01-15-2008, 09:10 PM
Clackamas, Ore - Winter is the season where animals like squirrels, raccoons, skunks and opossums are all looking for a warm place to stay and an easy meal - if they can get it. Susan Barnes, wildlife biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife urges residents to take steps to keep wildlife out of structures and outside, where they belong. "It's better for wildlife and for humans when animals remain outdoors where they belong," she explains.
Residents can take a variety of steps to protect their homes from entry of unwanted animals. Sealing your home properly by closing chimneys, attics and crawl spaces; repairing holes or weak spots around your home where an animal could enter and trimming tree limbs six to eight feet from your house are all good deterrents. Removing food sources such as bird feeders, wildlife feeders and fallen tree fruit is also recommended.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife discourages home owners from using animal feeders intended for animals such as squirrels, raccoons or other mammals. According to Barnes, animals can actually be harmed by feeders, rather than helped. "It's a common misconception that urban wildlife don't have enough food to survive, so well-meaning individuals attempt to supplement that food source. What actually happens is that people create a situation where both animals and humans are put at risk," she explained.
Feeding wildlife can increase the occurrence of disease transmission as animals come into closer contact with one another and in higher numbers than naturally would occur. Diseases such as a parasitic mites can be spread to other animals using the feeder. Some diseases carried by wildlife can potentially be spread to domestic pets and humans.
Providing a constant source of food for mammals can also create an unnatural over-population of animals in a concentrated area where the available resources are not enough to support the animals' other needs such as shelter and nest sites.
Additional information on living with urban wildlife can be found on-line at http://www.dfw.state.or.us/ODFWhtml/Info...anwild.pdf or http://www.dfw.state.or.us/swwd/wildlife...#squirrels
Residents can take a variety of steps to protect their homes from entry of unwanted animals. Sealing your home properly by closing chimneys, attics and crawl spaces; repairing holes or weak spots around your home where an animal could enter and trimming tree limbs six to eight feet from your house are all good deterrents. Removing food sources such as bird feeders, wildlife feeders and fallen tree fruit is also recommended.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife discourages home owners from using animal feeders intended for animals such as squirrels, raccoons or other mammals. According to Barnes, animals can actually be harmed by feeders, rather than helped. "It's a common misconception that urban wildlife don't have enough food to survive, so well-meaning individuals attempt to supplement that food source. What actually happens is that people create a situation where both animals and humans are put at risk," she explained.
Feeding wildlife can increase the occurrence of disease transmission as animals come into closer contact with one another and in higher numbers than naturally would occur. Diseases such as a parasitic mites can be spread to other animals using the feeder. Some diseases carried by wildlife can potentially be spread to domestic pets and humans.
Providing a constant source of food for mammals can also create an unnatural over-population of animals in a concentrated area where the available resources are not enough to support the animals' other needs such as shelter and nest sites.
Additional information on living with urban wildlife can be found on-line at http://www.dfw.state.or.us/ODFWhtml/Info...anwild.pdf or http://www.dfw.state.or.us/swwd/wildlife...#squirrels