[Douglbirds] Bears, Racoons, Deer & Skunks

[BirdMan Inc]

I have seen a number of postings regarding many of our night critters
that seem to visit around our yards.  I get a lot of calls throughout
the year concerning bears, raccoons, skunks, deer, rabbits, flicker
problems, birds roosting, nuthatches pounding on stucco, squirrels,
snakes, insect control, bat problems, ...

Most of the "problems" can be resolved, but some are not so easy to
address.  First things first; "there is no one solution for everyone
and/or every problem".  Every situation is different and no two
situations are the same.  Though the products involved in many of the
solutions are the same, the implementation can vary greatly.

A "problem" like this is usually not fixed with
doing/installing/removing one thing.  The fix is best described as a
process which may involve many things.  

You could describe your situation, yard/property, and surroundings for
hours to someone in the wildlife field and by the time they come to look
at the problem it usually looks completely different then what was
described.  This is usually because you did not describe everything that
was important, i.e. "you don't know what you don't know".  There are
hundreds of things to know about that could effect any given problem.

The first question to answer is why are they coming into your
yard/property?  You may want to say because you have a bird feeder, but
this is usually never correct.  Bears for instance can't see worth a
darn, but can smell something rotting from five miles away.  Maybe your
birdseed is piling up on the ground and fermenting.  Maybe your compost
pile is drawing them in.  Maybe your septic & leach field are putting
out odors.  Maybe you added raw horse or cow manure to your garden
recently.  Maybe you pile up your dog dodo in one area causing a nice
aroma to draw in the bears.  Maybe your barbecue has a lot of smells
coming from it from yesterday or months ago or from last year.  Maybe...
the list goes on and on.  It also may have nothing to do with you, but
with your neighbors a mile away from you and it just so happens Yogi has
to cross your property to get there.  

All these smells and many, many more will attract bears, raccoons, and
skunks.  All these critters also have a pretty good memory so they may
come back again tomorrow night.

The best advise is to deal with the situation promptly. If you have a
raccoon feeding at your feeders you may not think it is so bad.  When
they have babies and now mom & dad along with the babies are now feeding
at your feeders you have a much bigger problem.  The babies were born
knowing about this fabulous food source so getting them to change is
much harder.  Same holds true with deer, bears, mice, rats, squirrels
and many more.

Thanks,

Pat Brodbent
birdman at birdmanusa.com
303-517-3102