What to Do When You Encounter Injured Wildlife

There will be times when you will encounter injured wildlife. You must know the necessary things to do before you try to help or move an injured animal.

You may come across injured wildlife when you live beside a wooded area or near hills,mountains or riverbanks. These animals often leave their territory to find shelter from the cold or to forage for food. They often encounter injuries through run-ins with other animals, by getting into traffic or even getting caught in inhumane forms of animal control (traps and cages that purposely injure wildlife).

Before you decide to help or move it, there are a few things that you should take note of.

Signs of Injured Wildlife

One of the most obvious signs of an injured animal is bleeding and wounds. An injured animal may have one or more of these symptoms:

• May have swollen body parts where a wound is located.
• May be covered in flies, fleas or other parasites that feed on blood
• May be lethargic
• May be cold to the touch
• May have lost a significant amount of fur or feathers
• May have dangling limbs or wings when you find them
• May be wheezing as it is lying on the street

What should you do when you encounter injured wildlife?

Animals tend to be more aggressive when they are hurt or threatened. By getting near an injured animal, you may end up hurting it or yourself. Threatened injured animals bite and scratch whoever approaches them. Trying to help a trapped animal can lead to further injuries to the animal or to you. Avoid taking injured animals home, because these animals belong in the wild and do not make good pets.

But if the injured animal you found is unaggressive, there are ways you can help alleviate some of its pain. Before you touch an injured animal be sure to wear gloves. You may never know what kinds of bacteria an injured animal may transmit to you if you use your bare hands to move the injured animal. You can also place the injured animal in a box or container so that you can take it to the nearest veterinarian. If the animal you find is seriously injured, it is best to leave it where it is and just call for help.

The best choice is always to call for help immediately. Wildlife professionals will know exactly what to do when they see an injured animal. Professionals can expertly move and treat injured animals on the spot without risking its life or spreading any disease that the animal may have. Professional animal control experts know what kind of gear to wear to move or treat injured animals. With the help of trained animal experts, the injured animal you found will have a greater chance of being returned to the wild.

Read More

Preventing Wildlife from Entering Your Property

Urban wildlife will look for food and shelter once winter starts. They will look for a warm place to raise their children and storage for the food they forage.

Lurking wildlife will find a way to enter a home as long as there is food and warm shelter. Squirrels, mice, raccoons, bats, and other urban wildlife can become a nuisance once they enter your home. Aside from the sanitation issue (they leave urine and feces everywhere), they are also potential carriers of diseases that can be fatal to household members and pets. Even worse, they may make your home into their den or nest and reproduce there creating even bigger infestation problems for you.

Urban Wildlife Problems

Urban wildlife in your property can cause a variety of problems. Mice leave behind a trail of urine and feces that can spread harmful diseases. The feces and urine of mice also emit a pungent smell that can spread throughout the area where they are found. Mice reproduce at a fast rate that can lead to dozens of babies in just a few months.

Raccoons are a handful once they make a home in your chimney or attic. The babies of raccoons squeal late into the night. These noises can keep you up till the wee hours of the morning. Raccoons also make a fine mess of things because of their nimble hands. These animals can open food containers and garbage bins. They can also spread harmful viruses like rabies.

Despite their small size, squirrels can cause a lot of trouble for homeowners. These small creatures can chew on electrical wires that can trigger fires and power outages. Aside from wires, squirrels gnaw on wood used to frame your home, causing structural damage in the walls and ceilings.

Skunks emit a pungent smell when they feel threatened. This smell can cling onto your skin or clothes for a long time. They can also transmit harmful diseases when allowed to populate your property.

Preventing Urban Wildlife from Entering Your Property

Keeping animals away from your property is easy. Make sure that garbage bins are locked so that animals will be unable to open them. Food containers should be carefully closed or stored. Raccoons have adroit hands that can open latches, windows, and locks. Remove piles of wood, leaves, or compost so that skunks, squirrels, or raccoons cannot use them to make their dens. Sealing and repairing holes and walls in your house will stop squirrels, raccoons, and mice from entering.

To prevent skunks from accessing garbage bins, place oil of mustard at the base of the garbage bin. If you have a garden, you can spray a mixture of hot pepper and water on the plants to prevent skunks from approaching them. You can use pepper spray around your home to keep squirrels away. It is best to implement preventive methods to stop urban wildlife from entering your property.

If the wildlife continues to enter your property through other means, it may be time to put fences and other exclusion methods in place. This is where professionals can help. Get a wildlife control company to assess the situation. They can help you identify where the entry points are and help you seal them off. Animal control experts can also give you more tips for permanent and effective wildlife exclusion.

Read More