Wildlife Nuisance and Damage

As human populations expand, people and wildlife are more likely to come into contact with the potential for nuisance and damage problems. On this page, you will find resources and tips for reducing human-wildlife conflicts.

Wildlife Nuisance and Damage

Wildlife management involves protecting, enhancing, and nurturing wildlife populations and the habitat needed for their well-being. However, there are times when certain species require management of a different kind, in order to reduce conflicts with people or with other wildlife species.

Wildlife can cause a variety of problems. Pests, such as cockroaches and rodents, can cause asthma and allergies. Rabies is a viral disease that can be carried and spread by a variety of animals.

The first step in effective wildlife nuisance control is to understand what species is causing the problem. Early observation equals easier control. Some of the most common wildlife nuisance species include:

• Deer: Deer can cause damage to fruit plantings year-round, but most damage occurs when natural food is limited in the winter.
• Moles: Often confused with voles and shrews, moles play a beneficial role in the management of soil and the control of undesirable grubs and insects. However, some homeowners object to the molehills and shallow tunnels they create.
• Voles: Voles have been known to cause extensive damage to orchards, ornamentals, and tree plantings.
• Mice: Mice can be a problem when they get into your home, but they can also be a problem in a greenhouse. They are known to uncover and feed on seeds and very small seedlings.
• Rabbits: Rabbits can feed on plants in your orchard, or damage woody plants by gnawing bark or clipping off branches, stems, and buds.
• Woodchuck: Also known as the groundhog, this widely distributed mammal often causes extensive damage to crops such as alfalfa, soybeans, beans, squash, tomatoes, and peas.
• Chipmunks: Chipmunks typically inhabit woodlands but they can cause structural damage by burrowing under patios, stairs, foundations, or retention walls.
• Bats: Bats and humans come into conflict when a lone bat flies into a building or when a maternity colony roosts in a building.
• Tree squirrels: When tree squirrels find their way into buildings they can damage walls, insulation, and electrical wires. Squirrels have also been known to raid bird feeders.
• Woodpeckers: Woodpeckers primarily peck into trees looking for food. However, wooden houses in forested suburbs or in rural, wooded countryside are also apt to suffer damage. Woodpeckers have been found making holes in cedar siding.
• Skunks: Skunks become a problem when they come into contact with pets or set up their dens close to human dwellings. Being sprayed by a skunk is not very pleasant.
• Snakes: They rarely cause actual damage, but are often considered a nuisance when found in or around buildings.
• Hawks: These birds of prey can become a problem when hanging around bird feeders waiting to hunt smaller birds that visit.

Wildlife Control

In Pennsylvania, landowners have a right to control nuisance wildlife. A small amount of damage can be tolerated, but when the damage is significant wildlife control becomes necessary. There are, however, guidelines that must be followed. These are enforced by the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

Various methods can be used to control particular species. Options include habitat modification, frightening, repellents, toxicants, fumigants, kill trapping and live capture, or shooting. The most effective approach is an integrated pest management strategy.

Effective management of deer begins by anticipating the extent of damage by regularly monitoring deer signs and responding with control methods such as repellents or fencing. Deer populations can also be managed through regulated hunting. In public areas, deer can be controlled with "deer-resistant" plants.

Voles can become a problem in orchards when girdling seedlings and trees and damaging roots. Control methods include the use of guards, hardware cloth, or mesh screening. Exposing voles to predators by maintaining a lawn or brush height of less than three inches is also very effective.

When stinging insects such as paper wasps and yellowjackets start nesting it’s best to treat the nest before it gets too big. You can use a ready-to-use insecticide with pyrethrin or a pyrethroid active ingredient.

Large numbers of birds can become a problem when they cause damage and unsanitary working conditions. They can consume and contaminate food and water and potentially transmit diseases to livestock and poultry when nesting around farm buildings.

Urban crows become a problem when their roosts can number to hundreds of thousands of birds. Introduce an effective crow management plan to move them away to an area where they will pose less of a problem.

Fish-eating birds can cause havoc at aquaculture facilities. Birds such as the American crow and American robin, European starling, common grackle, house finch, and house sparrow can cause damage in small orchards.