Bryson Cove Homeowners (BCH) Association

Moles, Deer, etc

Frustrated from moles? How about Deer?

Although it is nice to see these animals around the neighborhood, the following are common “problem animals” in Central Ohio and suggestions for deterring them from taking up residence in your home, yard, garden, etc.

Deer, Skunks, ....

here are a few ideas

Deer
Do not feed them. Plant vegetation deer do not find edible. Some residents are known to place hay, grain and other food with the intention of attracting deer. This only increases the problem by encouraging more deer to inhabit the area.

Skunks
Skunks often dig burrows under concrete slabs and porches. Wait until all animals leave the burrow then fill in the hole. This may have to be done several times (and frequently). Skunks eat insects and worms. Treating your yard for grubs may help decrease the skunks' diet and encourage them to “move along.”

Squirrels & Raccoons
Look for gnawed, chewed, or loose shingles and boards. After all animals have left the nest seal the entry/exit points with metal flashing or 1/4-inch hardware cloth. Chimney guards also keep these “critters” from gaining access to your house by way of “falling” down the chimney. If an animal does fall down the chimney try suspending a rope from the top to give the animal some assistance in climbing out. Baiting the rope also might help.

If an animal does get into your house close all interior doors, open exterior doors and windows to provide an exit and leave the room. Chasing the animal will frighten it and may cause it to “hole up” in a convenient hiding place (such as under a sofa) or may cause it to display aggressive behavior.

Groundhogs (Woodchucks)
Groundhogs often come into conflict with humans when the animal's burrowing damages building foundation, gardens, fruit trees, or ornamental shrubs/grasses. The groundhog's preferred diet consists of grasses, clover, legumes, peas, lettuce and apples. The most common locations for burrows are along fence rows, creeks, stone walls, roadsides, building foundations and bases of trees. Burrows have more than one entry point and several passages and rooms. A burrow may be from one foot to twelve feet long with a main entrance point of 10 to 12 inches in diameter. Groundhogs use their burrows for hibernating in winter, mating in spring, and raising their young until they are ready to leave the nest. Other animals such as rabbits, skunks, opossums and foxes may use the burrows as well. Groundhogs are also good climbers and can climb fences and trees. Placing fences along the bottoms of buildings and around gardens will help deter the groundhogs. Fences should be at least three feet high, and made of heavy, two-inch woven wire. Because of the animals' burrowing and climbing abilities the bottom edge of the fence should be buried 10 to 12 inches and the top 15 inches should be bent at a 45 degree angle. Professional exterminators may use gas cartridges, aluminum phoside, or trapping to remove the animals. Property owners should be aware that the use of gas cartridges can produce a fire hazard.

Bats
Bats can gain access to buildings through cracks, holes, vents, and uncapped chimneys. To exclude bats, seal cracks and crevices and screen off vents and chimneys. Bats can crawl through cracks as small as 1/3 inch. The best time to seal the entry/exit points is in August when young bats are learning to fly. Never touch or pick up a bat. If a bat has gained access to your home open a window to allow it to escape or trap the bat against a wall with a large can, then slide a piece of thin cardboard between the wall and the can opening to capture it.

Rats & Mice
Rats and mice are the most commonly encountered nuisance animals and represent the greatest health threat to humans and pets. Rats are known to transmit plague, typhus, food poisoning, leptospirosis, ratbite fever, trichinosis and other diseases. Mice transmit lymphocytic choriomeningitis and rickettsialpoy. Additionally, rats and mice deposit urine and feces everywhere they travel. The also carry fleas and mites that can transmit disease.

Rats and mice prefer dark, enclosed areas that are not regularly cleaned and are close to sources of food and water. Likely locations for nests include:

Double walls • Wooden floors in basements

Staircases • Wooden sidewalks

Boxed-in plumbing • Closed platforms

Under furniture • In piles of rubbish and ashes

In/around old boxes • Abandoned automobiles

Piles of old paper • In rag piles

Discarded furniture and bedding

Lumber & stored building materials

Rats and mice also can burrow. Rats can burrow up to four feet deep and have connecting tunnels with multiple exits.

To avoid infestation by rats and mice:

Use trash cans with tight-fitting lids.

Don't store refuse or discarded items.

Pick up litter or refuse left on the ground.

Make sure doors and windows fit snugly within their frames and are free of holes or gaps. Rotted or gnawed through panels should be replaced or repaired with metal channels or flashing

Replace broken window panes promptly.

Fill in openings in foundation walls with masonry or metal collars/shields (it only takes a half inch opening for a rat to enter).

Make sure floor drains have covers with openings less than half an inch in diameter and are in good repair.

Screen openings on roofs, ventilators, clothes dryer vents, etc. with hardware cloth.

Avoid feeding pets outside when possible. If feeding pets outside is unavoidable, empty any uneaten food at least daily (this will help deter rats and mice as well as help protect your pets from disease transmitted by rats and mice).

If infestation does occur it is permissible for property owners to kill rats and mice using traps and/or poison. Remember these traps and poisons can be harmful to humans and pets so follow all label directions carefully. Check the traps and bait (poison) locations frequently. Wear rubber gloves when handling dead animals, traps, and poisons. Place dead animals in sealed plastic bags and place inside trash receptacles for normal weekly refuse collection.

Rabbits
Rabbits are active all year, live virtually everywhere, and eat most succulent plants. While rabbits do not dig their own burrows they will use other animals' burrows. They will nest almost anywhere with an easily accessible food supply including open fields, pastures, orchards, mowed lawns, brushy fence rows, rose hedges, young pine plantings, brushy stream banks and dry drainage ditches. Nests are usually shallow depressions in the ground about 4-to-6 inches wide and 4-to-5 inches deep.

Rabbits prefer succulent plants such as clover, dandelion, ragweed, flowers, most vegetables (especially peas, beans, beets, and carrots), raspberry, blackberry, and ear corn. When the preferred food is scarce they will eat hay and the bark of fruit, shade and ornamental trees.

The best deterrent methods include:

Removing ground cover such as brush piles

Removing/cutting vegetation along fence rows and ditching

Frequent mowing of lawns

Placing low fences around gardens or shrubs (fences should be tight to the ground so the rabbits do not go under them).

Placing hardware cloth cylinders around trees. The cylinders should be one to two inches from the trunk and should extend beyond the animals reach when standing on snow cover.

Additionally there are chemical taste and odor repellents that homeowners may apply. Remember some repellents are poisonous and all label directions should be carefully followed. Check with a local nursery or garden center for suggested repellents. Usually, taste repellents are the most successful. Professional exterminators may be hired to perform live trapping and relocation of the animals.

Chimney Swifts
Chimney swifts are protected by the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act. It is illegal to remove the birds, eggs, or nests while in use. Have the chimney cleaned in the Fall and instruct the chimney sweep to destroy all nests at that time. Chimney guards will help prevent the birds from re-entering the chimney.

Canada Geese
Canada Geese are extremely adaptable. However, they are protected by the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act and it is illegal to remove the birds, eggs, or nests while in use.

The best practice is to prevent the geese from taking up residence and efforts must be prompt and persistent to accomplish this. Geese need proximity to water and cover for the nesting sites. To deter geese:

Do Not Feed Them. Although most people will welcome a pair of geese that pair can easily become 50 geese within five years.

Eliminate vegetation in and around ponds.

Plant trees and shrubs to block flight paths.

Use frightening devices such as flags, balloons, scarecrows, and water spraying devices.

Allow ponds to freeze in winter (turn off aerators and fountains).

Be persistent and constantly chase geese off your property early in the spring. Do not let them feel comfortable; chase them to encourage them to move elsewhere.

Aside from droppings the most common complaint from human-goose interaction involves injuries to humans as a result of a gander protecting the female, the nest, or the nesting territory. After hatching both the male and female will protect the goslings.

Links

traps etc
http://www.themoleman.com/control.htm
How to eliminate moles
OSU suggestions
Mole controls
Problem animals