Urban Wildlife

Living with Wildlife

Wild neighbors like raccoons, skunks, deer and other animals have learned to live in our towns and cities. Human-wildlife conflicts have become more common as urban development spreads to natural habitats. 

Preventing Wildlife Conflicts

Peaceful co-existence with our wild neighbors is most successfully achieved by allowing these animals their niche in the urban environment while taking measures to prevent them from becoming a nuisance in your home or garden.

Do’s

• Tightly screen all access holes into buildings. Vents, gables, chimneys, eaves, and pipes are all potential entryways for wildlife to set up residence in the attic or under the home.
• Secure trash in sturdy plastic or metal cans with tightly fitting lids. If necessary, tie the lids down so they won’t become dislodged if the can is tipped over. Wait until the morning of pickup to put trash out.
• Eliminate food sources such as fallen fruit or unattended pet food, which may attract wildlife. Dog and cat water bowls, swimming pools and ponds have replaced water sources such as creeks. Raccoons roam neighborhoods each night – and often during the day – looking for food. They are opportunistic feeders, dining on insects, fruits, vegetables, acorns, seeds, fish and small mammals, as well as dog and cat food and garbage that is left out overnight.
• Construct fences and walls high enough to exclude smaller animals. Generally, coyotes won’t scale a fence higher than 6 feet. Installing extenders, which angle outward, to the top of each post and running 2 or 3 strands of wire along the extenders will help ensure that these animals don’t pass over the top. To stop animals from digging under a fence, attach chicken wire to the bottom and bury it at least 6 inches deep and 6 inches outward, parallel to the ground. Burying cinder blocks around the bottom of a fence will also discourage digging. Consider ‘Coyote Rollers’ on top of fences to keep animals out of your yard.
• Clear brush, dense ground cover, wood piles, and garden debris where wildlife and rodents may be living. Reducing the rodent population will eliminate an attractive food source for coyotes and other wildlife. Eliminating convenient den and nest sites will keep generations of wildlife out of your yard.
• Protect caged animals such as chickens and rabbits. A hutch which stands above ground should have a solid bottom to prevent your pet from becoming easy prey for a coyote or raccoon. Chicken coops must be extremely secure to prevent predators from climbing over or digging under the structure. Also, remember that the dexterous hands of raccoons can undo many latches or reach into cages to grab at animals.

Don’ts

• Don’t feed wildlife. Doing so will attract animals who are grateful for an easy handout.  Feeding wildlife makes them comfortable around humans and keeps them returning to areas where there is plentiful food. Don’t take that chance – keep wildlife wild. Report the intentional feeding of wildlife to Animal Care & Control (812-349-3492)
• Don’t corner or try to catch a wild animal. If you come across a wild animal, keep children and pets at a safe distance and leave it alone. Odds are it wants to get away from you as badly as you want it to leave. If the animal appears injured, call Animal Care & Control for assistance.
• Don’t allow cats to roam, especially at night. They may encounter wildlife that may harm them. Keep cats indoors and dogs on leash.
• Don’t set out poison bait. Often the dead, poisoned animal will be eaten by a non-target animal, such as a fox, hawk or your dog or cat, and in turn be poisoned themselves. A poisoned animal will frequently die under a building or some other inaccessible area leaving you with an irremovable smelly carcass.
• Don’t seal an entrance hole in a building or the opening to a den site unless you are certain the animals living there are not present. Make a tracking patch by spreading a thick layer of flour in front of the entrance. When you see paw prints leading away from the opening, it’s usually safe to seal the entrance. Most animals leave their dens at dusk to search for food. If you’re uncertain of the number of animals in the nesting site, try hanging a piece of hardware cloth larger than the opening on the outside. The animals can then swing the hardware cloth outward to escape, but cannot reenter. NEVER seal an entrance during the breeding season (usually March–June); you may trap infant wildlife too young to escape.