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Police
Wildlife Management
Human and domestic animal encounters with wildlife are becoming more and more frequent, especially as we develop areas that have historically been wildlife habitat. The Roanoke Animal Control and Protection Unit responds to calls of domestic animals creating public nuisances, animal bites and/or attacks on citizens, and animal abuse and neglect cases. Animal Control Officers also educate the public on pet care and control, and ensure the licensing of dogs housed within the city. The Animal Control and Protection Unit deals strictly with domestic animals, and does not respond to calls for service regarding wildlife, unless that wildlife is posing an imminent danger to public safety. It can be costly to hire a private company to have these animals trapped and relocated, and they frequently return or others take their place. You can also inadvertently trap a neighbor’s pet, or your own in the process.
What to do if a wild animal enters your home
There are a few simple things you can do to deter wildlife from taking up residence on your property. Animals are attracted to areas where there is food and shelter. The following tips can make your property less attractive to animals such as raccoons, skunks, opossums, and bats (just to name a few).
- Make sure trash can lids are securely attached. If wildlife keeps getting into your garbage try adding a cup of ammonia to the garbage bag before you close it.
- The smell of ammonia can drive wildlife away from your property and your home.
- Pick up any fruits or nuts that drop from your trees. Dropped food is a quick and easy buffet for wildlife.
- Sprinkle cayenne pepper around gardens and ornamental plants.
- Don’t store a pet’s food bowl outside.
Wildlife can also take up residence in your home. The following tips will help eliminate access to your home.
- Repair holes in deck lattices.
- If you live in a mobile home, seal the open space from the bottom of the home to the ground with wire cloth, cement block, or wood lattice.
- Replace torn screens in windows and doors.
- Cap chimneys.
- Make sure you don’t have any cracks or holes in your home that lead outside. These can be on the roof or in the foundation.
- Block vents with insect screen.
- Block your dryer vent.
If an animal gets into your home don’t chase it around or try to pick it up. Some wildlife carry diseases and can bite through gloves. The following tips can help you get rid of wildlife that has moved into your home, or on your property.
- Place a full pan of ammonia into your fireplace, if an animal makes a home in your chimney.
- Close the fireplace doors and open the flu when doing this.
- If a bat enters your home the best thing to do is open a window in the room in which the bat is located. Then close the door to that room. Turning out lights also helps. With the lights on a bat will seek a dark place, which can be your furniture or curtains.
- If a bat has made a home in your attic, wait until dusk to patch the vent with insect screen. This way the bats are out of your home and won’t be able to get back in. Remember to close the hole completely. A bat can squeeze through a crack that is only a ½ inch wide.
- If an opossum or raccoon has made a home in your attic, use a radio to create a loud noise. Bright lights can also encourage these animals to leave.
- If you try to trap an animal make sure to use the correct bait. Peanut butter works best for chipmunks or squirrels. Sardines are good bait for raccoons and opossums. Tuna fish works for trapping skunks, while corn on the cob works best for rabbits and woodchucks.
If you don’t want to handle a wildlife problem yourself, you can hire a private trapper. These companies can be found in your telephone book.
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