in your soil.

So, you have a wild animal coming around making a pest of itself? You just want the problem GONE! Keep this in mind. wildlife are looking for several things (and if they find them, they’ll stick around): Food, Water and Shelter.

If you can remove those, then your problem with resolve itself. Are you leaving pet food out at night? Are you leaving trash cans out? Do you have a compost pile nearby? Do you keep bird feeders filled and out at night? All those are food sources. We recommend you bring foods in at night (birds don’t eat at night, anyway). Leaving foot out and available is an open invitation, so if you don’t want those visitors, don’t invite them!

Make sure your home and outbuildings are critter-proof -- close off all areas where wildlife can get in. (But remember, if you trap an animal that has settled inside, it MAY have babies! So be sure to look for the babies and if possible, capture all of them. Contact us for help on relocating mother and babies.) Remove nearby deadfall piles of branches (they make good hiding places for wildlife).

To deter wildlife that have taken up residence, once you’ve done the above: Play loud music near their dens, anchor helium balloons near their den (to create movement that mimics a predator), put down ammonia or predator urine nearby (to make them think a predator is coming around. You can buy predator urine in plant nurseries, or you can even do it yourself --- or borrow a male dog to pee nearby). Just make a nuisance of yourself to the nuisance animal and they will move on. Be careful not to get too close, especially if you have a mother with babies. They can attack to defend the babies.

See this link for more hints: http://www.arkofva.com/Nuisance-Wildlife.html