Controlling wildlife

A Minnesota landowner peered through his steaming cup of coffee one morning to view his newly planted, beautiful and expensive poplar trees in the early morning light. They weren't there. Vandals had knocked down all five of the trees in the night, and the evidence lay on the manicured lawn like broken matchsticks.

Cries to neighbors gathered a small crowd. Neighborhood kids were accused of wielding hatchets in the night; police were summoned. Someone took a look at the gnaw marks on the stumps and proclaimed the kids innocent. Beavers.

Enter a wildlife removal expert

Michael Tucker makes a living doing what most people can't. He can purge pesky beavers, keep coons out of chimneys, move moles from marigolds and gophers off of greens. If there's a problem with a critter, he's probably got an idea about how to solve it.

He is one of a growing group of wildlife control experts. As suburban America expands into the country, tracts of land include ponds, trees, lush vegetation, gardens, and pastures. These acreages have created corridors and edge areas that are a boon to wildlife says Tucker. Ponds are created and cattails begin to grow where soybeans and alfalfa stood before. Animals proliferate, sometimes with undesirable results for landowners.

In some areas, for example, opossums can be a real danger to horses, says Tucker. They carry EPM (equine protozoal myeloencephalitis), a deadly horse disease. Horses pick up EPM through opossum feces while grazing.

Groundhogs cause problems with their constant need to burrow under buildings and in pastures. Squirrels can be trouble, too, says Tucker. "They will get into a building and nest in the attic and chew on electrical wires, exposing them to contact with wood and insulation materials. We get them all out and seal the openings up tight."

Problem getting worse

Tucker has been trapping animals since age 7, when he would rid farms near his hometown of Bloomington, Minnesota, of gophers. He started his business in 1986 and is a member of the National Wildlife Control Operators' Association (NWCOA), a group that sets standards and provides training for members.

"When I started trapping in Bloomington as a kid, it was pretty rural," says Tucker. "Now, it's nothing but houses, and many have wildlife problems. Wildlife control has really grown with the suburban growth in the last 20 years. There are hardly any trappers left in suburban areas, so populations of furbearers like raccoons and beaver go wild. With a lack of hunting pressure in many areas, we're seeing problems with geese, coyotes, and deer."

What to look for in a professional

When it's time to hire a professional, says Tucker, look for someone who is licensed and insured. Ask about their training level, experience, and affiliation with a state or national trade organization such as NWCOA. Some states require licensing for wildlife control operators and some don't. A good place to find a trained operator in your area is to visit this site, says Tucker.

http://www.wildlifeoperators.com/

Prices for animal or bird removal usually are based on type of species, time spent, and expenses, he says. "Squirrels are pretty easy. Coyotes are more difficult to remove because they have such large territories."

Tucker photographs his removals so he can show homeowners that their problem is being handled. He makes several trips to some properties to rid them of pests. Some animals can be released into wild areas, and some are destroyed. Some states require that control operators euthanize certain species due to rabies infestations and the transmission of other diseases. "We don't ever want to release a diseased animal into a healthy population or vice versa," says Tucker. "But we usually are able to handle trapped animals according to a customer's wishes."

Sometimes his work goes hi-tech. Goose control, especially on golf courses and around city lakes, gets complicated. "Geese have a tendency to imprint on the area they're raised in," says Tucker. "Even if you capture them and move them out of state, they'll be back."

Techniques for controlling geese include removal, fencing, pond gridding, hazing with border collies, motion- activated sprinkler systems, and disruption of eggs in a nest. Tucker even uses laser dispersal techniques where laser beams haze and disrupt geese at night from up to 1,000 yards away. Sometimes the constant disruption forces them to fly away and find a new area.

Deer are another problem animal. Large herds of deer in an area will decimate expensive ornamentals, shrubs, and fruit trees. "Best thing to do with deer is either fence them out or contact your state fish and game department for more information on their policies," he says.

Get more information

Michael Tucker
Wildlife Removal Services
Bloomington, Minnesota
Phone: 952/884-3707
E-mail: tucker@uscorp.net

Internet Center for Wildlife Damage
Web: http://wildlifedamage.unl.edu

Wildlife Habitat Restoration Project

Living with Wildlife is a four-part series on wildlife habitat restoration sponsored by New Holland and Pheasants Forever.

The series will give tips from landowners and experts on how to plan, install, maintain, and enjoy wildlife habitat on your land.

Look for part three in the next issue. The topic will be "Managing a wildlife habitat," and will include information on disking, burning, crop tree release, mowing and spraying.

Visit the Wildlife Habitat Restoration Project for more information and past articles: http://www.livingthecountrylife.com/articles/wildlife.html