Co-existing with Wildlife FAQs

Although you may not always see them due to their secretive habits, coyotes are found in all 88 counties in Ohio. They adapt well to new environments, and their presence should not invoke fear. It is, however, good to take precautions to prevent close encounters between your pets and a coyote. Coyotes mainly prey on rodents, rabbits and deer, but sometimes, outdoor cats and unleashed dogs can be seen as prey. If you encounter a coyote or know one is in your neighborhood, it is advisable to:

• Keep cats indoors
• Keep your dog on a shorter leash if you walk it at night
• Wave your hands and look as big as possible

Although coyote attacks on humans are extremely rare, never run from coyotes. Learn more at the Urban Coyote Research Project.

In any of these instances, the animal (bird, baby bunny, adult squirrel, etc.) should always be brought to the Wildlife Hospital for evaluation. If it appears unharmed from the attack, our staff will return the animal to you for reuniting with its parent.

• All wild animals attacked by cats will require hospitalization. Cats have many different strains of harmful bacteria in their mouths, and that can create dangerous health situations for animals they attack if they don’t kill it upon the first encounter.
• Unseen tiny puncture wounds are common, and may lead to infection. Punctures rarely bleed, are often not readily visible to the untrained eye and are always more serious than they may appear.
• Additionally, crushing may cause internal injury, and shaking may cause neurological damage.

It is best to keep pet cats indoors. Allowing unleashed cats outside not only leaves them susceptible to many diseases, but also lets them prey on vulnerable wildlife and fight for territory with other wild animals, risking injury or illness.

Put a wooden board or platform into the window well, trash can or dumpster at an angle and allow the animal to climb out. Do not try to touch, catch or move it from the area after it climbs out.

Assisted eviction/rescue for a trapped animal

• Place a desirable food item in the bottom of a kitchen garbage can.
• Tie a rope around the top of the can, or through the handles.
• Lower it into the window well or dumpster until the can is laying sideways on the bottom.
• While the animal is eating the food item, slowly pull the can upright and then bring it up with the animal inside. Carefully lay the can down in a clear area so the animal can exit the can.

It is unlawful to interfere with live traps set legally by property owners or by Commercial Nuisance Wild Animal Control Operators (pest control companies). Legally set traps should have contact information on the trap. If it’s a private trap, you can ask the home or business owner. Call the Ohio Division of Wildlife at 1-800-WILDLIFE for assistance locating the owner or for guidance on next steps.

If the animal has been left for hours in a trap set by someone else, they should gather evidence (photos with dates and times) and call the Ohio Division of Wildlife at 1-800-WILDLIFE or the trap’s owner.

A trap must be checked every calendar day by the person who set it.

Yes! If the animal was trapped with the purpose of getting it to medical care, you can bring the animal in for treatment. The animal may be returned to your property after care.

Any animal that was trapped to remove it as a nuisance animal cannot come to our Wildlife Hospital for help. According to Ohio law, this animal must either be released back on the property where it was trapped or be euthanized, even if it is an animal that you did not intend to trap. Our hospital will not euthanize this animal.

Refer to a very helpful comprehensive, free resource – Wild Neighbors – for more detailed information on how to co-exist with animals on your property.

Woodpeckers drum for territorial displays, roosting or nesting, and foraging reasons. If the birds are looking for insects, the holes will be small and irregular. Consult an insect specialist/exterminator.

Try hanging long strips of iridescent reflective tapes near the focus area that will blow in the wind. Also consider windsocks on the corners of the house or handheld pinwheels near the affected areas.

For persistent birds, there are products that project bird calls and distress signals of predatory birds. There are also various balloon-like products available with holographic eyes that appear to track the animal in question, aiming to scare it from the site. See www.bird-x.com for more details.

There is a good chance the birds are Chimney Swifts, which have lost much of their original roosting/nesting habitat (old hollow trees) and have found chimneys a suitable replacement.

Like all migratory bird species, they are federally protected. It is illegal to disturb the nest or the birds.

It will take only three weeks for the parents to raise the babies and move out of the chimney.

You may hear the sharp, ear-piercing calls of the young swifts begging for food from the adults repeatedly throughout the day. If possible, wait until the babies have fledged before taking action. Usually, you will only hear these calls for two weeks. Once the young and adult birds have left, consider having a chimney cap installed by professional technicians

Chimney Swifts are important to our environment for consuming mosquitoes, biting flies, termites and other nuisance insects. They are very important birds for bug control. Read more at www.chimneyswifts.org.

Eliminate the problem, not the animal! Wildlife are seeking food, water and shelter at all times. Remaining vigilant about keeping a home or business free of these attractants is the best way to keep humans and animals safe.

Food

Tightly secure outdoor garbage can lids. If there is a nearby trash dumpster, make sure the lid is closed at all times. Encourage neighbors to do the same thing.

Do not leave dog or cat food and water bowls outside at night. If you must feed outdoor cats, feed them for a short period of time while the cats are present and remove the food when the cat is done feeding. Making dog or cat food available outside is problematic because:

• It attracts larger numbers (and different species) of animals to one location than would be normal in a stable population.
• It increases the likelihood of fighting, disease transmission, and interaction with humans or a neighbor’s pets.
• Animals may become dependent on supplemental feeding and they may not learn where appropriate local food sources are located.

Remove all bird feeders from your yard if persistent problems exist. Clean up all the seeds that may have accumulated on the ground.

Pick up fruit that has fallen from trees. Place metal sheet guards around the trunks of trees to discourage raccoons and opossums from climbing them.

To humanely discourage animals from entering a yard or garden, “water scarecrows” are a good suggestion. They are motion activated sprinklers that can be found on Amazon.com at affordable prices. They can be used for short periods of time until the animal has moved on.

Water

Empty bird baths at night if they show signs of raccoon use. Raccoons sometimes like to “wash” their food before eating, so a birdbath may be muddied or nearly empty each morning. Look for tracks around the bird bath.

Shelter

Keep garage doors closed except when entering and leaving. Garages provide animals with many dark, cozy spaces to find rest.

An entryway into a structure that needs to be sealed is often what attracts animals. Common entry points for raccoons, skunks, woodchucks, opossums and squirrels are underneath porches and decks, uncapped chimneys, and attic spaces. These should be repaired once wild animals have been evicted from these spaces. 

There are several ways you can try to temporarily evict an animal in a humane manner:

• Illuminate burrows, attics or chimneys with a bright light source for extended periods of time to make the spot less desirable.
• Place a radio (tuned to a talk station) in the occupied area (during dry weather) for at least 24 hours. Though animals may thrive in human-made environments, they still prefer to avoid close human contact. The sound of constant human voices will often cause these animals to seek a new den site.
• Monitor the area in question closely. Take advantage of the animals’ normal foraging times (e.g. raccoons, opossums and skunks are nocturnal) and watch/listen for the animals to leave the area.

Once you are sure all animals have exited the space, seal off the entrance to prevent re-entry.

• A temporary seal such as newspaper, cardboard, or loose straw may be used during baby season to confirm the presence of young animals.
• To ensure there are no animals entering or exiting a burrow, place dry flour around the entrance. Remote monitoring with a trail camera is also a good tactic.
• If the temporary seal is undisturbed for multiple days or if there are no footprints in the flour or activity on camera, it should be safe to close up the hole permanently.

If the animal under the porch/deck/house is a mother with offspring, wait to use these techniques until after the young are mobile. Evict the family after the young are repeatedly sighted following the mother out on feeding excursions.

Woodchucks, bats and thirteen-lined ground squirrels are Ohio’s only true hibernating mammals. These animals should only be evicted when they are alert and active in the spring, preferably before babies are born.