I love watching the bats fly down the street and around our trees in the evening. What I didn’t love, however, is hearing them in our ceilings and flying through our house. So, once the time was right (the pups were able to fly), I took action and used a one-way exclusion to make sure all the bats left, and then followed up by sealing the places they were getting in. The bats are still helping with insect control, but we don’t have to listen to them when trying to sleep!
Evaluating what we can and can not live with and then educating ourselves on how to address problems that may arise is an important element of having a wildlife-friendly landscape!
The impact we can have incorporating wildlife friendly practices throughout our lives is tremendous and beneficial to the natural world. But, what happens when those actions are too successful? What happens when we attract a type of wildlife that we’d rather not have at our home?
Wildlife conflict comes in a variety of forms from a feeling of uneasiness at something’s presence to damage done to a house. Below are tips for avoiding conflict when putting wildlife friendly practices into action.
Plan Ahead to Reduce Conflicts with Wildlife
Include Your Human Neighbors:
Let your neighbors know what you are doing, talk to them. This will provide a heads-up when they start seeing changes and can prepare them for seeing more wildlife in the area, whether that is more pollinators, birds, or other wildlife. Who knows? Maybe they’ll be interested in doing some things in their yard, too!
Where You Put Habitat Matters:
Thick vegetation and tall plants shouldn’t be up against the house: the plants will hold moisture and rub against the siding which can cause issues. Also, the mice that like that thicker vegetation will naturally want to seek warmer shelter, such as your house, when it gets cold. The thing to know about wildlife is that where one animal goes others will follow. So, after mice be ready for other critters like: insects, voles, snakes, chipmunks… Leave plenty of room between buildings and water sources or native plantings.
Avoid Supplemental Food:
Let wildlife eat from what nature provides. Any sort of additional attractants such as corn piles, pet food, or mineral is going to congregate more than what would naturally come through the area. More is not necessarily better. These type of feeding events connect humans (human smells, sounds, dwellings, etc…) with a reward. That might seem nice when it is a cute opossum. But when it is a family of raccoons that are now living in your neighbor’s garage or a coyote that preys on the feral cats you’re feeding, then it becomes a serious issue. And yes, it's okay to put up a bird feeder but be alert for any other animals the seed may attract and be prepared to take the feeders down in case it attracts something you weren’t ready for. In a nutshell, avoid leaving any kind of food out!
Embrace The Unexpected:
Nature cascades and cycles. If you’re putting in more plants that will flower and seed you will attract pollinating insects and critters that eat seeds. Then, animals that eat those smaller critters may come looking. At some point, that may attract a bigger predator that is interested in those animals. Be ready for nature to shift and appreciate those dynamics. Seeing a fox or a bobcat can be a wonderful experience (and can help control those squinnies)!
Native prairie plants = flowers and seeds. Flowers and seeds = insects and mice. Insects and mice = bats and snakes and fox. None of these are a bad thing, even though initially it might take some getting used to. This is a great opportunity to learn more about wildlife like snakes and bats that are incredibly important to the landscape.
Steps for Addressing a Conflict with Wildlife
- Exclusion: Utilize fencing or other structures to keep wildlife out of specific areas. Well placed fencing can be the most effective solution. Creative landscaping placement and design can work as well. Example: metal woven fencing, such as poultry fencing, around the bottom of a shed with a skirt that is buried a few inches to keep groundhogs from burrowing under the shed.
- Hazing: It is illegal to harm or kill most wildlife but some targeted actions to frighten and drive away specific animals is okay. Introducing a negative experience to unwanted animals can train them to avoid the area. This could be a loud noise, a frightening light, an unexpected spray of water, or the presence of a "predator". Example: if a coyote is hanging out in the backyard when you need to let out the dog then turn on the lights, yell at the coyote, wave your arms to make yourself look big, and spray it with a hose.
- Repellents: Repellents are a smell or taste applied to areas where animals are not wanted or specific plants that need to be protected. These are often based on spicy chemicals (capsaicin), uncomfortable reaction, or strong unpleasant smells (egg solids, blood meal, ammonia). Example: a grape extract chemical(Methyl anthranilate) sprayed on grass deters geese by irritating sensory receptors when they eat the grass and encourages the geese to go elsewhere.
- Habitat: Habitat, or the place they live, is the strongest force attracting an animal to an area. Carefully consider the different places animals live and if you want it to be close by. Example: a brush pile from cleaning out old hedge rows will attract skunks—if you don’t want skunks then clean up that brush pile as soon as possible or place it as far away as possible from your house.
- Removal: Sometimes removing individual animals that are causing an issue is the next step to take if other efforts are not successful. Removal can also include normal hunting activities that help manage wildlife populations. Important things to consider are the ethical treatment of the animals involved as well as predicting whether or not another animal may just move into the area and continue the unwanted activity. Example: raccoons have broken into your home’s vents so you hire a Nuisance Wildlife Control Operator to remove the raccoons. Make sure to repair the vents and make sure the initial entry point where the raccoons got into the crawlspace or ceiling is repaired and sealed. NOTE: check statewide DNR regulations and local city ordinances to make sure actions are legal where you are at.
Wildlife at all levels perform important functions that are vital to the way the world works. Wildlife and people can live together even if it doesn’t always look exactly as we thought it would. Use these tips to help prevent or overcome undesirable situations and we can all move forward together living with wildlife!
Want some further resources?
- DNR Wildlife Staff that can provide advice for wildlife conflict situations.
- A list of Nuisance Wildlife Control Operators which are private businesses licensed by the DNR to conduct wildlife removals for hire.
- Iowa State University extension has a lot of great educational resources regarding problem wildlife.
- Center for Wildlife Damage Management