March 29, 2020 by Stephen M. Vantassel

29th Vertebrate Pest Conference

In early March, I was privileged to be in attendance at the 29th Vertebrate Pest Conference in Santa Barbara, California, March 3-5, 2020. This was my fourth or fifth time attending a VPC. The Vertebrate Pest Conference is the oldest and longest continuing running conference on wildlife damage management and wildlife control topics in the United States and possibly the world. It is truly the grand daddy of wildlife control training. It discusses structural vertebrate control as well as agricultural and public health vertebrate control.

The Vertebrate Pest Conference started in the 1960s in response to a perceived need for improved research and transfer of information on managing human-wildlife conflicts. Since that time, the conference occurs every other year, (even years), usually in California but there have been instances where the conference occurred in Nevada and Hawaii. I am told that the next Vertebrate Pest Conference in 2022 will occur in Reno, NV, so start planning.

I not only was an attendee, but I also presented on two topics. The first topic was titled, “M-44 Use Non-USDA Personnel in Montana between 2006-2019.” Montana is one of the few states that licenses private applicators to use M-44s to control coyotes (Canis latrans). I collected the use data and presented on that information as well as discussed implications.

My second topic was titled, “Temperature and Humidity Study in Cage and Box Traps: Implications for Animal Welfare.” This presentation was based on a research trial I did while I was at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Essentially, I placed temperature and humidity loggers in a cage and plasti-catch trap for over a year. A third one was placed between the two traps. The idea was to see what the conditions were in each of the traps. Turns out that the box trap was significantly warmer than the cage trap. Hotter traps can be useful for animals in the winter time, but in the summer can dramatically undermine animal welfare.

Both presentations will be published in the Proceedings of the 29th Vertebrate Pest Conference, which should be out before the end of 2020. I’ll update the publication status in a future blog, or you can visit my Academia.edu page.

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.

February 10, 2020 by Stephen M. Vantassel

Is Raccoon Urine Dangerous?

Chances are you have never given raccoon urine a second thought, let alone considered the question of its risks. Sure you probably would avoid raccoon urine because, it’s urine. But grossness of urine aside, we should avoid raccoon urine because it can harbor a bacteria that causes a disease called leptospirosis.

How You Contract Leptospirosis

Raccoon urine can transmit leptospirosis. Photo: USFWS.

People typically contract the disease through direct contact with contaminated urine or contact with contaminated water or soil. Since most people will avoid raccoon urine, most exposures occur through exposure to contaminated materials. For example, consider raccoons living under a deck or in an attic. A repair person enters the crawl space or attic without proper personal protective equipment. As he crawls, micro-abrasions on the skin contact contaminated material thereby introducing bacteria into the body. If the exposure is more than what his immune system can fight off, then anywhere between 2 days or 4 weeks, he will get sick.

Symptoms of Leptospirosis

In the early progression of the disease, the symptoms of leptospirosis are rather vague and may be interpreted as having “the Flu.” Body aches, fever, head ache, chills, diarrhea, vomiting and others are common symptoms. Keep in mind, that exposure to the bacteria does not necessarily result in infection. Sometimes, the body fights off the infection. Victims may feel poorly but since they recover, they likely think they were exposed to something else.

Treatment of Leptospirosis

Fortunately, antibiotics can treat the disease. But treatment should not be delayed. Approximately 10% of victims develop a severe and life-threatening infection. Some people have died.

Bottom Line

Get trained in the use of personal protective equipment and wear it before entering areas where raccoons have been living. Tell family members and your doctor that you have worked in areas where raccoons have been present. One more thing, raccoons are not the only animal that can shed leptospira bacteria. So treat all wildlife as potentially hazardous. Enjoy them at a distance and avoid their poo and urine.

To learn more about leptospirosis visit the Centers for Disease Control

February 3, 2020 by Stephen M. Vantassel

Bat Trapping

You may not have heard of bat trapping, but bat trapping is sometimes used by wildlife control operators (WCOs) to capture and remove bats from a structure. The concept is quite simple. You locate all the gaps in a structure and close the ones not being used by bats as

Photo of a Bat Trap manufactuered by Al LaFrance — BatTrap (18″ model) manufactured by Al LaFrance, its inventor.

exits. Then for the holes bats use as exits, you install a bat trap which captures the bats as they exit the building. Bat trapping is an ingenious idea. It allows the WCO to show the client that the bats have been removed from the structure. As a marketing tool, it was very effective and it worked to remove bats from a structure too.

A couple of types of bat traps exist. The one pictured at the right was developed by Al LaFrance of New York state. He was a pioneer in bat control and used the device successfully for many years in the 1990s.

Problems with Bat Trapping

While bat traps have some key benefits, they also come with several disadvantages. It’s the disadvantages that cause the National Wildlife Control Operators Association and Bat Conservation International to oppose the use of bat traps (except for disease management or scientific research). The first problem with bat traps is that trapped bats can overheat and die. While trappers can make adjustments to make these deaths minimal to almost non-existent, it is hard to completely eliminate deaths in every use. The second problem is that with the emergence of white-nose syndrome, trapping bats could help transmit the fungal infection amongst bats more rapidly. The last problem with bat traps is that they are not needed to evict bats from a structure. Properly installed one-way doors, allow bats to leave but not return without requiring bats to be trapped.

Understand that these comments are not meant to condemn the inventors of bat traps. It is not fair to condemn inventors for problems (e.g. white-nose syndrome) that weren’t around when the traps were created. Bat traps have a role in bat management. It’s just a limited, but valuable role, namely for research and disease control. And for that advancement, we all should be grateful.

January 27, 2020 by Stephen M. Vantassel

Interviews

Do you like to talk about what you do? Do you give interviews? Do you run a business that serves the pest control or wildlife control industry? Are you are marketer, supplier, consultant, manufacturer,

Stephen M. Vantassel hosts a segment entitled “Living the Wildlife” on the Pest Geek Podcast.

trainer or business services supplier? Would you like to reach the pest control and wildlife control businesses in a cost-effective way?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you will want to be interviewed by Stephen M. Vantassel one of the speakers for the Pest Geek Podcast. Stephen hosts, Living the Wildlife on the Pest Geek Podcast. Pest Geek Podcast is the largest and fastest growing podcast for pest control professionals. If you want to reach out to this audience, then drop Stephen M. Vantassel an e-mail at wildlifecontrolconsultant@gmail.com. Stephen would love to hear from you. Provide details on your company and the services it provides and how it would help the wildlife control and pest control industry. Be sure to include a website URL, brochures, a brief one paragraph bio about yourself and how you can be reached.

Interviews are done using Zoom or Skype. If Stephen thinks your product or service would be helpful or of interest to our audience, he will schedule a time for the interview. If not, then he will let you know that too.

So if you want to be interviewed on the Pest Geek Podcast, contact Stephen today.

January 6, 2020 by Stephen M. Vantassel

Repair Warranties

Consumers love warranties. Warranties give us a sense of security, that the contractor or manufacturer is going to stand behind their work or product. Increasingly, more WCOs (wildlife control operators) are offering warranties for their work. One of the more common warranties are repair warranties. I think this is a good development. It shows a maturation in the wildlife control industry. But how do you know the repair warranties being offered by WCOs are real versus a warranty scam?

Signing a contract — Understand the contract before you sign. Image by Pixabay

There is a joke in the WCO industry called the Tail Light Warranty. The Tail Light Warranty is, “Maam, my work is warranted as long as you can see the tail lights of my truck.” Funny but only in a sad sort of way. The purpose of this blog post is to help you avoid this kind of warranty and its siblings.

Repair Warranties

One industry practice is to warranty a repair against animal reinvasion. Sounds good right? But did you really understand the warranty? Often it will say that the warranty is only for the actual spot. If the squirrel chews a hole 2 inches to the left of the repair, it’s a new charge because the warranty didn’t cover that area. Now, I don’t think this kind of repair warranty is a scam. After all, the warranty is not for the entire soffit but for the spot that was repaired. But I do understand why a customer would feel misled or perhaps even deceived with a false sense of security.

Key Question to Ask

So before you have the WCO make the repair, ask him how secure the material is on both sides of the repair. In other words, how likely is it that an animal will simply move over two inches and gnaw a new hole (that isn’t warrantied) there? Ask if there are ways to harden the house to make it harder for an animal to access the structure to gnaw in the first place. Often, trimming tree branches, removing food sources etc. can help reduce the attractiveness of your structure to animals. Why are these questions important? Because if one animal entered your home, it is more likely that others will.

29th Vertebrate Pest Conference

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Is Raccoon Urine Dangerous?

How You Contract Leptospirosis

Symptoms of Leptospirosis

Treatment of Leptospirosis

Bottom Line

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Bat Trapping

Problems with Bat Trapping

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Interviews

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Repair Warranties

Repair Warranties

Key Question to Ask

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