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Living Well with our Wild Neighbors
FAQ

How do I get the skunk out from under my house?

If the smell doesn’t bother you, having a skunk under your house may actually be a good thing. They eat, among other things, cockroaches and mice. Skunks like dark, quiet spaces to sleep during the day, so the spaces underneath houses and sheds are hard places to keep skunks out of. However, if the smell of skunks is too much for you, the best thing is to make sure there are no holes under the buildings, and block up any existing holes. You can determine if a hole is being used by a skunk by dusting the area outside of the hole with white flour, and checking for tracks. Once you find the entrance, it can be blocked with large rocks or bricks, or hardware cloth (see “Exclusion devices”). Please make sure the skunk is not occupying the space before blocking the entrance. Dust the area with flour again, and go out in the evening to see if the skunk has left for its nightly rounds. If you see tracks exiting the hole, it should be safe to block up the entrance. Do not do this during the season when skunks have their babies – generally April through August. A mother skunk will be extremely motivated to get into a den where her babies are, and if you succeed in blocking the entrance so that she can’t get in, her babies will die of starvation. Dead skunks smell worse than live skunks!

Remove additional shelter, such as debris piles and pack rat nests, and make sure food, such as pet food, is not accessible to skunks. If you have outdoor cats or dogs, placing food up on a shelf or table may make it inaccessible to skunks, as they are poor jumpers. But it will still be accessible to raccoons, ringtails, and bears.

How do I keep raccoons out of my garbage cans?

Raccoons love garbage! Make sure your garbage cans have secure lids, such as those with locking bails, and make sure they are locked tight. Additional tie-downs, such as bungee cords or rope may be necessary. Also, keep your cans in a secure location, where raccoons do not have access to the cans, until the morning of garbage pickup. Do not leave your garbage cans out over night – it is way too tempting for not only raccoons, but also bears, javelina, coyotes, and rats.

How do I keep javelina from ripping up my garden?

Electric fencing appears to be the best solution. Chain link and stable fencing are also effective, but the fencing needs to extend at least 6 inches underground, as javelinas occasionally dig under if the attractant is strong enough. Javelinas eat veggies, fruits, roots, and grubs, and like a cool, moist place to rest on hot days, making our gardens very inviting places for them. Javelinas may be easily confused and dangerous when frightened, so be very careful about trying to chase them away. Make the garden inaccessible to them, and they should leave your yard alone. Also, make sure that if you feed wild birds any dropped seed is not accessible to javelinas. And do not intentionally feed javelinas! What you think is cute, may be a big and dangerous, problem for your neighbor.

How do I keep woodpeckers from pounding on my house?

During the spring, woodpeckers will start pounding on eaves, swamp coolers, siding, even metal poles, in a display of territorial drumming. This will ease as summer arrives. Installing metal flashing may not stop the pounding, but will limit the damage to your eaves or siding. A coat or two of clear wood preservative may dissuade the birds, as they do not care for the taste. Hanging something flashy, such as strips of aluminum, or those old cds you have laying around, near the eaves will frighten woodpeckers and other birds away from your eaves and siding.

How do I keep deer from eating my valuable plants?

Chain link fencing at least 8 feet high is necessary to keep deer out. If that isn’t feasible, electric fencing is another option. Black Dacron bird netting may protect individual plants. Deer repellents are available at your local nursery. Most only last a limited time and need to be replenished frequently, and after every rain. Also check with your local nursery for plants that are less palatable to deer.

How do I keep pack rats from chewing on the wires in my car?

Pack rats are looking for a cozy place to hide. Leaving the hood open on your car or truck makes the engine compartment appear less cozy, and seems to be the most effective at reducing this problem. Repellents, such as cayenne pepper or hot sauce may work in some situations.

How do I keep gophers out of my garden?

Lining the bottom of your garden with hardware cloth limits gophers to the tips of the roots that grow through the wires. There may still be some minor damage to the plants, but this will keep the gophers from taking out the entire plant. Reduce ground cover and weeds to reduce food sources, and use flooding to force gophers from their burrows and expose them to predators. Most gopher repellents do not work very well.

How do I keep snakes out of my yard?

Snakes are very beneficial to have around, and by consuming mice, rats, and pack rats, can reduce a number of other potential problems. Snakes will mind their own business if left alone, and you will probably seldom see them. If you really want to keep them away, reduce food (rodents), water, and shelter (hiding places under rocks and vegetation). Be careful about handling snakes – many species in Arizona are poisonous.

What do I do if I want an animal moved out of my yard?

The easiest, and most humane, thing to do is convince the animal that there is nothing in your yard to make it worthwhile to stay. This means removing all attractants, such as food, water, and shelter. If you do find a bear swimming in your pool or a mountain lion snoozing on your lounge chair, call your local wildlife agency to make them aware of the situation. However, if you just remove the animal without reducing the attractants, the animals will return.

Who do I call if I find an injured or abandoned animal?

Call your local wildlife agency, who can advise you as to whether the animal should be left alone, or if a wildlife rehabilitator should be called. Be extremely cautious in handling any injured animal, as they may be scared and very likely to bite or scratch.

Is it ok to sleep with my doors open at night?

In southern Arizona, this is never a good idea. Too many poisonous critters, including snakes, scorpions, and centipedes, may inadvertently crawl inside, where we don’t want them. In addition, rabid skunks and foxes have a bad habit of walking through open doors and biting sleeping residents. Rabid bats may also fly in through open doors. A well-fitted screen or security door will allow the cool breezes in, but keep the less desirable creatures out.

What do I do with the rattlesnake in my garage?

If you can, be patient. It will likely leave on its own. If it is blocking access to your car or something else you need, call your local wildlife agency, who can direct you to a professional snake removal company.

Are all snakes in Arizona poisonous?

No. Of the 52 species of snakes listed in A Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles in Arizona, only 14 (27%) are considered venomous and a danger to humans. This includes 13 species of rattlesnakes and one coral snake. There are several species of snakes that look somewhat like rattlesnakes and others that look like coral snakes. Some other species of snakes are poisonous, but have smaller teeth and need to chew in order to inject their venom, and are generally considered not venomous to humans.

I found a bat lying in my driveway, is it safe to pick it up?

Although bats may occasionally become injured and land on the ground, usually a bat on the ground is sick and should not be touched. Rabies is relatively common in bats, and can be transmitted to humans, even just by touching the bat and even if the bat is dead. If you find a sick, injured, or dead bat in your yard, DO NOT TOUCH IT! If there is a potential for anyone else, or a pet, to come in contact with it, move it out of the area using heavy leather gloves, or a long-handled instrument like a shovel. Call animal control to come and get the animal to have it tested for rabies. Anyone who has come into contact with the bat may need to go through rabies post-exposure vaccinations, even if they were not bitten.

Bats are extremely beneficial ecologically, and consume huge amounts of mosquitoes every evening. The average percentage of bats with rabies is quite small (<1%), so we have little to fear from healthy bats. But we should exercise caution whenever we see a wild animal behaving unusually (see Rabies in Arizona’s wildlife).

I found a turtle in my driveway; can I keep it for a pet?

It depends what kind of turtle it is. Terrestrial turtles (desert box turtles and desert tortoises) are protected in Arizona, and cannot be taken from the wild. Exotic pond turtles, including painted turtles (except in Apache County), red-eared sliders, snapping turtles, and western pond turtles can be kept as pets, but should not be released into the wild where they compete with native wildlife. Soft-shell turtles can be collected with a fishing license.

If you are interested in adopting a desert tortoise or desert box turtle, you can find more information here.

For additional information, see these pages:

Exclusion Devices
Rabies in Arizona Wildlife