While your first instinct may be to scoop up a seemingly helpless baby bird, the best course of action is to assess the situation before interfering. Unsure about the difference between hatchlings, nestlings, and fledglings?
Hatchling: Birds have just hatched and are naked with closed eyes. These birds must either be returned to the nest if possible, or taken to a rehabilitator for care.
Nestling: Birds have some feathers and their eyes are now open. They usually lack the ability to grip a branch or finger with their feet and do not have developed wing feathers that will allow them to fly. These birds must be returned to the nest if possible, or taken to a rehabilitator for care.
Fledgling: Ready to leave the nest! Birds have most of their feathers and are able to grip a branch or finger with their feet. Their wing feathers are developed enough to allow them to fly. If the bird is not in immediate danger, leave it be. Keep cats and dogs inside and let the parent birds care for the young bird.
If the bird is in imminent danger please contact Bayou Animal Services 281-337-3117
I found a baby bird on the ground what do I do with it?
What should I feed to the ducks/geese in the pond near my house?
You should not feed wild ducks or geese anything! Unlike hanging feeders for birds in your backyard, feeding waterfowl can lead to a variety of issues both for the birds and for people.
Feeding waterfowl can lead to malnourished birds. Ducks and geese are omnivores, and they need a balanced diet of aquatic plants, tree nuts, grass seeds, insects, and crustaceans. Bread, crackers, popcorn, cereal and other human food is not healthy for our wild waterfowl. They can become malnourished or ill even if they look healthy. Many birds suffer liver and heart disease and bread can become impacted in their crops. Young birds are especially susceptible to crippling conditions such as angel wing, splay leg, and developmental issues related to poor nutrition.
Feeding waterfowl can result in overpopulation, habitat degradation, and encourage the spread of diseases. Regular feeding of waterfowl can result in unusually large and dense congregations of birds, making disease transmission more likely. This type of situation can increase the risk of disease transmission between birds. High concentrations of waterfowl can severely degrade habitats and waterways, putting extra stress on already sensitive areas.
Feeding of waterfowl can interfere with their natural behaviors. Most species of North American ducks and geese are migratory, and feeding can interfere with their migratory instinct. They can become resident in large numbers, often leading to overpopulation in parks and ponds, conditions that favor increased aggression between birds. Moreover, many of these birds, especially geese, can become acclimated to and aggressive towards humans, and may become a nuisance requiring control measures.
The best way to appreciate ducks and geese is to enjoy their natural behaviors. Different species prefer different types of plant and animal foods, and much of the fun of watching them is appreciating the diverse niches they occupy in the wetland ecosystem.
What To Do About Opossums
Opossums get a bum rap. Often seen as a pest and accused of everything from knocking over garbage cans to killing chickens, these quiet marsupials are rarely a threat and easily sent on their way.
Common problems and solutions
Opossums are often accused, but rarely responsible for getting into garbage cans or gardens. They are certainly game to stop by and clean up the mess left by other wayward critters, though! They are often accused of killing chickens, something that happens very rarely. Most people complain about opossums just being there, rather than for any problems they cause.
Tolerance
Opossum are not aggressive: their open-mouth, defensive hissing is merely a bluff to look vicious. And if that doesn’t work they play dead when really scared!
If there is an opossum in the backyard, don't worry. They aren’t a threat, and more than likely they will be moving on in a short while. The best way to keep them from visiting is to have tight-fitting lids on garbage cans, not to leave any pet food outside overnight and to remember to pick up any fruit that has fallen from trees.
But far from being a nuisance, opossums can be beneficial for your garden, eating snails, slugs, insects and sometimes even small rodents. They’ll even clean up spilled garbage and fruit that has fallen off trees.
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How to keep opossums out
The best way to keep opossums from denning under a deck or patio is to make sure they cannot get there in the first place by keeping any holes filled.
If you suspect a mother opossum has already moved in, wait until she leaves her den (two hours after dark is generally a safe time). Then, loosely close the opening with netting, straw or other fibrous material. This will ensure that an animal trapped inside can clear the path to escape, but one outside will not disturb the blockage to get back in.
Opossum moms take their kids wherever they go, so there is not much chance that any babies will be left behind. But always check for youngsters before closing the opening. If the hole has not been disturbed for two or three nights, it’s safe to assume that no one is inside and the hole can be properly filled. For permanent exclusion we recommend putting in an "L" footer.
Every now and then, an opossum will get into a house through a pet door. Encourage them to leave by closing the doors to all rooms and opening the doors to the outside. Opossum are usually not aggressive, so you may be able to help them on their way by gently nudging them with a broom.
Rabies
People often mistake the open-mouth hissing and drooling behavior of opossums as a sign of rabies. However, this is just a bluffing behavior that opossums use as a defense mechanism. In fact, rabies is extremely rare in opossums, perhaps because they have a much lower body temperature compared to other warm-blooded animals.
What To Do About Snakes
Snakes instill a deep-rooted fear in many people that few other animals can match.
Even other animals seem to put them in a special category; many wild animals recognize snakes as threatening, and some birds and monkeys even have special vocalizations for sounding an alarm when a snake is seen.
But there’s no justification for the persecution of these animals and the acts of violence often committed when even the most harmless of them is sighted.
Snakes suffer greatly from changes in their habitat. Isolated when their natural land is broken up by development, they can’t easily move across the unfriendly terrain.
Many species are either already gone or are rapidly disappearing from city and suburb, lowering the number of human-snake conflicts, but depriving those who delight in encountering them that pleasure.
Common problems and solutions
Snakes cause few problems, and the few they do are relatively benign. Some of the larger species may cause problems around poultry houses, occasionally taking chicks or eggs, but—except for the venomous species— snakes are not a threat to humans or their pets. That does not convince people who have a deep-seated fear of these animals that they are harmless, and the fear some people have at even a glimpse of these reptiles contributes mightily to what are real conflicts between humans and snakes.
Encounters
Most encounters with snakes are passing, but when one does occur, be sure to:
Leave the snake alone.
Identify it by species.
Continue to leave it alone so long as it is not venomous and not inside a house or building.
All outdoor (even in your yard) encounters with nonvenomous snakes should be resolved by letting the animal go its own way, most likely to never be seen again.
Venomous snakes are another matter. If you encounter a venomous snake in your yard, take it seriously. The snake should be removed to ensure that no one, including pets, gets hurt. Note: This does not mean the snake has to be killed.
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In many places, you can call animal-control or local police or fire departments to remove the snake. What happens after that may be problematic, since most poisonous snakes have well defined ranges in which resources, such as winter dens (hibernacula), are critical to their survival.
Moving snakes into unfamiliar territory may compromise their chances to survive.
Your local animal control agency is the best place to start looking for someone knowledgeable about snakes who can give advice about the best course of action when a snake must be removed. Many states have herpetological associations and university extension specialists may be good sources of information or able to network with others who are.
Exclusion (preventing entry or re-entry)
Excluding snakes from buildings can be as difficult as excluding rodents. And keeping snakes out of yards or gardens may be completely impractical.
Snakes in houses may be there either accidentally (for instance, washed in by flood waters) or purposely to find prey or shelter. They can become trapped inside and may die from lack of food or moisture if not captured and removed.
Note: Some snakes may hibernate in cellars or crawl spaces of older houses. The presence of shed skin usually indicates that a snake has been living in the house for some time.
Removing snakes
If you discover a snake in your house, act as soon as possible, for both the snake’s and your peace of mind:
Remain calm and avoid disturbing the snake or driving her into hiding.
If possible, carefully open a nearby door and use a broom to gently herd the snake outside.
If you can’t herd the snake—and it’s small or coiled, slowly place an empty pail or wastebasket over her, then put a weight on top to trap the snake until an experienced handler arrives.
If getting the snake outside is impossible and the above is also, try to confining her to a room or corner her with barriers such as boards or boxes, so that she will be easy to capture when the expert arrives.
If you know there is a snake in your house, but you can’t find it, consider this: snakes like warmth and darkness, and a heating pad or even a pile of burlap or other material on the basement floor may attract the unwanted visitor, who can then be trapped and handled.
If you aren’t afraid of snakes and believe you can do so without harming either the snake or yourself—and you are certain it is not a venomous species—you can consider putting on gloves, gently picking up the snake, and carefully relocating her outside
How to inspect and snake-proof your property
If you’ve found a snake in your house—or if you want to avoid finding one, you can snake-proof your home. Snakes usually enter buildings at ground level, some fitting through tiny cracks or holes no more than one-eighth inch wide.
Closely inspect the foundation for unsealed wire or pipe conduits or basement windows or doors that do not seal tightly and seal these openings immediately. (You can use the same methods you’d use to keep out rodents.) Look for openings at or near ground level (If you’ve already found a snake in your house, remember what size he was and look for openings large enough for the snake’s head to pass through.)
Some snakes are also good climbers, and trees, shrubs, stone walls or chimneys may provide access to the roof. So be sure to check for openings around the eaves and roof. Inspect behind concrete porches, steps, and where decks attach to the house.
Once the entire exterior has been inspected and one or more openings have been discovered, decide which opening is likely to be the main snake entrance.
Seal all the openings except the suspected main entrance. On that opening, install a one-way door for snakes.
DIY: One-way snake doors
You can make your own one-way door to help evict snakes from a building.
Roll a piece of aluminum window screen into a 10 inch cylinder slightly larger in diameter that the entrance hole.
Insert the roll into the snake entrance.
Suspend the outlet end a few inches off the ground, so the snake can exit but not reenter.
Leave it in place a month or longe—if you install it in the fall, leave it in place until late spring.
Once the snake has left, remove tube and permanently seal the opening.
Habitat management
Reduce the chance of a snake moving in your yard by making it less attractive (to snakes, at least).
Removing potential hiding places for both snakes and their prey including:
Piles of rocks, wood, or other debris.
Tall grass and undergrowth.
Cracks around concrete porches and sidewalks.
Storage sheds with space under the floor.
Note: Pet foods and household garbage left outside overnight attract rodents, which, in turn, may attract snakes.
Repellents
There are commercially marketed repellents for snakes, ranging from sisal rope to sulfur. However, we cannot confirm that any effective product exists to repel snakes humanely.
Snakes as pets
It’s no secret that many people like the idea of keeping snakes as pets. Like all wild animals, snakes belong in the wild. The Humane Society of the United States does not recommend that snakes be kept as pets.
Public health concerns
Snakes are not known to transmit any disease to humans.
When a non-poisonous bite breaks the skin:
Treat the wound like any other puncture wound that can get infected.
Immediately consult a physician.
If bitten by a poisonous snake:
Call 911 or transport victim to the hospital immediately.
Secure the snake if possible for identification.
Stay calm and inactive.
Do not cut open bite wound to bleed or suck out venom.
While all venomous snake bites are potentially fatal, the neurotoxic venom of coral snakes is more deadly than the hemotoxic venom of pit vipers.
What To Do About Raccoons
Raccoons can be a nuisance, but you can handle raccoon conflicts with kindness.
Found in almost every major urban, suburban and rural habitat in the 48 adjoining states, raccoons don't know that our trash cans, vegetable gardens, bird feeders and chimneys aren't for them—they’re just trying to survive. Unfortunately, when these clever critters take advantage of the food and shelter we (unintentionally) provide, they often get into trouble. Problem raccoons bring in a lot of money for some unethical wildlife control companies, but it’s more effective, inexpensive and humane to use our prevention, eviction and exclusion methods.
How can I prevent raccoon issues in general?
Never intentionally feed raccoons. Avoid feeding pets outside and pick up fallen fruit. If you must feed pets outside, pick up food as soon as they’re finished eating.
Purchase wildlife-proof trash cans, or secure lids with bungee cords.
Remove bird feeders at night, hang bird feeders from clotheslines, purchase bird feeder raccoon guards or consider removing bird feeders altogether and installing seeding and fruiting native plants instead.
Try hot sauce, motion-activated lights, motion-activated sprinklers and battery-operated radios to scare raccoons away.
Use single-strand electric wire or exclusion fencing around raised vegetable beds or to protect fish in backyard ponds. (If no children are present.)
If unoccupied, cover attic and crawl space gaps and install chimney caps.
Use lockable or smart pet doors and keep rabbits and cats indoors.
Don’t allow dogs to roam unsupervised and keep all vaccinations up to date.
Lock all duck and chicken coop doors and use 16-gauge 1-inch welded wire to protect all windows and any openings. Consider an automatic coop door that opens and closes at set times.
How do I know if I have a raccoon problem?
Sometimes raccoons are blamed for damage they don’t do. Here are signs you have a raccoon in residence:
Sounds that start at dusk and then again around dawn. If you hear sounds during the day, it’s probably not a raccoon who’s causing you concern. (With the exception of raccoons foraging longer hours to support their young, visiting a garden while dogs are indoors or moving to a new location.)
Hand-shaped tracks on light surfaces or where the ground is soft enough for their paws to leave an impression. Like bears, raccoons walk on their entire paws, not just the toes.
Scat about 3/4” in diameter and 2-3” long with segmenting and blunt ends. Raccoon scats vary widely in size, depending upon the raccoon’s age and in content—which is often quite evident, depending on what has been eaten.
Scat stations where one animal has repeatedly left scat or multiple animals have done so. Unfortunately, these are sometimes established on roofs and in attics. If feces have accumulated, follow the Center for Disease Control’s removal recommendations or hire cleanup professionals to safely clean the latrine area.
How can I get raccoons out of my house, attic or chimney?
Occasionally, a raccoon may accidentally enter your home through a pet door or other entryway with no intention of staying. Otherwise, raccoons mate in late winter and use a wide range of natural and manmade den and resting sites that may include unprotected attics and chimneys.
Raccoon kits are not physically able to leave your house, attic or chimney with mom until they’re about 10 weeks of age, so trapping and relocating mom or driving mom away may leave you with a bigger issue. You may need to hire a humane wildlife professional to assess if your raccoon has kits, and if so, if they’re old and mobile enough to leave with her.
RACCOONS IN YOUR HOME BY ACCIDENT
Never try to catch or directly handle a raccoon. A panicked and scared raccoon may bite. The raccoon is going to be mainly concerned about getting back outside, which is helpful—you just need to show them the way!
Stay calm. A panicked raccoon may run further inside your house and may cause damage.
Contain pets in rooms away from the raccoon.
Close doors to other parts of the house.
Open doors and windows that lead outside. (A chair under a window will help the raccoon jump up.)
Make a trail of marshmallows, cheese bits or fig bars leading out an open door. Move quietly and slowly and try to nudge them back out by walking behind them with a vacuum cleaner or broom.
If that doesn’t work, leave the room and wait quietly for the raccoon to escape.
If the raccoon doesn’t leave after you’ve tried for several hours, call your local animal control officer for assistance.
RACCOONS IN YOUR ATTIC, CRAWL SPACE, ETC.
First, figure out how your raccoon is getting in and out. Inspect your house to find entry points by viewing your house from the perspective of an animal looking for a den. Raccoons often find their way into attics at entry points where different building materials join; this might be where dormer junctions occur, where unpainted trim board creates structural defects, or where the building material itself is pliant, such as where vinyl soffits have been used.
Humanely harass your unwanted tenant at dusk with a combination of bright lights, loud noises and strong smells, such as a bowl of cider vinegar. Once you’re certain they’re all gone, cover available entry points with 16-gauge wire mesh or metal flashing to prevent future wildlife from moving in. If raccoons have occupied the space for a long time and feces have accumulated, follow the Center for Disease Control’s removal recommendations or hire cleanup professionals to safely clean the latrine area.
Some people use a “one-way door” to get raccoons out of attics or crawl spaces. Once the animals have left, they're unable to get back inside. Use of these doors is best left to professionals, who can make sure that mothers are not isolated from their kits. The young must be old and mobile enough to exit through the one-way door with their mother, and this can be very hard to assess.
RACCOONS IN YOUR CHIMNEY
An uncapped chimney is a perfect nursery for mother raccoons. Never try to smoke them out, as kits and mom are often trapped and die from smoke inhalation, making your removal problem far worse. The most effective and humane approach is to wait until after they move out, which they will, allowing you to install a chimney cap to prevent future issues.
If waiting isn’t an option, hire a humane wildlife professional who will keep the raccoon family intact and release within their home range using an eviction, exclusion and reunion strategy. As soon as the raccoons are gone, call a certified chimney sweep to clean your chimney of all nesting debris, and install a chimney cap.
How can I get raccoons away from my yard?
Raccoons can damage lawns (especially recently sodded ones) by digging for earthworms and grubs, which surface when lawns are wet. This is generally a short-term problem that lasts only as long as the rain or watering does. Raccoons might also make a temporary den in a woodpile or eat from your vegetable garden or pond.
Try hot sauce and motion-activated lights and sprinklers, or set up a battery-operated radio tuned to an all-night talk show and turn it on for a few nights to drive raccoons away.
Remove and burn wood used for a den outdoors to destroy roundworm eggs.
Use single-strand electric wire or fencing around raised vegetable beds or to protect fish in backyard ponds. (If no children are present.)
Provide places for fish to hide using aquatic plants, rocks and cinder blocks with holes in your pond. (This will also prevent other pond predators.)
How can I stop raccoons eating from my trash can?
Purchase wildlife-proof trash cans, secure lids with bungee cords and/or keep them in a shed or garage until pick-up day.
How can I stop raccoons eating from my bird feeder?
The simplest solution to raccoons at your bird feeders is to remove them at night and put them back outside in the morning. If that’s not an option, you can:
Remove your bird feeders for a week or slowly reduce the amount of food in the feeders. When the seed disappears or dwindles in size, raccoons may seek other places to eat.
Hang your bird feeders on poles a half inch or less in diameter, securing the pole firmly so it can’t be knocked over. Raccoons cannot climb such a thin pole and they won’t be able to tip it over to access the seed.
Suspend your bird feeders from a wire extending between two trees, or set up a clothesline for hanging the bird feeder, isolated from tree branches or other structures that might provide access for raccoons.
Reduce the seed that falls to the ground (an attractant for raccoons) by using only one type of seed per feeder and using feeders that catch fallen seed.
Purchase a bird feeder raccoon guard.
Store your birdseed supplies in galvanized metal cans with tight lids.
Don't grease up feeder poles or wires to prevent raccoons. If grease gets on a bird’s feathers, they can’t preen it out, leaving the bird vulnerable to predators, bad weather and disease.
Do raccoons have rabies or other diseases?
RABIES
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), only one human has ever died from the raccoon strain of rabies. A rabid raccoon is usually dead within 1-3 days of becoming infectious, and if you're bitten by a rabid raccoon, effective post-exposure treatment is available.
If you see a raccoon in your yard during the day, don’t panic—they’re not necessarily sick or dangerous. They may merely be foraging longer hours to support their young, visiting a garden while the dogs are indoors or moving to a new location.
Observe the behavior of the raccoon before calling for assistance. Look for:
Staggering gait
An animal seemingly oblivious to noise or nearby movement
Erratic wandering
Discharge from eyes or mouth
Wet and matted hair on face
Repeated high-pitch vocalization
Self-mutilation
Unprovoked aggression
A raccoon showing these signs may be rabid or infected with canine distemper or feline parvovirus. Call your local animal control or police department.
ROUNDWORM
Roundworm (Baylisascaris) found in raccoon feces can infect humans and pets. Prevention is the key. Keep raccoons out of attics and crawl spaces, and supervise young children and pets outdoors to make sure they don’t come into contact with raccoon feces.
LEPTOSPIROSIS
Leptospirosis is caused by a bacteria that can infect raccoons, skunks, opossums, Norway rats, mice and white-tailed deer. Humans may be exposed if they come into contact with infected urine or contaminated soil and water. Avoid touching wild animals. If contact is necessary to get a raccoon out of your house, call in a professional.
We have more reasons to thank bats than we do to fear them. Whether you want to get a bat out of your house, protect bats and their habitats, or have questions about bats and diseases, we can help.
What to do about Bats
Are bats harmful?
Bats, like any other mammal, can carry rabies, but the incidence of rabies in bat populations is extremely low. Bats who do contract rabies die quickly, so they don’t cause an ongoing threat. Follow normal safety practices: Do not handle bats with bare hands, warn children not to handle bats, and vaccinate dogs and cats for rabies.
The National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends capturing and testing any bat found in a room with a sleeping person. This means the bat will be killed to perform the test. This recommendation is made as a precaution, because people, children and the elderly especially, may be unaware of a bite from tiny bat teeth. In any situation of potential rabies exposure, immediately consult your physician and local health authorities.
If you find a bat on the ground outside, it doesn’t mean the bat is rabid. She may be ill, temporarily stunned from flying into a window, or—if the weather is colder—she may be too chilled to fly.
What should I do about a bat in my house?
Sometimes a bat may go off course and accidentally find their way into a home. This is no cause for alarm. Stay calm and follow these steps to remove them safely and humanely. A knowledgeable professional who understands bat behavior and laws protecting bats may be your best option. Bat Conservation International maintains a list of professionals who evict bats humanely. Your state wildlife agency may also be a resource to find help.
If you decide to remove the bat yourself, first contact your state wildlife agency to make sure you know what laws must be followed. Close interior doors and give the bat a way to get outside. If the bat doesn't exit on their own, it is best to wait until they land to try to catch them.
Wear thick work gloves—but not cotton, as most bats can easily bite through cotton. If gloves are not available, you can capture a bat in a rolled-up T-shirt or something of similar material. Make sure there is enough thickness to the material used so you will not be bitten. (Don't use a towel, as the bat’s claws might get snagged in its loops.)
Bats will most likely land somewhere they can hang—behind curtains or upholstered furniture, on hanging clothes or in house plants. Carefully place a plastic tub or similar container over them. Gently work a piece of cardboard or stiff paper under the container, trapping the bat inside. Now you are ready to release the bat outdoors.
How can I prevent bats from getting in my home?
If you have already found bats in your home, you need to find how they are getting in. Bats don't make holes to get into buildings; they use entry points we leave open. Small openings or narrow gaps high on houses allow bats to enter. Bats may also enter under loose-fitting doors, around windows and through gaps around conduits and utility vents. Inspect thoroughly and seal potential interior entrances.
Do this only when no dependent young are present—not during the time from May through August. Many states specifically prohibit excluding bats when they are raising young. Early autumn is the best time to evict bats. If you find hibernating bats during the winter, wait until spring when the bats will be able to fend for themselves.
Mylar or flash tape may repel bats from carports and gazebos, and plastic sheets attached with staples so that the bat cannot grasp onto the favored part of the structure will work as well. Make sure to put staples no more than an inch apart, so that the bat cannot crawl under the sheeting and get stuck.
Many homeowners who recognize the value of having bats at work for insect control will opt to put up a bat house at the time of eviction, hoping the bats will find and use it or occupy it on return the next spring.
How can I provide outdoor habitats for bats?
Give bats places to stay by protecting and planting native vegetation, and leave dead trees standing as shelter, when it's safe to do so. Those with caves or abandoned mines on their property can provide fencing and signs to keep people from disturbing hibernating bats.
Put up a bat house to reap the benefits of having bats nearby, whether you buy one or build your own.
SIZE AND FEATURES
More than 24” tall with 1 to 4 chambers, at least 20” tall and 14” wide
Chambers 3/4” - 1” deep
Horizontal grooves inside chambers, 1/4” - 1/2” apart
Landing plate with grooves
Shingled roof
Open bottom
Painted or stained surfaces and sealed seams
PLACEMENT
Mount on a building or metal pole.
Do not place above a window, door, walkway or deck.
Mount with a 2” - 4” spacer and a long backboard.
Place a shallow tray below for droppings.
Choose a spot with at least 7 morning hours of sun, except in particularly hot regions.
Mount houses on poles back-to-back, facing north and south.
Choose a spot near water and diverse habitat, 20’ from the nearest tree branch or other potential perch for aerial predators.
Avoid spots near air conditioner units, air vents or burn barrels.
If vandalism is likely, choose a safer location.
MAINTENANCE
Monitor for predators, hornets and overheating in summer.
Clean out any wasp or mud dauber nests each winter.
Caulk, paint and stain every 3 to 5 years.
Move or modify the house if no bats occupy it for 2 years.