Best practices for nuisance wildlife control operators in New York State

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Step two: Choose management options

Option: Do nothing. Let the problem resolve itself.

Techniques: Education and persuasion.

Scare the animal away | Make the environment less attractive | Remove the culprit | Reduce the breeding population | Exclusion

Talk to your customers, so they understand why this problem developed and what's likely to happen next. The best thing to do may be—nothing.

For example, American robins may attack windowpanes for a few weeks during the early spring, as they establish their nesting territories. The birds attack their reflection in the glass, because they mistake it for an intruder who's threatening their territory. But they'll stop soon. Many people will be satisfied to wait it out, once they realize the problem will go away on its own. If someone can't tolerate the noise, you can use your knowledge of animal behavior to suggest an easy fix: cover the window to reduce the reflection. If the robin doesn't see the "intruder" (which is just its own reflection) then it won't have a reason to defend its territory. (Quite a few problems with migratory birds take care of themselves within a few weeks.)

We all have our moments. It's easy enough to work yourself into a bit of a frenzy over something that's not such a big deal, or not even true. For example, many people believe "drooling = rabid animal." Yet healthy opossums drool and shake as part of their defensive behavior, and this species doesn't often catch rabies. In such a case, sharing correct information may make a "problem" disappear.

If someone doesn't know much about wildlife, how can they evaluate the situation sensibly? They lack information and the context for understanding it correctly, which you can provide. Perhaps you can handle this over the phone and save yourself the trip.

There are many times when this "Zen" approach is common sense. As soon as the snow melts, you'll probably get calls from people concerned about moles or voles ruining their lawns. There may be tunnels all over the place! But there's a good chance that this clue is all that's left. Both moles and voles change their habits seasonally. These tunnels are the sign of their winter activity. They may have left the area. It's much more sensible to wait a little while to see if there's evidence of new damage.

Sometimes, by the time you've arrived, the problem is fixed. Maybe a bat entered a room through a torn screen and has already escaped. You may only need to explain the cause of the problem and how to prevent repeats of this scenario. Consider creating a short tip sheet to explain the predictable problems. This could save time on the job. Instead of your long explanation, hit the high points and leave the customer with the written details.

Next Section (Option: Make the environment less attractive)