Little Help With My Critter Woes?

[catjac1975]

I have actually seen the dog tree a woodchuck! I have also seen them sitting on fence posts!

I am wondering if that is a regional genetic trait. A farmer friend had the best farm dog mutt. It brought home many woodchucks all of the time.

 

[Carol Dee]

I am wondering if that is a regional genetic trait. A farmer friend had the best farm dog mutt. It brought home many woodchucks all of the time.

Will loves to go after groundhogs, But Bob calls him off. They can be MEAN. We seem to have far fewer since he began harassing them though.

 

[ducks4you]

If you do not drive literally miles to relocate a trapped critter it Will find it's way back to your yard. 1 mile doesn't cut it.
I can understand why you might not want a dog. They need training and somebody needs to care for them every day. But, why can you not have a cat? You don't have to train them to a litter box, you can leave food and water and clean litter and your cat will be fine all weekend. Do you have family members who are allergic?
Honestly, without traps or poison a cat or dog is the very best way to control the pests that you have. Maybe plant catnip?!?!?

 

[catjac1975]

If you do not drive literally miles to relocate a trapped critter it Will find it's way back to your yard. 1 mile doesn't cut it.
I can understand why you might not want a dog. They need training and somebody needs to care for them every day. But, why can you not have a cat? You don't have to train them to a litter box, you can leave food and water and clean litter and your cat will be fine all weekend. Do you have family members who are allergic?
Honestly, without traps or poison a cat or dog is the very best way to control the pests that you have. Maybe plant catnip?!?!?

It is illegal to relocate a wild animal. And no one wants your woodchucks.

 

[so lucky]

Yeah, I just checked Missouri's rules on getting rid of pesky critters. It appears that in Missouri, it is not necessarily illegal, but it is highly discouraged. They suggest you trap it then shoot it. Great.
It looks like in most states it is illegal to relocate.

 

[catjac1975]

Yeah, I just checked Missouri's rules on getting rid of pesky critters. It appears that in Missouri, it is not necessarily illegal, but it is highly discouraged. They suggest you trap it then shoot it. Great.
It looks like in most states it is illegal to relocate.

If you read the reasons for it makes a lot of sense. One main reason is the animal usually dies anyway. They can't just safely live in another animals territory.

 

[Ben E Lou]

Maybe plant catnip?!?!?

Yup. Planning on doing that.

 

[kiliyatsia]

I would think that you might need something different for each pest. What keeps a squirrel - who is probably entering your property from above - away won't have much effect on a ground hog. What scares a rabbit might not phase a bird.

In general, I think, netting is the xender discord omegle best option for birds. Trapping might be your best bet for squirrels. Maybe groundhogs too. Fencing is useful for a lot of folks who have rabbit problems.
But all of that is just hear-say... I have dogs and cats. Insects are my main critter problem.

and squirrels. A dog or cat isn't an option just yet. I'd love to hear what has worked to rid your area of critter issues. I live (barely) inside the city limits, so I can't discharge a firearm legally. Do any of the decoys work? What about coyote or human urine around the perimeter? Motion detecting sprinklers? Those little supposedly-bird-repelling holographic-looking

 

[flowerbug]

a six foot 2x4 mesh wire fence has been the best to keep almost all animals out of the gardens other than the birds (which i don't mind much because they eat bugs and leave birdie doo drops for fertilizer in return). the chipmunks are the remaining critters that can get through that fence, nothing else bothers (we don't plant corn so the raccoons don't often bother to climb over). a hot wire run on top of a finer mesh would be required to keep the chipmunks out.

squirrels are not too much of a problem here. it is open enough that the hawks will get them if they stray too far from the tree line/hedge to the north.

 

[catjac1975]

Yeah, I just checked Missouri's rules on getting rid of pesky critters. It appears that in Missouri, it is not necessarily illegal, but it is highly discouraged. They suggest you trap it then shoot it. Great.
It looks like in most states it is illegal to relocate.

The Mass.gov website tells you why relocating is illegal. Some of it has to do with the animal getting killed trying to get back home. And of course spreading disease. But I will say it again, no one wants your pests. Certain animals overpopulate because of the human habit of eradicating animals at the top of the food chain.