Wildlife Control Methods Archives - Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC

June 17, 2019 by Stephen M. Vantassel

Poison Free Control of Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrels

Thirteen-lined ground squirrels (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus; formerly Spermophilus tridecemlineatus) are cute, chipmunk-sized ground squirrels that reside in short-grass areas. But as cute as they are, sometimes their presence conflicts with homeowner interests. This blog post will explain how to use snap traps for poison free control of thirteen-lined ground squirrels.

Step 1. Make sure that lethal control of thirteen-lined ground squirrels is legal in your area. Your state wildlife agency will know.

Step 2. Confirm that you have thirteen-lined ground squirrels on your property. This should be easy to do as thirteen-lined ground squirrels are easy to recognize as they frolic about on warm sunny days.

Victor Rat Snap Traps with expanded trigger. The right trap has been modified to make the striker bar hit harder. — Victor Rat Snap Traps with expanded trigger. The right trap has been modified (washer under the tines) to make the striker bar hit harder.

Step 3. Purchase several rat-sized snap traps. Victor brand is shown as it is a common one.

But other rat-sized snap traps will do the trick as well. I suggest using rat traps with the expanded triggers as shown here in the photo, rather than the thin metal triggers.

Expanded triggers make it easy to apply bait and are easy to set. Simply bait them with peanut butter and oats or bird seed. If allergies to peanut butter are an issue, simply glue the oats and seeds to the trigger.

Step 4. Obtain boxes suitable to hold the snap traps. These boxes should be large enough to allow the traps to fire but prevent birds from seeing the bait. NEVER place baited rat traps out where birds can find them as birds will easily be killed by the rat traps. You can build them yourself or purchase them from a pesticide distributor. Though the boxes are not regulated by the government, keep in mind that the dealer may not sell them to you unless you have a pesticide license. Don’t be discouraged. Keep hunting and you will likely find a dealer willing to sell to you.

J.T. Eaton Rat Size Snap Trap Station containing a Victor brand rat snap trap (left) and a Kness-style rat snap trap (right).

The boxes must have holes that are between 2 and 3 inches wide. The holes should allow easy access to the bait. Place the boxes near where the ground squirrel burrow holes are.
Step 5. Check the traps every evening. Ground squirrels are diurnal, meaning they are active during daylight hours. Checking the traps in the evening assures that any catches can be removed before the next day of trapping. If you can, check them more frequently.
Use protective gloves when handling traps and carcasses. Wildlife can carry diseases and disease carrying organisms like fleas and ticks. Use caution. Wash hands after handling equipment (after you have taken your gloves off).

Bottom line. Follow these simple steps and you will obtain poison free control of thirteen-lined ground squirrels.

Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC (WCC) has not received any financial incentives to mention brand-name products in this blog post.

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications (http://kingsdivinity.academia.edu/StephenMVantassel) along with several books (https://wildlifecontrolconsultant.com/store-2/). Listen to his podcast at PestGeek Podcast (https://pestgeekpodcast.com/). He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to wildlifecontrolconsultant@gmail.com. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

June 10, 2019 by Stephen M. Vantassel

Biology of Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrels

Thirteen-lined squirrels (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus formerly Spermophilus tridecemlineatus) are small ground squirrels found in well-drained grasslands. They derive their name from the thirteen stripes on the length of their body. These stripes alternative between light and dark and some are spotted. They are rather small only 7-12.5 inches long (nose to tip to tail).
Thirteen-lined ground squirrels can be found in grasslands occurring between Ohio and Montana and Alberta and Texas. In other words, what used to be known as the Great Plains. Thirteen-lined ground squirrels prefer short-grass as tall grass prevents their ability to see oncoming predators.

Thirteen-lined ground squirrels (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) Photo: PD Author/Wikimedia.

Like other ground squirrels, thirteen-lined ground squirrels hibernate for periods longer than they are active. Emergence from hibernation varies by latitude and elevation. For example, Colorado thirteen-lined ground squirrels emerge from hibernation between April 1 and April 15. Ground squirrels begin hibernation as sunlight begins to diminish. Males usually enter first in July, followed by females in July-August and young in September. These timings likely are due to the greater need for females and young of year to pack on fat lost due to raising young (females) and need for extra time (young of the year). As a rule, males emerge from hibernation before females and mating occurs quickly. Males do not assist in raising young.

The diet of thirteen-lined ground squirrels consists primarily of seeds. In fact, the term “Spermophilus” which was the genus of their former scientific name means seed lover. Ground squirrels can cause localized damage to crop growers as they pluck the seeds from the ground following planting. But thirteen-lined ground squirrels also have a taste for protein. They are significant predators of insects, such as grasshoppers and the butterfly larvae. In fact, researchers believe that ground squirrel feeding on insects actually compensates the farmers for losses in seeds. But ground squirrels have also been known to eat bird eggs, small birds and chickens, and even snakes. So, while ground squirrels are identified as vegetarian, they are not pure vegan.

Most people hate thirteen-lined ground squirrels because of the holes they make in their lawns. In fact, out of 65 burrows, ground squirrels can have 100 holes. Yet of those burrows, only 22% actually extend below the frostline to a den. The rest of the burrows are hideaways that thirteen-lined ground squirrels use to escape predators and other dangers.

Hopefully this information will help appreciate this important animal in our landscape. If you live in their range, look for them on bright, sunny days when the wind is lower than 15 mph and the temperature is above 50 degrees F. Information on control will wait for another blog, but if you need it sooner, visit https://www.academia.edu/20176531/Thirteen-lined_Ground_Squirrel_Controlling_Damage

Source: Streubel, Donald P. and Fitzgerald, James P. 1978. Spermophilus tridecelineatus. Mammalian Species 103(Sept):1-5.

May 27, 2019 by Stephen M. Vantassel

Determining the Best Bait

People often ask, “What is the best bait?” Bait formulations is kind of a dark art in wildlife control. Bait manufacturers have the aura of the ancient alchemists, those who can turn the common material into gold. Unfortunately, determining the best bait takes time and a diligent record keeping. But if you are willing to do the work, you will be rewarded.

So how does one go about determining the best bait? You could go on various wildlife and pest control group pages and ask for suggestions. While that is a really easy tactic and can help you find some quality baits, it may not help you find the bait that works in your area. You also have to consider that some of the comments may be biased in favor of a particular brand of professionally manufactured bait due to unstated relationships.

A better method would be to consult with reputable bait manufacturers. The best bait manufacturers will have years of trapping experience and refuse to overhype their bait. They will tell you straight out when to use and when not to use a particular bait.

But if you want to know how to determine the best bait on your own, then I would suggest the following steps. First, select three baits that you want to test. Let’s call them Bait A, B, and C. Next you want to know how well these baits work on a particular species, say skunk. Take a notebook and create four columns. Column 1 is the date and columns 2-4 will be labeled bait A-C respectively. Gather your traps, you will want to be sure that you will use three traps at every skunk job. Set all three traps in an identical manner, such as distance from the hole or trail. Since this is often impossible to do, you will need to randomize the order, so that at Job 1, trap with Bait A will be closest to the hole, and at Job. 2 Bait B will be closest to the hole and so on. Use care not to cross contaminate traps with other odors. You should flame or wash your traps between jobs so that “clean” traps are used each time.

Trap placement when testing three different baits. — Trap placement (A, B, C) around the skunk den entrance to test bait attractiveness. Image by Stephen M. Vantassel.

After about 20 jobs or so, evaluate your data. Which bait had the most success? If it isn’t clear, keep at it. Ideally, you want to do this for an entire year or at least for each season. Sometimes some bait works better at certain times of the year. You may find that all three baits work the same. Let the data teach you. Once you have an answer, you can then study other baits by the same process.

February 25, 2019 by Stephen M. Vantassel

Cleaning Cage Traps

Do you clean your cage traps? Have you ever considered cleaning your cage traps? It may sound like a silly idea. After all, isn’t cleaning your cage traps like cleaning the tires of your vehicle or the bottom of your shoes? A useless endeavor that will simply add more time to your already busy schedule? Those are certainly some important points, but I want you to give you a few reasons to support the idea that cleaning cage traps is a good idea at least in some situations.

Let’s begin by considering the problem. Animals are dirty. Raccoons, for example, regularly defecate inside cage traps they are captured in. It’s almost like they are doing this as an act of defiance. They aren’t the only animals that can poo inside the cage. Animals also urinate as well. Both urine and scat carry infectious organisms that can adhere to the cage wire, potentially waiting for you to touch. You may counter, but I always wear protective gloves! Great. I am glad to hear that because many wildlife control operators (WCOs) don’t.

Using a weed burner to clean a cage trap. Photo: Charles Parker of Parker’s Wildlife Control, New Orleans.

I’m not talking about cleaning cage traps for your safety, though that is a reasonable reason. I am referring to cleaning cage traps for two other reasons, namely customer safety and trapping efficiency.

I suggest that cage traps should be cleaned if you rent out traps. The last thing you want to have happen is a renter using a trap that gets an infection from mishandling your equipment. So you clean your traps between renters.

The second reason you should clean your trap is when you are having trouble catching an animal. Sometimes animals avoid smells of other animals, such as a squirrel avoiding the odor of a raccoon, or a female raccoon avoiding the odor of a male raccoon. If your trap isn’t catching the way it used to, perhaps it’s because the odors on the trap are scaring the new animals away.

How do you clean your cage traps? I suggest using a weed burner. Find a safe area like concrete slabs, particularly those in well-ventilated areas. Just wave the flame over the mesh several times. Don’t need to make the mesh glow. Just enough heat/flame to kill the little nasties. Those of you in drought areas, need to be careful that grass and leaves in the trap don’t cause a fire elsewhere when carried by the wind.

If you haven’t cleaned your cage traps before, perhaps give it a try. You may find that you like the results. Keep in mind, that flaming will reduce the lifespan of your cage traps. But if you are careful, the life reduction won’t be noticeable.

October 29, 2018 by Stephen M. Vantassel

Principles for Baiting Coyotes

Coyote (Canis latrans), for most trappers, are the most difficult furbearer to trap. Trappers that have success in catching them are held in high esteem in the trapping community. Major L. Boddicker has a Ph.D. in wildlife management and has been involved in baiting for coyotes. Coyote baiting has undergone significant research because of the coyotes’ tendency to predate on livestock. The government, seeking to help manage coyote predation, has invested a lot of money and time into learning what works and what doesn’t to improve coyote control activities. Baiting coyotes is essential as baits are used to lure coyotes to traps and to M-44s.

Coyote (Canis latrans) is a highly sought after predator. Photo: Stephen M. Vantassel. — Coyote (Canis latrans) is a highly sought after predator. Bait makers work hard to create baits/lures to attract them. Photo: Stephen M. Vantassel.

In an article entitled, “Spring and Summer Testing: Results of Spring and Summer Testing of Baits and Lures with Non-lethal Devices. How Does Temperature Affect Catch Rates? How Often Should a Trapper Re-bait Sets” published in the American Trapper 55:5(Sept-Oct):18-22, Dr. Boddicker revealed some of the findings from his research.

Temperature affects how well baits/lures work. As a rule, when temperatures dip below freezing, you will need to apply 1-4 times more bait/lure to achieve the same attractiveness level.
Coyotes progressively loose interest in baits/lures as temperature rises above 79° F.
Sets should be refreshed with bait/lure every 7 days or so depending on relative humidity and temperature.
Coyotes showed the greatest interest in baited/lured sets between 3-6 days. So be patient.
Urine and liquid lures have the shortest attraction times as they dry out quickly.
Coyotes have incredible smelling ability. When using quality baits/lures, only a Q-tip or pea-sized glob is needed.

These are just a few of the principles that Boddicker suggests. But he does have one more. He always recommends that trappers and by extension, wildlife control operators, keep records of the types of baits/lures they use. Learn what works by season, temperature in your neck of the woods. When you have some good data, then determine how well the baits/lures work by creating a success index for each bait/lure. Calculate the index by furbearer visits to your set and divide by the number of lure/bait presentations (each night). A simple Excel spreadsheet will make this easy.

Poison Free Control of Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrels

Biology of Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrels

Determining the Best Bait

Cleaning Cage Traps

Principles for Baiting Coyotes

Principles for Baiting Coyotes

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