Best practices for nuisance wildlife control operators in New York State

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Ch 5: Step one: Asses the situation

Learning objectives and review questions

Signs of wildlife presence

1. Describe two benefits of doing a thorough inspection.
    
2. Give an example of a question you'd ask to figure out whether a problem was caused by a raccoon or a squirrel.
    
3. Describe four kinds of animal sign that you'd look for during an inspection.
    
4. Your knowledge of wildlife habits helps you estimate how many nuisance individuals may be present-before you even get to the site. Describe two biological facts that led you to this conclusion.
    
5. You've just noticed something that's going to change the way you deal with this situation. What was it?

Review questions

1. You're called to a home to deal with a rodent problem. Your customer has three dogs and a toddler. That makes you think:
   1. No wonder the place smells
   2. I should attach the mouse traps to beams, where the dogs and the child can't reach them
   3. Why aren't these lazy dogs taking care of the mice?
   4. I could set out live traps, which would be safer for the kid
   5. Answers "b" and "d" correct
   6. Answers "b," "c" and "d" correct
       
2. When you first talk to your customer to gain information about the nature of the wildlife conflict, you might ask:
   1. "What can you tell me about this problem?" and "Why didn't you call earlier?"
   2. "What's going on?" and "Can you pay for this?"
   3. "What have you seen and heard?" and "When do you notice the problem?"
   4. Very little, because they always lie
       
3. There's a noise in the dropped ceiling. Your customer's not sure what it is, but you know it could be a rodent or a bird. Your truck is packed tight, so you want to make sure you bring the right equipment for the job. What question do you ask her?
   1. When do you hear the noises, during the day or at night?
   2. How loud is it?
   3. Where are the noises coming from?
   4. You mind if I leave this skunk in your driveway while I finish up my route? That would make it easier for me to fit everything into my truck without going back to the office.
       
4. Your customer just bought an old house. They've been told there's a bat or two in the attic, but they were too scared to check. They want to know how many are up there, and have them removed before they move into the house, which they're planning to do the first week in July. Because you're the wildlife Sherlock Holmes, you tell your customer you'd be glad to help, but:
   1. This time of year, there's a good chance there's more than one or two bats in the attic. There could be a whole colony of females raising their young.
   2. You can start now, and make sure that the bats can't get from the attic into the living spaces. But you'd like to let this batch of young leave on their own, which they'll do by mid-August. Once they're gone, you can finish bat-proofing the house.
   3. The bat's probably long gone. Don't worry about it. You'll never go into the attic, anyway.
   4. Answers "a" and "b" are correct.
       

5. You can often turn a vulnerable site into a darn good fortress by installing a barrier around it. Netting works both indoors and out. At left, a flat rooftop and satellite dish are protected under nettings, whish works equally well inside the warehouse below, to keep birds from roosting on the rafters. If your customer worries about how things will look after you're done, netting may be a good option because it's hard to see, especially from a distance.

   You think there's a mammal in the office. While inspecting the kitchen, you'd look for these signs (check all that apply):
   ___ gnaw marks on the cabinets
   ___ droppings in drawers and by the kickboards
   ___ smudge marks on the baseboards
   ___ urine stains on walls and woodwork
   ___ holes chewed in cereal boxes and other stored foods
   ___ burrows
   ___ piles of nuts and seeds in a cabinet that's not used often
   ___ odors
   ___ fur
   ___ tracks
   ___ noise
   ___ the creature
   ___ pets scratching at a wall
   ___ livestock remains
   ___ broken egg shells
   ___ nest
   ___ crop damage

Answers:

1. e
    
2. c (these questions will help you identify which species is present. Some of the questions address reasonable concerns, but in a tactless manner.)
    
3. a (rodents and birds might be active in some of the same places. Most birds are diurnal. All of the ones most likely to cause problems in homes are. Rodents may be active at night, too).
    
4. d
    
5. Most of these signs are made by rodents, except for livestock remains, broken egg shells, and crop damage, which you wouldn't expect to see in a kitchen. Rats do burrow, but usually outside.

Next Section (Step two: learning objectives)

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