Beaver
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Biology: The beaver is the largest rodent found in North America. Adults can weigh up to 65 pounds
and measure from 24 to 36 inches, plus a tail of 12 to 18 inches. With its webbed hind feet,
waterproof fur, and unique paddle-shaped tail, the beaver is well-adapted to living in an aquatic environment. |
Nuisance Concerns:
Beavers are considered a nuisance for two primary reasons: tree cutting and dam building. Tree cutting
is undesirable to landowners who want to protect their trees. Dam building is a more serious matter,
resulting in flooding forest and farm lands, plugged culverts and the washout of roads.
Beavers do not respond to repellents, and they are impossible to exclude. They may abandon a dam site
that is continually destroyed, but the most effective means of beaver control is trapping.
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Chipmunks
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Biology: Chipmunks are rodents, best described as small ground-dwelling squirrels.
They are typically 5-6 inches long and weigh about three ounces. Chipmunks are omnivores.
Their diet consists primarily of grains, nuts, berries, seeds, and insects. They are
burrowing animals. They hibernate, and store food for the winter. |
Nuisance Concerns:
Chipmunks are considered a nuisance because they may consume flower bulbs, fruits, seeds, and
seedlings. When present in large numbers, they can also cause structural damage by burrowing
under patios, stairs, retention walls, or foundations.
I have quite a bit of experience in chipmunk control, am familiar with the most effective trapping
methods, and am successful in eliminating nuisance chipmunks around the home.
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Coyote
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Biology: Coyotes are members of the canid family, which includes wolves, dogs and foxes.
Adults coyotes weigh an average of 30 to 50 pounds, and are four to five feet long from nose
to end of tail. They are carnivores, whose diet consists of rabbits, deer fawns, birds and
various invertebrates. They also scavenge and can bring down larger prey in packs. They raise
pups in dens, but seldom dig their own. They possess exceptional senses of smell, sight and
hearing, and can produce a distinct howl. |
Nuisance Concerns:
Coyotes prefer solidation, but become a big nuisance when it comes to certain livestock. Occasionally,
an individual coyote learns that chickens, sheep, lambs and calves are easy prey.
Some of my fondest wildlife recollections involve coyote hunting. It's a great challenge to match
wits with this cunning creature. If a coyote is slaughtering your livestock, don't hesitate to call me.
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Stray Dogs
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Dogs are often our beloved family pets. Unfortunately, many dogs do not have
homes, due to a variety of reasons. Some of them become a nuisance around town. They
can bark, harass other dogs, scavenge, and worst of all pose as a violent threat to
unsuspecting civilians. Others simply wander without homes, and still others have homes,
but have gotten themselves lost. If you live in the town of Pennsburg PA and find a stray
dog, or are having problems due to dangerous strays, give me a call, and I will come and
capture the animal and bring it to the local SPCA. If you live outside of Pennsburg,
contact the Animal Services division in your county, and they will
attempt to capture it and bring it to the local humane shelter. |
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Flying Squirrels
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Biology: The northern flying squirrel is a small, nocturnal mammal weighing 3 to 5 ounces and
measuring 6 to 8 inches in total length. It has a long, broad, flattened tail, very eyes,
and thick, silky fur. It is a colonizing mammal. It does not actually fly, but uses
flaps of skin on either side of its body to glide through the air. |
Nuisance Concerns:
Flying squirrels are a nuisance because they are colonizing animals. In the wild, they prefer
hollowed out trees as nesting sites, but many decide that your attic is a swell environment. Because
they are nocturnal, you may hear them scurrying about at night, particularly as they move in and
out of the building. Many people hear the noise and mistake flying squirrels for rats, mice, or
other types of squirrels, such as the Eastern Gray Squirrel. People don't like the noise that a
colony of flying squirrels can make at night, nor do they appreciate the biohazard that the droppings
pose. Flying squirrels chew, like all rodents, and can leave stains on your house at exit/entry sites.
I deal with many flying squirrel jobs each year. Their tendency to use the attics of buildings brings
them into the realm of the nuisance animal. I can always identify them by their unique scent. My methods
of capture, exclusion, and damage repair will eliminate your flying squirrel problem. If you are
hearing noises in your attic, soffits, or walls at night, there's a good chance these little critters
are responsible.
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Red & Gray Fox
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Biology: A medium-sized canid with a large bushy tail, often tipped in white. Ranges in
color from grayish and rust red to a flame red, usually reddish-brown. Adults measure
35-45 inches in length from nose to tip of tail and weigh between 12 and 18 pounds. Generally
moves at dusk and dawn, though may be active in mid day. Fox use a variety of habitats for
dens, including abandoned holes dug by other animals. Diet is varied, though it often
includes small mammals and birds. |
Nuisance Concerns:
Fox are a nuisance primarily for poultry producers. Turkeys, chickens, ducks, and geese are all
susceptible to an opportunistic fox. Young pigs, lambs, and small pets are also killed by foxes.
Foxes may carry rabies. Additionally, foxes have been known to steal pet food left outside for
outdoor pets.
I deal with a few nuisance fox every year. If a fox is harming your poultry farm, call about our
predator abatement program.
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Muskrats
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Biology: The muskrat is the largest member of the rat and mouse family (Cricetidae)
in North America. Adults weigh 3 to 4 pounds. The muskrat is adapted to an aquatic way of life,
and is an important and valuable furbearer. They live in family groups, each group occupying a
portion of a pond containing a house, feeding areas, and canals through cattails and other pond
vegetation. Muskrats eat pond weeds and emergent vegetation. They also eat a variety of animals,
including freshwater mussels, frogs, salamanders and small fish. |
Nuisance Concerns: Muskrats burrow in the banks of rivers, streams, and ponds. The primary
concern is bank erosion. Of course, they pose a threat to dikes as well. Most of the calls I get
are from people who don't like numerous burrows, which erode the bank or can be accidentally stepped
in, on the edge of their private pond or stream.
I love muskrats. If you want the muskrats out of your pond or stream, give me a call.
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Cottontail Rabbit
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Biology: The Cottontail Rabbit is not in the rodent family. It is classified as a
Lagomorph. An adult cottontail is about 15 to 18 inches long and weighs between two and three pounds.
Litter sizes up to l0 have been reported, but typical litters number from 3 to 5 young, born
after a gestation period of about 28 days. Eastern Cottontails are herbivorous, eating a wide
variety of plant materials. |
Nuisance Concerns: Rabbits are primarily a nuisance due to crop damage. In high numbers, they can
decimate your garden. Additionally, Tularemia is a bacterial disease of rabbits that is transmittible
to man, usually through openings in the skin.
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River Otter
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Biology: The river otter is the largest member of the Mustelidae family which
includes the mink, weasels, skunks and badger. Adult animals are three to four feet long, including the 12- to 1 8-inch tail, and generally weigh 15 to 25 pounds.
Otters are usually found in or near water and are well adapted for aquatic Iife. Their streamlined bodies, webbed feet and long tails contribute to their excellent swimming ability.
Fish make up the greatest portion of the otter's diet. Crayfish are also an important food when available. Other foods include amphibians, insects, mammals and birds. |
Nuisance Concerns: Not many, though otters occasionally cause depredation problems at fish
hatcheries and rearing areas. As with all animals, their presence on your private property may be
unwanted for a variety of reasons.
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Porcupine
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Biology: The porcupine is a rodent of about 20 inches long and 10 to 20 pounds. They are famous for their many
sharp quills, which are actually modified hairs, and used in self-defense. Porcupines are nocturnal.
They feed on a variety of plants and trees. |
Nuisance Concerns:
Porcupines are considered a nuisance when they destroy trees or other wood, which they gnaw on,
like all rodents. They can also choose your deck as a den site. They pose a potential danger
because of the sharp, barbed quills. Like most animals, they are not aggressive, choosing flight over fight.
Porcupines are rare in this area. They are trappable using fresh, tender, peeled bark as bait. Be sure
to use the same bark that they are feeding on in the area. The trick to luring a porcupine into a cage
trap filled with the same bark it can get from any tree is salt. Spray salt water or sprinkle table salt
onto the bark, and porcupines think it's a real treat. Of course, porcupines must be handled with care
as a sharp quill in the hand is not a real treat.
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Snapping Turtle
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Biology: Snapping Turtles average 8-12 inches long and 10-35 pounds, though they can
grow to weights of up to 65 pounds Common snappers are at home in slow-moving streams, rivers, lakes and ponds.
They consume a variety of aquatic plants and many kinds of animals including fish, frogs, birds, and small
mammals. They are also effective scavengers and clean up dead fish and drowned animals. |
Nuisance Concerns: Pond n. - A body of water surrounding a Snapping Turtle. If you own a pond
in Pennsylvania, even a small one, there's a chance you've got a home for a Snapping
Turtle or two. Snapping turtles are well-known for their aggressive behavior. Their strong jaws are
capable of delivering a serious bite. Your pet might be in for a surprise should it encounter a nesting
snapper on land.
I have a grandson with a real nose for turtles. If you want the snapping turtles out of your pond,
just give me a call, and he and I will catch them in no time with our special turtle traps.
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Weasel & Mink
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Biology: Weasels and mink are members of the same family, Mustelidae. Weasels are 10-16 inches
long, and mink 18-26. Their slender bodies allows them to enter tunnels to hunt for gophers and
other animals that live underground. They usually take up residence in the burrows of other
animals. They eat rabbits, rats, birds, frogs, ground squirrels, and of course, mice. |
Nuisance Concerns: Poultry farmers beware, the small weasel and mink are agressive and can kill several chickens
in one spree.
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Mystery Animal
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That scratching in the attic, that bump in the night, that howling on the wind ...it could be
anything! Or perhaps you saw some creature which you swear doesn't have a listing in the Audubon Society Guide To North American Mammals.
Well, don't trouble yourself over it any longer. Just call Sherlock Nichols of PVE (PriVate Eye) and
we'll discover the identity of the culprit. We carefully examine every bit of evidence. Footprints!
Hair samples! Excrement samples! Telltale odors! Scratch marks! Chew marks! Bedding material! Hole size!
Type of noise! Environment of animal! Time of year! Time of day! DNA evidence! By golly, if it's there,
PVE will find it and bring it to justice. Just call our crime lab at 215-679-8904 |
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