Download Habitat, a biological definition Needs provided by habitat:

Dana Sanchez
Extension Wildlife Specialist
Assoc. Prof. in Dept. of Fisheries and Wildlife
[email protected]
http://fw.oregonstate.edu/content/extension-wildlife
extension.oregonstate.edu
Habitat, a biological definition
Habitat is the combination of factors
• biotic
• abiotic
necessary to produce
– Occupancy, survival, and reproduction by members of a
given species
Needs provided by habitat:
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Food
Water
Cover
Other species-specific needs
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Conflicts arise when:
• Animals get into & occupy structures
• Animals eat what we don’t want them to:
– Ornamentals
– Personal food
– Production crops (plant or animal)
• Animals cause structural damage or loss
– Structures or crops
• Animals pose a physical risk
– direct or indirect
Basic tactics
• Prevent the problem
• Block
• Deter
• Remove the animal(s)
*Change the game & combine tactics over time–
– Remove the “draw”, increase the perception of
risks/costs to the animal, and make it tough to
access
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How do you prevent & manage wildlife
conflicts?
• Learn about the life cycle of wildlife species
• Assess your level of tolerance, resources, and
possible neighborhood solutions
• Think ahead and implement exclusionary measures
for long-term success
• Use multiple tools tailored to your situation
Assessment
• Are there health or safety concerns?
• How serious is the problem?
- insignificant, tolerable, beyond acceptable
• What is the context?
- For example is the problem limited to certain seasons?
– Scale (your yard, your neighborhood, focal path or resource)
• Is the conflict or problem likely to reoccur?
Thinking about animals in space
Home range
of an individual
Range or
location of
a local
population
Geographic range of the species
(pygmy rabbit, Brachylagus idahoensis)
Is shaded in gray.
Selection of
specific resources
within a home
range
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Thinking about animals in time:
Ground squirrels as an example of seasonality
When to Use Specific Controls
based upon activity periods and food sources of the California Ground Squirrel
Winter
Spring
Summer
Fall
Major activity periods
Adult
Reproduction
Juveniles
Major food sources
Green forage
Seeds
Best time for control
Fumigation
Baiting
Trapping
Prevent the conflict:
An excellent solution, when possible
• Institute exclusion solutions before the problems develop
– Primary access point
– Border of entire area
– Around specific area of concern
• Keep all food and garbage indoors or in wildlife-proof
containers
• Do not leave pet food out unattended
• Consider short- and long-term solutions. Remember that
hazing and/or trapping are only temporary solutions
Why not just move them?
• Low survival
– Intra-specific aggression
– Vulnerable to predation
– Homing behavior = risks along the way
– Likely to starve, do poorly
• Disrupt resident population of natives
• *Moving non-native invasives
• Illegal in many cases
• Disease transmission
• Ethical issue of “moving the problem”
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When you need help:
Your District Bio and Wildlife Control Operators
• Call ODFW HQ with your address to get District Biologist
contact info: 800-720-6339 or 503-947-6000
• WCOs are trained and licensed by OR Dept. of Fish and
Wildlife
• Private individuals/companies that charge for services
• Check for locale, specialties, estimates
• http://www.dfw.state.or.us/wildlife/license_permits_apps/wildl
ife_control_operator_contacts.asp
Raccoons: A case study in applying
the basic tactics
Prevent the conflict:
Do not leave pet food out –
It creates an excellent invitation!
Reducing the allure from a skunk’s perspective
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Remove lumber and junk piles
Store garbage in tightly sealed cans
Bring in pet food and water at night
Use insecticides to control grubs in lawn
Restrict use of bird seed
Institute rodent control program
Never leave out food for wild animals
Remove downed fruit
Place ammonia soaked towels in den
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Blibbler, 2003
Joseph Blowers, White River
Canyon, OR 2014
Fencing out deer family members
•
Should be a minimum of
6 ½ feet tall
•
Consider building to 8’
high
•
Metal fences are longerlasting and sturdier than
polypropylene
•
Also:
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Consider height
Topography
Maintenance
A single electric wire along the top
discourages deer from jumping over
Charge has to be on for it to work
Fence excludes predators as well
Maintain bottom edge of fence: Fill
in openings > 6”
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Skunk Exclusion
Skunks don’t climb high fences
•Seal off foundation openings
• Use wire mesh fence around
garden and bury 1-2 feet in
ground
Excluding the diggers
Wire mesh dug at least 1.5 feet into ground
Create an apron bent at 90°and facing outwards
How to keep raccoons out
• Install hardware cloth
– bury at least 6 inches down and 6 inches out from the building
• Replace and reinforce damaged screen vents
• Keep crawl spaces tightly covered
• Secure pet doors at night or use electronic pet doors. Use
one-way doors.
• Secure openings in chimney caps
• Adopt a noisy dog* to patrol the yard
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Barriers for individual plants
• Cloches: Bell-shaped
protection, built out of milk
gallons, pvc tubing, or other
plastic
• Tree guards
Using the “landscape of fear” as an intervention:
Raccoon denning deterrence
• a radio set to a talk station and /or
• a strobe light placed in an attic or crawl space
Why does timing of deterrence make a difference?
• Most raccoon young born March-June
• Weaning occurs 3-4 months of age
– Juveniles may start moving out July-Sept
Deter by taste
• Commercial products are
available
– Most need reapplication
after rain
– Vary in effectiveness
• *Non-commercial options
may be available
(hydrolyzed casein)
• Check out the research by
APHIS - A great source of
current research!
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Hazing: Deter with shock and awe
• Water scarecrows
• Rubber bullets (permit from ODFW)
• Bangers, screamers, shell-crackers,
propane cannons.
• Need a permit from State Fire Marshal,
signed by ODFW biologists.
• Call Oregon State Fire Marshal at:
(503) 373-1871, x272 or x274
Scarecrows – localized deterrence
 Motion activated water deterrent
 Element of surprise
 Can be effective against birds,
deer, turkeys
 May need multiple scarecrows to
cover your garden area
 Assess foot traffic and wind…
 Must maintain battery or solar
panel
Removing animals
• Species ID is very important
– Management status and options
– Approaches and tools
– Seasonality and timing
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In Oregon, raccoons are classified as a Furbearing
Mammal and are therefore protected (OAR 635-0500052)
A permit from ODFW is available for live trapping.
Transported raccoons are required to be euthanized
after transport. Most folks use a .22 while it’s in the
live trap.
Wildlife diseases prevent ODFW from allowing
relocation (e.g., distemper)
Management tools rely on diagnosis/ID of critter at work
Townsend’s mole
Pocket gopher
Vole (meadow mice)
Gophers
Moles
-Eyes not visible
-Eyes are visible
-Mounds are round
-Mounds are crescent
shaped
-Tunnels are visible when
they are shallow
-Tunnels not visible
-Plug or open hole is
visible in fresh mounds
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Northern Pocket Gopher
• Burrowing rodent
• Herbivores that
prefer roots, bulbs, tubers
• Does not hibernate
• Young born Feb. to June
Moles
• Insectivores
• Prefer moist, loose soils of the sort
favored by grubs and earthworms
• Townsend’s Mole (8-9” long) is
likely to eat plant tubers and roots
Mole Control
 L-shaped hardware cloth with edges 812” deep
 Treat lawn for grubs to reduce main
food source for the moles
 Actively harass moles so they will seek
homes elsewhere (stomp on runways)
 Trap – lethal removal
 Why is it hard to poison a mole?
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Pocket gopher mounds
Extensive burrowing
Notice the lumps in soil and
plug in burrow entrance
Voles
•Short lifespan: 2 to 16 months, but high
reproductive potential (Mar-Oct/Nov)
•9 species in W OR; Gray-tailed and
Townsend’s most common
•Reach 5 to 7 inches long at maturity, dep. on
the species
•Create extensive tunnel systems, or “runs”
•Damage gardens by eating tubers, seeds, and
bulbs (prefer grasses)
Signs that voles are at work
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Meeting the vole challenge
• Exclusion is difficult for larger areas of
herbaceous plants
– Creation of barriers can work, esp. around orchard trees
• Rodenticide baiting allowed, but follow the rules!
• Let nature help – Consider increasing natural
predation:
– Raptor perches
– Don’t persecute other small- & medium-sized
predators
Ground squirrels
California ground squirrel at Otter
Rock, OR
By Celeste Ramsay, 2014 , CCL
Breeding season:Feb through March*
Gestation: 25-35 days
*Farther south the species breeds year-round.
Litter size estimate for Oregon is 3-7 (avg 5)
Colonial: multiple squirrels use each burrow
system
Openings 4”, rip to 20”+ to disturb
Hibernate, but some young active year-round
Estivation by adults for up to 1 week/bout
Developed for California regs http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7438.html
Toxicants as tools
• READ THE LABEL. FOLLOW THE LABEL.
• Fumigants or gas cartridges, when lit, burn through rodent
tunnels producing carbon monoxide which kill rodents.
• Please keep in mind secondary impacts of pesticides, because
chemicals have no knowledge of what has swallowed them.
– Improper application of zinc phosphide bait for voles kills
1000s to >10,000 geese per event – Usually 1-2 events per
year in OR
– If rodents are likely to have sub lethal doses of toxicants
onboard, think about what other (living) tools you’re trying
to employ (Your dog? Owls? Hawks? Foxes? Etc.)
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Keep Wildlife WILD!
Habituation can be deadly, damaging, and
dangerous
• “Fed bears are dead bears”
• A wild animal is always a wild animal
• Habituation often centers on food
– Decreased fear of humans
– Increased aggressiveness for food or space
– Competition/elimination of domestic “competitors”
– Disease or waste products
– Prey species attract predators
– Other risks…
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Enlisting your help against:
Invasive Species
“Nonnative organisms that cause economic or environmental
harm and are capable of spreading to new areas of the state.
Term does not include humans, domestic livestock or
nonharmful exotic organisms.”
SQUEAL ON PIGS!
888-268-9219
http://www.dfw.state.or.us/conservationstrategy/invasive_species/feral_swine.asp
Steps to opportunity enhancement
• Discover what exists and where
• Keep species and scale in mind
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– Mapping can help: structures, soil, light, existing
vegetation
Evaluate
– What are the possibilities?
Visualize and sketch
Strategize
– Time, energy, $, and scale
Implement!
**Keep an eye to NOT CREATING ecological traps or
advancing invasions
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