While dating my wife, Kathy many years ago. I was invited to spend the evening with her and her parents to watch a movie at their home. The evening was going well; we had our sodas and popcorn, and a warm blanket to snuggle up with and the lights turned low.
I don’t remember what we were watching but I do remember the rest of the eventful evening.
Kathy’s parents had a den off of their living room with a door leading to their attached garage. While we were watching the movie Kathy insisted that she heard scratching sounds coming from the garage. At first we discarded her concerns and continued watching the movie. Kathy continued to insist that something was in the garage and the brave men of the house decided to investigate. We put the movie on pause and ventured into the garage. A quick inspection revealed nothing, with the exception of small animal footprints on a dust covered shelving unit near the door. After deciding that Kathy was hearing things, we continued with the movie. After a short while, she began to hear the scratching noises again. This time she took it upon herself to investigate. I cannot fully describe the look of horror on her face as she opened the door to the garage, or the screams of “It’s a huge rat”. Kathy slammed the door and while darting away from the door she shook with vile disgust. Meanwhile, hearing Kathy scream, I jumped up to see what had happened. To my disbelief a very large opossum was standing with its hind legs on the doorstep and its front paws holding itself upright against the screen door. It appeared to be looking into the house. At first glance the opossum did look very similar to a rat and after a second or two decided that it was in fact an opossum.
Kathy’s father, bless his heart ran down the hall to a closet where he stored a shotgun. When he returned he attempted to load the gun, however his hands had a very nervous shake and he found it difficult to load the chamber. The chaos and excitement in the house that night was unbelievable, one minute we are watching a movie the next my future father-in-law had a shotgun in his hands.
I suggested that he not shoot at the opossum since there were two very expensive cars parked in the garage. Chances were better than average the animal would be missed, and the bb’s from the shotgun shell would ricochet around the garage; the cars most likely, would get the worst of it.
After everyone calmed down, Kathy’s father and I ventured into the garage armed with a golf club. The animal was under some boxes in the far end of the garage. I slowly approached the animal, not knowing how it would react. I could feel the hot breath of my future farther-in-law against the nap of my neck. I turned and asked him sarcastically if he would rather take the lead. He got the hint and backed up a couple of feet. We slowly continued to approach until I was close enough to reach it with the golf club. I gently poked at its rear end hoping it would move; instead it hissed at me and showed its teeth while staring at me with devilish red glowing eyes. After gaining a little more confidence, I gave it a couple more pokes and it finally decided to retreat. The opossum slowly waddled out of the now open main garage door never to be seen again.
Looking back, I always had a knack for dealing with animals; I just didn’t realize it at the time. Over the years I have had many experiences, some funny, some very terrifying, all of which have helped me become the best professional trapper around.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Raccoon’s And Family Heirlooms
I will spend a lot of time over the coming winter months trapping and relocating nuisance animals, such as raccoons, opossum, skunks, rats, mice and, coyotes from property in the Farmington/Farmington Hills and surrounding areas. I wrote the following to emphasize that reasonable precautions and a simple maintenance chore this winter would help in dealing with and living with wildlife in our city and surrounding areas.
Several weeks ago, my son, Erik and I were out fairly early in the morning checking our traps. It was a light day of trapping with several raccoons, two Skunks and an opossum neatly stored in the bed of my pickup truck. We had several hours before our next appointment so we stopped at a coffee shop for donuts-then headed for home. As we pulled into our driveway around 7:00am, I noticed my wife standing in her robe waiting for us.
Kathy had been trying to get in touch with us for the last 45 minutes; unfortunately I had left my cell phone at home. After she let me know, in not so many words, how she had been woken up prematurely, she informed us of an emergency call that needed our attention. With an apology, the address, my cell phone, and our highly trained golden retriever Anna, we left for the emergency.
Kathy had been sleeping when the phone rang at 6:15 am. The woman on the other end seemed very distraught and wanted assistance quickly. She explained that a very large raccoon had entered their home and was knocking things off of her cabinets. Kathy did her best to calm her down a told her that someone would be there within the hour.
The home was easy to find since there was an elderly couple joyously flagging us down and directing us into their driveway. I told Erik to leave Anna in the truck until we needed her. We walked through front door armed with five-foot catchpoles. Catch poles are basically pipes with a cable noose on one end used to humanely and safely capture large animals.
A quick scan of the room revealed multiple piles of broken glass and pottery. The homeowners explained that the raccoon had successfully destroyed 15 antique cookie jars that had been in their family for several generations. When we ventured deeper into the home we noticed, on top of a curio cabinet, a very large raccoon and it was not happy. I told Erik to go back to the truck and be ready with a transport cage.
I approached the animal and slowly placed the noose of my catchpole over the head and neck. With a quick tug I had what felt like a 35-pound raccoon securely harnessed. It jumped about and flailed desperately trying to wedge itself behind the cabinet. The fight was futile for the raccoon and soon it gave up the struggle and submitted to my will-it was clearly under control. I dragged the raccoon outside to the open cage Erik had prepared and 30 seconds later we had it securely stowed with the other animals captured during the morning.
Afterwards it was determined that the raccoon had crawled down the fireplace chimney sometime during the night and calmly walked out the fireplace opening into their living room. Fortunately the homeowners were home and not on vacation--the raccoon could have done significant damage to their property.
This situation could have been avoided with one simple product - a chimney flue screen cap. Flue caps are covers that allow smoke to exit a chimney while preventing wildlife from gaining access to the home. They can be purchased from any hardware or home supply warehouse and most are reasonable in price. The advice that we give out most often is to secure all of your Chimney flues with covers. This is a simple maintenance task that can save you a potential headache. Unfortunately, in this case the loss of priceless family heirlooms and the heartache associated with their destruction should have never happened.
Several weeks ago, my son, Erik and I were out fairly early in the morning checking our traps. It was a light day of trapping with several raccoons, two Skunks and an opossum neatly stored in the bed of my pickup truck. We had several hours before our next appointment so we stopped at a coffee shop for donuts-then headed for home. As we pulled into our driveway around 7:00am, I noticed my wife standing in her robe waiting for us.
Kathy had been trying to get in touch with us for the last 45 minutes; unfortunately I had left my cell phone at home. After she let me know, in not so many words, how she had been woken up prematurely, she informed us of an emergency call that needed our attention. With an apology, the address, my cell phone, and our highly trained golden retriever Anna, we left for the emergency.
Kathy had been sleeping when the phone rang at 6:15 am. The woman on the other end seemed very distraught and wanted assistance quickly. She explained that a very large raccoon had entered their home and was knocking things off of her cabinets. Kathy did her best to calm her down a told her that someone would be there within the hour.
The home was easy to find since there was an elderly couple joyously flagging us down and directing us into their driveway. I told Erik to leave Anna in the truck until we needed her. We walked through front door armed with five-foot catchpoles. Catch poles are basically pipes with a cable noose on one end used to humanely and safely capture large animals.
A quick scan of the room revealed multiple piles of broken glass and pottery. The homeowners explained that the raccoon had successfully destroyed 15 antique cookie jars that had been in their family for several generations. When we ventured deeper into the home we noticed, on top of a curio cabinet, a very large raccoon and it was not happy. I told Erik to go back to the truck and be ready with a transport cage.
I approached the animal and slowly placed the noose of my catchpole over the head and neck. With a quick tug I had what felt like a 35-pound raccoon securely harnessed. It jumped about and flailed desperately trying to wedge itself behind the cabinet. The fight was futile for the raccoon and soon it gave up the struggle and submitted to my will-it was clearly under control. I dragged the raccoon outside to the open cage Erik had prepared and 30 seconds later we had it securely stowed with the other animals captured during the morning.
Afterwards it was determined that the raccoon had crawled down the fireplace chimney sometime during the night and calmly walked out the fireplace opening into their living room. Fortunately the homeowners were home and not on vacation--the raccoon could have done significant damage to their property.
This situation could have been avoided with one simple product - a chimney flue screen cap. Flue caps are covers that allow smoke to exit a chimney while preventing wildlife from gaining access to the home. They can be purchased from any hardware or home supply warehouse and most are reasonable in price. The advice that we give out most often is to secure all of your Chimney flues with covers. This is a simple maintenance task that can save you a potential headache. Unfortunately, in this case the loss of priceless family heirlooms and the heartache associated with their destruction should have never happened.
Don't Forget The Little Ones
Lately we have received calls regarding adolescent raccoons in attic spaces, under decks and in crawl spaces throughout the area. These animals were abandoned by the mother, possibly the mother was killed on the road or was trapped by a homeowner and relocated to a nearby park. This time of year when the adult raccoon is removed or relocated by a homeowner, they could be causing another unforeseen problem for themselves. Over the years I have accumulated story after story from experiences dealing with nuisance animals. The following is another story where homeowners thought they were solving a problem only to cause another.
Not to long ago I received a call to help with a problem a resident was having. Apparently something was making scratching noises in their attic space and they needed someone to come and check it out. Over the phone they told me that they constantly see squirrels on their roof and wondered if one had made its way into their attic.
Upon the arrival of our new client’s home, we noticed that the property was heavily wooded with several trees growing up against the house. My first mental note was to have the homeowner trim back the trees far enough to prevent animals from climbing up and jumping onto the roof.
The homeowner greeted us outside and after an introduction and a few pleasantries; my attention turned to a large live trap in the garage. The homeowner explained that a couple of days ago, he was experiencing a problem with a raccoon stealing the grease drip pan from his barbecue grill. He had successfully trapped and relocated the problem raccoon to a nearby park. As he was telling me this, I could see the cartoon light bulb dimly lit over his head. He continued to explain that, a couple of days later he and his wife could hear meowing and scratching sounds in his attic. They feared there might be animals in their attic so they decided to call in a professional. As he concluded his story, at this point the light bulb was fully lit, he asked if it was possible that he removed a mother raccoon from babies in the attic. My thoughts exactly….
As my son, Erik and I lifted ourselves into the attic we noticed that the screen from a rotary roof fan had been chewed, mangled and laid on the insulation just below leaving an opening for animals to enter. Further inspection showed an unbelievable amount of raccoon feces spanning the entire attic area. Some feces looked dried and as if it had been there for several years. Mental note #2, all of this feces is a calling card for other Raccoons and the homeowner need to clean it up as quickly possible.
The highest point in the attic was only four-foot tall and it angled down in four directions towards the outside eaves. We did a cursory scan of the attic space and discovered that there
Little Raccoon Trapped in an Attic
were no animals visible. We sat in silence for a few minutes until we heard the faint meows of adolescent raccoons.
After a more detailed search we located the two small animals. They were tucked deeply in one corner of the attic near the lowest point of the rafters and behind electrical wiring that had been chewed upon. Mental note #3, electrical wiring needs to be repaired before it becomes a fire hazard. I crawled on my belly, as close as I could; however I wasn’t able to reach them by hand. I tried to extract them with my catchpole only to have them disappear into the eaves.
We decided to set live traps and wait it out. As we left for our next assignment, I was concerned if the raccoons possibly still nursing; would they be tempted to enter a trap with solid food. Several hours had passed when we received a call from the homeowner. They heard the trap set off and as instructed they called us on our mobile telephone. One down, one to go. A couple more hours later we had the second raccoon. Before we left I made several recommendations from all of my mental notes and other standard common sense suggestions to prevent future invasions.
While driving away we determined that the adolescent raccoons had been without their mother, food (other than what was in the trap as bait) or water for at least 4 days. Erik and I decided to bring them home to re-hydrate them before releasing them back into the wild. It is very satisfying to us to be able to release these and all animals back into an environment conducive to their well-being. They were sent off well fed and well hydrated and most importantly they were released to experience a new world together.
These two raccoons were very lucky, if the homeowners hadn’t heard them meowing; they would have soon died. The homeowners were equally as lucky, if the raccoons had gone un-noticed and died, the aroma from the decaying carcasses would have been overwhelming for at least a week.
Never approach a wild animal including infant, adolescent or adults, unless you are 100 percent positive there is no danger. Even infant wild animals can cause serious damage to a finger or a hand.
Not to long ago I received a call to help with a problem a resident was having. Apparently something was making scratching noises in their attic space and they needed someone to come and check it out. Over the phone they told me that they constantly see squirrels on their roof and wondered if one had made its way into their attic.
Upon the arrival of our new client’s home, we noticed that the property was heavily wooded with several trees growing up against the house. My first mental note was to have the homeowner trim back the trees far enough to prevent animals from climbing up and jumping onto the roof.
The homeowner greeted us outside and after an introduction and a few pleasantries; my attention turned to a large live trap in the garage. The homeowner explained that a couple of days ago, he was experiencing a problem with a raccoon stealing the grease drip pan from his barbecue grill. He had successfully trapped and relocated the problem raccoon to a nearby park. As he was telling me this, I could see the cartoon light bulb dimly lit over his head. He continued to explain that, a couple of days later he and his wife could hear meowing and scratching sounds in his attic. They feared there might be animals in their attic so they decided to call in a professional. As he concluded his story, at this point the light bulb was fully lit, he asked if it was possible that he removed a mother raccoon from babies in the attic. My thoughts exactly….
As my son, Erik and I lifted ourselves into the attic we noticed that the screen from a rotary roof fan had been chewed, mangled and laid on the insulation just below leaving an opening for animals to enter. Further inspection showed an unbelievable amount of raccoon feces spanning the entire attic area. Some feces looked dried and as if it had been there for several years. Mental note #2, all of this feces is a calling card for other Raccoons and the homeowner need to clean it up as quickly possible.
The highest point in the attic was only four-foot tall and it angled down in four directions towards the outside eaves. We did a cursory scan of the attic space and discovered that there
Little Raccoon Trapped in an Attic
were no animals visible. We sat in silence for a few minutes until we heard the faint meows of adolescent raccoons.
After a more detailed search we located the two small animals. They were tucked deeply in one corner of the attic near the lowest point of the rafters and behind electrical wiring that had been chewed upon. Mental note #3, electrical wiring needs to be repaired before it becomes a fire hazard. I crawled on my belly, as close as I could; however I wasn’t able to reach them by hand. I tried to extract them with my catchpole only to have them disappear into the eaves.
We decided to set live traps and wait it out. As we left for our next assignment, I was concerned if the raccoons possibly still nursing; would they be tempted to enter a trap with solid food. Several hours had passed when we received a call from the homeowner. They heard the trap set off and as instructed they called us on our mobile telephone. One down, one to go. A couple more hours later we had the second raccoon. Before we left I made several recommendations from all of my mental notes and other standard common sense suggestions to prevent future invasions.
While driving away we determined that the adolescent raccoons had been without their mother, food (other than what was in the trap as bait) or water for at least 4 days. Erik and I decided to bring them home to re-hydrate them before releasing them back into the wild. It is very satisfying to us to be able to release these and all animals back into an environment conducive to their well-being. They were sent off well fed and well hydrated and most importantly they were released to experience a new world together.
These two raccoons were very lucky, if the homeowners hadn’t heard them meowing; they would have soon died. The homeowners were equally as lucky, if the raccoons had gone un-noticed and died, the aroma from the decaying carcasses would have been overwhelming for at least a week.
Never approach a wild animal including infant, adolescent or adults, unless you are 100 percent positive there is no danger. Even infant wild animals can cause serious damage to a finger or a hand.
Spring is Upon Us Again
Spring is finally here and already many animals have come out of hibernation. The trapping business in general becomes very slow during the winter months. Early to mid-March shows a slow but steady increase in varmint sightings, skunk smells and calls for the removal of the nuisance animals. I will spend a lot of time over the coming months trapping and relocating nuisance animals, such as raccoons, opossum, skunks, rats, mice and Coyotes from property in the Farmington/Farmington Hills and surrounding areas.
Many people ask, what do I do with the animals I live trap, such as skunks. My standard, favorite, answer is “Well, I let them go”, they always ask where do I release them, I respond, “At my next client, of course”. It usually takes about 5 to 10 seconds for it to register that I am kidding with them. Releasing animals is not rocket science; however, how I deal with a trapped skunk is a trade secret. I do not want to be responsible for a novice to accidentally get a special gift from their new striped friend. In reality, I must follow the guidelines outlined by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The license that was issued to me, and my competitors, is very specific in dealing with animals caught in live traps. Most animals can be released in a habitat that is conducive to their well-being. Unfortunately, some animals need to be destroyed, such as rabid, injured, or animals that otherwise will cause harm to themselves or there surroundings.
Remember, animals are among us and for the most part they just want to live quietly and will remain unseen. With our expansion into animal habitats, our encounters will only increase. Removal should be considered when animals become a danger to humans or property. Apartment complex residents are usually the first to experience nuisance animal problems in the spring. The mere numbers of dumpsters in a large complex are a smorgasbord of fresh delicacies. Raccoons, Opossum, and Skunks are the main culprits that tend to startle residents as they dispose of their refuge.
Imagine yourself taking the garbage out early in the morning before you go to work. It’s still dark out as you walk to your dumpster across the parking area. You have done this chore a thousand times since you moved in with nothing to fear except the cold morning air. You approach the dumpster and lift the lid; it slams loudly metal against metal. Suddenly, one, two, or more raccoons jump out, or worse yet, you startled a skunk or two. I don’t care how brave you are; the surprise of this would rattle the nerves of anyone, including Trapper Ron.
Calls from homeowners, urban and rural, follow the apartment complexes. Skunks hibernate in January and February, usually for two coldest months of the year. You may have already noticed the smell of skunks in your area; they are looking for food and a cozy place to sleep during the daytime hours. Low-lying decks, preferably those with dryer vents exhausting warm air, are the preferred locations for bedding around homes. Skunks primarily eat grubs, insects, and worms when the ground is loose enough for them to dig. When the ground is frozen they will eat anything, including irresistible tidbits in garbage cans or dumpsters.
For those who are brave enough to capture a skunk on their own, live traps can be purchased at your local hardware store (Average Price about $45.00). Bait it accordingly, and wait for your skunk to be trapped. It may take a couple of days, and you may catch other animals in the process. Eventually you will trap the skunk or skunks in your area. I can tell you there is no greater feeling when you trap the animal that has caused your nose to turn. The problem comes after the animal is trapped--now what.
I recently received a call from a local women who decided to live trap a skunk that was on her property. The good news is she caught the pesky critter, the bad news is she didn’t know how to transport or how release the varmint. She was very concerned about getting sprayed and didn’t want to put it in her car. She had called several of my well-known competitors for assistance and their fees were out of line with her budget. She was very concerned about the cost of removing the animal and I tried to accommodate her. As you all know by now, I will gladly assist anyone in need, when possible. As a compromise, I traded removing the skunk in lieu of her live trap. In the end, everyone was happy, she got rid of the varmint and I got a new cage.
Many people ask, what do I do with the animals I live trap, such as skunks. My standard, favorite, answer is “Well, I let them go”, they always ask where do I release them, I respond, “At my next client, of course”. It usually takes about 5 to 10 seconds for it to register that I am kidding with them. Releasing animals is not rocket science; however, how I deal with a trapped skunk is a trade secret. I do not want to be responsible for a novice to accidentally get a special gift from their new striped friend. In reality, I must follow the guidelines outlined by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The license that was issued to me, and my competitors, is very specific in dealing with animals caught in live traps. Most animals can be released in a habitat that is conducive to their well-being. Unfortunately, some animals need to be destroyed, such as rabid, injured, or animals that otherwise will cause harm to themselves or there surroundings.
Remember, animals are among us and for the most part they just want to live quietly and will remain unseen. With our expansion into animal habitats, our encounters will only increase. Removal should be considered when animals become a danger to humans or property. Apartment complex residents are usually the first to experience nuisance animal problems in the spring. The mere numbers of dumpsters in a large complex are a smorgasbord of fresh delicacies. Raccoons, Opossum, and Skunks are the main culprits that tend to startle residents as they dispose of their refuge.
Imagine yourself taking the garbage out early in the morning before you go to work. It’s still dark out as you walk to your dumpster across the parking area. You have done this chore a thousand times since you moved in with nothing to fear except the cold morning air. You approach the dumpster and lift the lid; it slams loudly metal against metal. Suddenly, one, two, or more raccoons jump out, or worse yet, you startled a skunk or two. I don’t care how brave you are; the surprise of this would rattle the nerves of anyone, including Trapper Ron.
Calls from homeowners, urban and rural, follow the apartment complexes. Skunks hibernate in January and February, usually for two coldest months of the year. You may have already noticed the smell of skunks in your area; they are looking for food and a cozy place to sleep during the daytime hours. Low-lying decks, preferably those with dryer vents exhausting warm air, are the preferred locations for bedding around homes. Skunks primarily eat grubs, insects, and worms when the ground is loose enough for them to dig. When the ground is frozen they will eat anything, including irresistible tidbits in garbage cans or dumpsters.
For those who are brave enough to capture a skunk on their own, live traps can be purchased at your local hardware store (Average Price about $45.00). Bait it accordingly, and wait for your skunk to be trapped. It may take a couple of days, and you may catch other animals in the process. Eventually you will trap the skunk or skunks in your area. I can tell you there is no greater feeling when you trap the animal that has caused your nose to turn. The problem comes after the animal is trapped--now what.
I recently received a call from a local women who decided to live trap a skunk that was on her property. The good news is she caught the pesky critter, the bad news is she didn’t know how to transport or how release the varmint. She was very concerned about getting sprayed and didn’t want to put it in her car. She had called several of my well-known competitors for assistance and their fees were out of line with her budget. She was very concerned about the cost of removing the animal and I tried to accommodate her. As you all know by now, I will gladly assist anyone in need, when possible. As a compromise, I traded removing the skunk in lieu of her live trap. In the end, everyone was happy, she got rid of the varmint and I got a new cage.
Dog or Coyote ?
So you think you saw a stray dog in your neighborhood, do not be so sure it could be a coyote. The average adult coyote stands about 20 inches at the shoulder and weighs roughly 35 pounds. A coyote has the general appearance of skinny German shepherd, having a narrow muzzle; large pointed ears and yellowish eyes. Coyotes are nocturnal creature’s typically venturing out between 11:00 PM and 5:00 AM; however, it is not uncommon to see them during the day.
I spend a lot of time trapping and relocating nuisance animals, such as raccoons, opossum, skunks, rats, mice and Coyotes from property in the Farmington/Farmington Hills and surrounding areas. Concerned calls inquiring about the trapping and removal of coyotes have increased sharply for us from a year ago. The latest DNR estimates are that there are about 200 coyotes in Oakland County. I honesty believe there are a lot more coyotes than they predict prowling our neighborhoods.
For the most part you may never see a coyote, however coyote sightings are increasing and the likelihood of you seeing one in the future is very possible. The coyote is one of the most adaptable creatures in the world. They are common in most rural area, but because of their secretive nature, few are seen. Efforts to control the coyote seem to have produced an animal that is extremely alert and wary, enabling it to survive in every county of the United States.
Coyotes are very useful and necessary animals and should be treated with the respect due to wild predator. They are very effective at controlling the populations of many other varmint species such as: ground hogs, rabbits, squirrels, skunks and mice. The coyote becomes a problem when household pets are added to their diet. Dogs that are not contained may approach a coyote to investigate or attempt to chase it from its territory only to find it either outmatched or outnumbered.
I was recently contracted to remove a problem coyote from a property in Farmington Hills because one of their dogs was attacked and killed by a local coyote. By obeying the leash law this incident could have been prevented, unfortunately the homeowners didn’t realize the danger for they’re pet until it was too late. Since the attack the coyote(s) have been spotted on a daily basis coming very close to their house, including the patio. There concern for their remaining pets was justified and we proceeded to remove the problem coyote(s).
There are a few things to consider when coyotes are known to be in the area.
1) Do not keep pet food outdoors.
2) Keep trashcan lids on tight and store in your garage. 3) Keep household pets inside at night, Coyotes will prey on cats and small dogs.
4) Pick ripe fruit from trees and pick up fallen fruit.
5) Clean up areas around bird feeders.
6) Never try to feed a coyote! There have been no reports of coyotes attacking people in Michigan; however, incidents nationally are due to people feeding coyotes.
7) Inform your neighbors about the coyote(s) and recommend that they follow the same precautions.
From the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (Michigan DNR).”If you see a coyote while you are outside, never try to run away from it. If the coyote approaches you, throw rocks or sticks to frighten it away. The best thing for all wildlife, including coyotes, is for them to remain their instinctive fear of people”
If you decide to remove the coyote yourself, you will need a live trap or snare. Your local hardware store may have live traps; however, the largest trap they will have is for a raccoon (Average Price about $45.00). Traps are sold for larger animals through larger trapping supply company’s (Average Price about $275.00+Shipping). There are a couple of problems with these traps. First, you will catch other animals while trying to capture you problem coyote. Secondly, where there is one coyote there are usually one or more in their area. Lastly, The problem comes after the animal is trapped— now what do you do? Snares are only to be used as a last resort and I would not recommend an amateur attempting to snare a coyote.
Ultimately, I recommend using a professional trapper, one with large animal experience. If you decide to have a professional come out and review your situation, make sure they are insured and licensed with the Department of Natural Resources. There are a number of companies that will take care of trapping and removing small animals, make sure they are qualified and have experience trapping coyotes. Do your homework and make sure you know what are all of the costs associated with the services and if there are any guarantees.
I spend a lot of time trapping and relocating nuisance animals, such as raccoons, opossum, skunks, rats, mice and Coyotes from property in the Farmington/Farmington Hills and surrounding areas. Concerned calls inquiring about the trapping and removal of coyotes have increased sharply for us from a year ago. The latest DNR estimates are that there are about 200 coyotes in Oakland County. I honesty believe there are a lot more coyotes than they predict prowling our neighborhoods.
For the most part you may never see a coyote, however coyote sightings are increasing and the likelihood of you seeing one in the future is very possible. The coyote is one of the most adaptable creatures in the world. They are common in most rural area, but because of their secretive nature, few are seen. Efforts to control the coyote seem to have produced an animal that is extremely alert and wary, enabling it to survive in every county of the United States.
Coyotes are very useful and necessary animals and should be treated with the respect due to wild predator. They are very effective at controlling the populations of many other varmint species such as: ground hogs, rabbits, squirrels, skunks and mice. The coyote becomes a problem when household pets are added to their diet. Dogs that are not contained may approach a coyote to investigate or attempt to chase it from its territory only to find it either outmatched or outnumbered.
I was recently contracted to remove a problem coyote from a property in Farmington Hills because one of their dogs was attacked and killed by a local coyote. By obeying the leash law this incident could have been prevented, unfortunately the homeowners didn’t realize the danger for they’re pet until it was too late. Since the attack the coyote(s) have been spotted on a daily basis coming very close to their house, including the patio. There concern for their remaining pets was justified and we proceeded to remove the problem coyote(s).
There are a few things to consider when coyotes are known to be in the area.
1) Do not keep pet food outdoors.
2) Keep trashcan lids on tight and store in your garage. 3) Keep household pets inside at night, Coyotes will prey on cats and small dogs.
4) Pick ripe fruit from trees and pick up fallen fruit.
5) Clean up areas around bird feeders.
6) Never try to feed a coyote! There have been no reports of coyotes attacking people in Michigan; however, incidents nationally are due to people feeding coyotes.
7) Inform your neighbors about the coyote(s) and recommend that they follow the same precautions.
From the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (Michigan DNR).”If you see a coyote while you are outside, never try to run away from it. If the coyote approaches you, throw rocks or sticks to frighten it away. The best thing for all wildlife, including coyotes, is for them to remain their instinctive fear of people”
If you decide to remove the coyote yourself, you will need a live trap or snare. Your local hardware store may have live traps; however, the largest trap they will have is for a raccoon (Average Price about $45.00). Traps are sold for larger animals through larger trapping supply company’s (Average Price about $275.00+Shipping). There are a couple of problems with these traps. First, you will catch other animals while trying to capture you problem coyote. Secondly, where there is one coyote there are usually one or more in their area. Lastly, The problem comes after the animal is trapped— now what do you do? Snares are only to be used as a last resort and I would not recommend an amateur attempting to snare a coyote.
Ultimately, I recommend using a professional trapper, one with large animal experience. If you decide to have a professional come out and review your situation, make sure they are insured and licensed with the Department of Natural Resources. There are a number of companies that will take care of trapping and removing small animals, make sure they are qualified and have experience trapping coyotes. Do your homework and make sure you know what are all of the costs associated with the services and if there are any guarantees.
The Legend of Trapper Ron
My father once told me to be careful of what you ask for in life; you may accidentally receive it. I will spend a lot of time over the coming months trapping and relocating nuisance animals, such as raccoon, opossum, skunks, rats, mice and coyotes from property in the Farmington/Farmington Hills and surrounding areas.
Since I started writing trapping stories, I have received many questions on trapping. One question in particular, I am asked relates to how I started trapping nuisance animals. The follo
It all started about fifteen years ago in the driveway of my home in the City of Farmington. It was about 9:00 p.m. and my wife and I were attempting to remove the window sticker from our brand new full sized van we had just purchased.
I was standing on the passenger side with the door open scrapping the sticker off when two skunks appeared at my feet from under the van. I was in shock and feared moving. The skunks walked casually past my feet towards the backyard and squeezed under the fence. I slowly peeked around the corner of my house and watched them crawl under my deck.
My wife, Kathy, insisted that I get rid if them for obvious reasons. I did not have a clue what to do, so I called the city for help. They said that as long as the animals were outside the home, they could not do anything. However, they did have a couple of live traps I could use, if I wanted to trap it myself. I have hunted and fished my whole life and I thought that trapping should be easy enough, so I went to the police station to borrow a trap. At the station, I talked with an officer while waiting for a trap to be brought out from a back storage room. He asked what I was trapping and I told him my story about the skunks.
I asked him what should I do with any skunks I trap;
He just laughed and said, “Sounds like skunk fricassee to me”.
I replied, “You mean I can shoot it once I trap it”.
The officer looked at me with a very concerned expression and said,
“No, you cannot shoot it, city ordinance does not allow someone to set off a firearm within the city”.
After a second or two I asked, “Well, can I shoot it with my bow?”
The officer looked at me with a devilish grin and walked away. I took that to mean that I have a viable alternative, until I looked at the trap. The metal wiring of the trap was too tight to shoot it with a bow and arrow so I dismissed this option altogether.
Later that evening, I set up the live trap in the driveway near the area of my deck where the skunks had entered the night before. I did not know what to bait the trap with so I looked in the refrigerator. The only thing I could see that might work was hot dogs. I grabbed a couple and threw them into the trap.
Early the next morning, I looked out my kitchen window and to my surprise; there was a very large skunk inside the live trap. My chest pumped up as I strutted down the hall to brag to my wife who was still sleeping.
Kathy was very happy but wondered how and where I was going to get rid of it. The reality of this finally sank in as I drank a cup of coffee and watched the skunk from the safety of my kitchen
Many questions were running through my head; would it spray me, how far could it spray, how was I to get close to the cage, never mind opening the cage without being sprayed, and how and where do I take it.
After several cups of coffee, I remembered that I had a tarp in the garage. I mustered the courage to deal with the skunk by covering the cage with the tarp. I slowly approached the cage with the tarp as a shield and laid it over the skunk without further incident. I continued to wrap the cage with the loose ends of the tarp until I had the entire cage securely wrapped. Now that I had this hurdle jumped, I called my father for assistance.
My father was still laughing when he arrived at my house; he was as clueless as I was on what to do. Fortunately, he owned a pickup truck and we could use it to move the trapped skunk. My father, Erik my oldest son, he must have been around 5 years old at the time, and I piled into the pickup for our adventure. We slowly drove to the nearest park since I did not want the tarp to blow off the cage.
Once at the park, I took the trap and sat it on the ground away from my father, my son and the truck. We talked it over for a minute until I got the nerve to reach inside the tarp to unlatch the trap door. When the door was securely open, I ran from it as fast as could. We waited for five minutes and the skunk did not come out of the cage.
After ten minutes, I walked up to the cage, gave it a light kick, and then ran. I was amazed that the skunk would not leave the cage. My father and I just looked at each other in puzzlement. Jokingly my father told me to go over and shake the skunk out of the cage. The look I gave him surely indicated that he was insane, but after waiting, another five minutes decided what the heck.
I left my son by the truck and told him he was about to witness two grown men running from a small fury animal; we slowly approached the cage. I grabbed the rear end of the cage and tilted it so that the open end was pointing to the ground. The skunk still did not come out. I lifted the cage higher and still nothing.
Then, in a moment of bravery, I picked up the cage and I gave it a good shake. Suddenly the cage got a little lighter. My father was already running away from me when I noticed that the skunk was on the ground at my feet. A split second later the cage was going one way, me another, and the skunk another.
After my first experience. I continued to trap at night in an attempt to capture the other skunk. In the process, I caught two raccoons, an opossum and eventually trapped the remaining skunk.
Work quickly spread throughout the neighborhood and I found myself doing favors for friends, relatives and neighbors. I continued to education myself on various trapping techniques eventually turning my new hobby into a business; the rest is history.
Ultimately, the answer to the question of how I became an animal trapper is by pure accident. My father, like many times before, was right again. As he would put it, “Ask and you shall receive”
Since I started writing trapping stories, I have received many questions on trapping. One question in particular, I am asked relates to how I started trapping nuisance animals. The follo
It all started about fifteen years ago in the driveway of my home in the City of Farmington. It was about 9:00 p.m. and my wife and I were attempting to remove the window sticker from our brand new full sized van we had just purchased.
I was standing on the passenger side with the door open scrapping the sticker off when two skunks appeared at my feet from under the van. I was in shock and feared moving. The skunks walked casually past my feet towards the backyard and squeezed under the fence. I slowly peeked around the corner of my house and watched them crawl under my deck.
My wife, Kathy, insisted that I get rid if them for obvious reasons. I did not have a clue what to do, so I called the city for help. They said that as long as the animals were outside the home, they could not do anything. However, they did have a couple of live traps I could use, if I wanted to trap it myself. I have hunted and fished my whole life and I thought that trapping should be easy enough, so I went to the police station to borrow a trap. At the station, I talked with an officer while waiting for a trap to be brought out from a back storage room. He asked what I was trapping and I told him my story about the skunks.
I asked him what should I do with any skunks I trap;
He just laughed and said, “Sounds like skunk fricassee to me”.
I replied, “You mean I can shoot it once I trap it”.
The officer looked at me with a very concerned expression and said,
“No, you cannot shoot it, city ordinance does not allow someone to set off a firearm within the city”.
After a second or two I asked, “Well, can I shoot it with my bow?”
The officer looked at me with a devilish grin and walked away. I took that to mean that I have a viable alternative, until I looked at the trap. The metal wiring of the trap was too tight to shoot it with a bow and arrow so I dismissed this option altogether.
Later that evening, I set up the live trap in the driveway near the area of my deck where the skunks had entered the night before. I did not know what to bait the trap with so I looked in the refrigerator. The only thing I could see that might work was hot dogs. I grabbed a couple and threw them into the trap.
Early the next morning, I looked out my kitchen window and to my surprise; there was a very large skunk inside the live trap. My chest pumped up as I strutted down the hall to brag to my wife who was still sleeping.
Kathy was very happy but wondered how and where I was going to get rid of it. The reality of this finally sank in as I drank a cup of coffee and watched the skunk from the safety of my kitchen
Many questions were running through my head; would it spray me, how far could it spray, how was I to get close to the cage, never mind opening the cage without being sprayed, and how and where do I take it.
After several cups of coffee, I remembered that I had a tarp in the garage. I mustered the courage to deal with the skunk by covering the cage with the tarp. I slowly approached the cage with the tarp as a shield and laid it over the skunk without further incident. I continued to wrap the cage with the loose ends of the tarp until I had the entire cage securely wrapped. Now that I had this hurdle jumped, I called my father for assistance.
My father was still laughing when he arrived at my house; he was as clueless as I was on what to do. Fortunately, he owned a pickup truck and we could use it to move the trapped skunk. My father, Erik my oldest son, he must have been around 5 years old at the time, and I piled into the pickup for our adventure. We slowly drove to the nearest park since I did not want the tarp to blow off the cage.
Once at the park, I took the trap and sat it on the ground away from my father, my son and the truck. We talked it over for a minute until I got the nerve to reach inside the tarp to unlatch the trap door. When the door was securely open, I ran from it as fast as could. We waited for five minutes and the skunk did not come out of the cage.
After ten minutes, I walked up to the cage, gave it a light kick, and then ran. I was amazed that the skunk would not leave the cage. My father and I just looked at each other in puzzlement. Jokingly my father told me to go over and shake the skunk out of the cage. The look I gave him surely indicated that he was insane, but after waiting, another five minutes decided what the heck.
I left my son by the truck and told him he was about to witness two grown men running from a small fury animal; we slowly approached the cage. I grabbed the rear end of the cage and tilted it so that the open end was pointing to the ground. The skunk still did not come out. I lifted the cage higher and still nothing.
Then, in a moment of bravery, I picked up the cage and I gave it a good shake. Suddenly the cage got a little lighter. My father was already running away from me when I noticed that the skunk was on the ground at my feet. A split second later the cage was going one way, me another, and the skunk another.
After my first experience. I continued to trap at night in an attempt to capture the other skunk. In the process, I caught two raccoons, an opossum and eventually trapped the remaining skunk.
Work quickly spread throughout the neighborhood and I found myself doing favors for friends, relatives and neighbors. I continued to education myself on various trapping techniques eventually turning my new hobby into a business; the rest is history.
Ultimately, the answer to the question of how I became an animal trapper is by pure accident. My father, like many times before, was right again. As he would put it, “Ask and you shall receive”
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Ask And You Shall Receive
My father once told me to be careful of what you ask for in life; you may accidentally receive it. I will spend a lot of time over the coming months trapping and relocating nuisance animals, such as raccoon, opossum, skunks, rats, mice and coyotes from property in the Farmington/Farmington Hills and surrounding areas.
Since I started writing trapping stories I have received a lot of questions on trapping. One question in particular, I get asked the most relates to how I started trapping nuisance animals. The following is the story of how Trapper Ron came into existence, I hope you enjoy it.
It all started about ten years ago in the driveway of my home in the City of Farmington. It was about 9:00 p.m. and my wife and I were attempting to remove the window sticker off of our brand new full sized van we had just purchased.
I was standing on the passenger side with the door open scrapping the sticker off when two skunks appeared at my feet from under the van. I was in shock and feared moving. The skunks walked casually past my feet towards the backyard and squeezed under the fence. I slowly peeked around the corner of my house and watched them crawl under my deck.
My wife, Kathy, insisted that I get rid if them for obvious reasons. I didn’t have a clue what to do, so I called the city for help. They said that as long as the animals were outside the home, they could not do anything. However, they did have a couple of live traps I could use, if I wanted to trap it myself.
I have hunted and fished my whole life and I thought that trapping should be easy enough, so I went to the police station to borrow a trap. At the station, I talked with an officer while waiting for a trap to be brought out from a back storage room. He asked what I was trapping and I told him my story about the skunks. I asked him what should I do with any skunks I trap;
He just laughed and said, “Sounds like skunk fricassee to me”. I replied, “You mean I can shoot it once I trap it”. The officer looked at me with a very concerned expression and said,
“No, you cannot shoot it, city ordinance does not allow some to set off a fire arm within the city”.
After a second or two I asked, “Well, can I shoot it with my bow?”.
The officer looked at me with a devilish grin and walked away. I took that to mean that I have a viable alternative, until I looked at the trap. The metal wiring of the trap was too tight to shoot it with a bow and arrow so I dismissed this option altogether.
Later that evening, I set up the live trap in the driveway near the area of my deck where the skunks had entered the night before. I didn’t know what to bait the trap with so I looked in the refrigerator. The only thing I could see that might work was hot dogs. I grabbed a couple and threw them into the trap.
Early the next morning, I looked out my kitchen window and to my surprise there was a very large skunk inside the live trap. My chest pumped up as I strutted down the hall to brag to my wife who was still sleeping.
Kathy was very happy but wondered how and where I was going to get rid of it. The reality of this finally sank in as I drank a cup of coffee and watched the skunk from the safety of my kitchen.
Many questions were running through my head; would it spray me, how far could it spray, how was I to get close to the cage, never mind opening the cage without getting sprayed, and how and where do I take it.
After several cups of coffee, I remembered that I had a tarp in the garage. I mustered the courage to deal with the skunk by covering the cage with the tarp. I slowly approached the cage with the tarp as a shield and laid it over the skunk without further incident. I continued to wrap the cage with the loose ends of the tarp until I had the entire cage securely wrapped. Now that I had this hurdle jumped, I called my father for assistance.
My father was still laughing when he arrived at my house; he was as clueless as I was on what to do. Fortunately he owned a pickup truck and we could use it to move the trapped skunk. My father, Erik my oldest son, he must have been around 5 years old at the time, and I piled into the pickup for our adventure. We slowly drove to the nearest park since I didn’t want the tarp to blow off the cage.
Once at the park, I took the trap and sat it on the ground away from my father, my son and the truck. We talked it over for a minute until I got the nerve to reach inside the tarp to unlatch the trap door. When the door was securely open, I ran from it as fast as could. We waited for five minutes and the skunk didn’t come out of the cage. After ten minutes, I walked up to the cage and gave it a light kick and then ran. I was amazed that the skunk wouldn’t leave the cage. My father and I just looked at each other in puzzlement. Jokingly my father told me to go over and shake the skunk out of the cage. The look I gave him surely indicated that he was insane, but after waiting another five minutes decided what the heck..
I left my son by the truck and told him he was about to witness two grown men running from a small fury animal; we slowly approached the cage. I grabbed the rear end of the cage and tilted it so that the open end was pointing to the ground. The skunk still didn’t come out. I lifted the cage higher and still nothing.
Then, in a moment of bravery, I picked up the cage and I gave it a good shake. Suddenly the cage got a little lighter. My father was already running away from me when I noticed that the skunk was on the ground at my feet. A split second later the cage was going one way, me another, and the skunk another.
After my first experience. I continued to trap at night in an attempt to capture the other skunk. In the process, I caught two raccoons, an opossum and eventually trapped the remaining skunk.
Work quickly spread throughout the neighborhood and I found myself doing favors for friends, relatives and neighbors. I continued to education myself on various trapping techniques eventually turning my new hobby into a business; the rest is history.
Ultimately, the answer to the question of how I became an animal trapper is by pure accident. My father, like many times before, was right again. As he would put it, “Ask and you shall receive”
Since I started writing trapping stories I have received a lot of questions on trapping. One question in particular, I get asked the most relates to how I started trapping nuisance animals. The following is the story of how Trapper Ron came into existence, I hope you enjoy it.
It all started about ten years ago in the driveway of my home in the City of Farmington. It was about 9:00 p.m. and my wife and I were attempting to remove the window sticker off of our brand new full sized van we had just purchased.
I was standing on the passenger side with the door open scrapping the sticker off when two skunks appeared at my feet from under the van. I was in shock and feared moving. The skunks walked casually past my feet towards the backyard and squeezed under the fence. I slowly peeked around the corner of my house and watched them crawl under my deck.
My wife, Kathy, insisted that I get rid if them for obvious reasons. I didn’t have a clue what to do, so I called the city for help. They said that as long as the animals were outside the home, they could not do anything. However, they did have a couple of live traps I could use, if I wanted to trap it myself.
I have hunted and fished my whole life and I thought that trapping should be easy enough, so I went to the police station to borrow a trap. At the station, I talked with an officer while waiting for a trap to be brought out from a back storage room. He asked what I was trapping and I told him my story about the skunks. I asked him what should I do with any skunks I trap;
He just laughed and said, “Sounds like skunk fricassee to me”. I replied, “You mean I can shoot it once I trap it”. The officer looked at me with a very concerned expression and said,
“No, you cannot shoot it, city ordinance does not allow some to set off a fire arm within the city”.
After a second or two I asked, “Well, can I shoot it with my bow?”.
The officer looked at me with a devilish grin and walked away. I took that to mean that I have a viable alternative, until I looked at the trap. The metal wiring of the trap was too tight to shoot it with a bow and arrow so I dismissed this option altogether.
Later that evening, I set up the live trap in the driveway near the area of my deck where the skunks had entered the night before. I didn’t know what to bait the trap with so I looked in the refrigerator. The only thing I could see that might work was hot dogs. I grabbed a couple and threw them into the trap.
Early the next morning, I looked out my kitchen window and to my surprise there was a very large skunk inside the live trap. My chest pumped up as I strutted down the hall to brag to my wife who was still sleeping.
Kathy was very happy but wondered how and where I was going to get rid of it. The reality of this finally sank in as I drank a cup of coffee and watched the skunk from the safety of my kitchen.
Many questions were running through my head; would it spray me, how far could it spray, how was I to get close to the cage, never mind opening the cage without getting sprayed, and how and where do I take it.
After several cups of coffee, I remembered that I had a tarp in the garage. I mustered the courage to deal with the skunk by covering the cage with the tarp. I slowly approached the cage with the tarp as a shield and laid it over the skunk without further incident. I continued to wrap the cage with the loose ends of the tarp until I had the entire cage securely wrapped. Now that I had this hurdle jumped, I called my father for assistance.
My father was still laughing when he arrived at my house; he was as clueless as I was on what to do. Fortunately he owned a pickup truck and we could use it to move the trapped skunk. My father, Erik my oldest son, he must have been around 5 years old at the time, and I piled into the pickup for our adventure. We slowly drove to the nearest park since I didn’t want the tarp to blow off the cage.
Once at the park, I took the trap and sat it on the ground away from my father, my son and the truck. We talked it over for a minute until I got the nerve to reach inside the tarp to unlatch the trap door. When the door was securely open, I ran from it as fast as could. We waited for five minutes and the skunk didn’t come out of the cage. After ten minutes, I walked up to the cage and gave it a light kick and then ran. I was amazed that the skunk wouldn’t leave the cage. My father and I just looked at each other in puzzlement. Jokingly my father told me to go over and shake the skunk out of the cage. The look I gave him surely indicated that he was insane, but after waiting another five minutes decided what the heck..
I left my son by the truck and told him he was about to witness two grown men running from a small fury animal; we slowly approached the cage. I grabbed the rear end of the cage and tilted it so that the open end was pointing to the ground. The skunk still didn’t come out. I lifted the cage higher and still nothing.
Then, in a moment of bravery, I picked up the cage and I gave it a good shake. Suddenly the cage got a little lighter. My father was already running away from me when I noticed that the skunk was on the ground at my feet. A split second later the cage was going one way, me another, and the skunk another.
After my first experience. I continued to trap at night in an attempt to capture the other skunk. In the process, I caught two raccoons, an opossum and eventually trapped the remaining skunk.
Work quickly spread throughout the neighborhood and I found myself doing favors for friends, relatives and neighbors. I continued to education myself on various trapping techniques eventually turning my new hobby into a business; the rest is history.
Ultimately, the answer to the question of how I became an animal trapper is by pure accident. My father, like many times before, was right again. As he would put it, “Ask and you shall receive”
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Bothersome Birds
Spring will soon be upon us once again and as it approaches we see animal activity begin to increase. Already, this year we have noticed a sharp increase in animal relocation calls for February and March. I believe this to be due to the inconsistent weather we have been experiencing.We have trapped and relocated dozens of animals, such as raccoons, opossum, skunks and coyote.
We have also spent a lot of time performing animal and bird exclusion services.Exclusion calls from frantic homeowners always begin this time a year. They desperately want for us to solve problems with birds nesting in dryer and bathroom exhaust fan vents. Bird often enter unprotected vents to nest for the spring. Often venturing throughout the vent piping system birds can get stuck in bathroom exhaust fans.Vents are a wonder spot for birds to build nests and protect their young. They are very difficult for predators to enter and they typically are fairly high from the ground.
Unfortunately nesting birds can be a problem with proper vent ventilation, vent operation,and odors entering the home. In addition the scratching, chirping and other noises birds make can be very annoying.My mother-in-law, Ruth, tells a story where she was doing her hair in the her bathroom when a very disturbing event happened. While brushing her hair, she saw something fall from the bathroom exhaust fan. To her horror, from the reflection in the bathroom mirror, she saw several maggots on her shoulder.
Apparently, a bird had entered through the outside vent, traveled through the pipes, got stuck in the bathroom fan and died. A typical bird exclusion call for us is to assess and inspect each vent for bird activity. Some homes can have vents as high as 25 feet off of the ground, requiring a sizable extension ladder. Nesting materials inside the vents are thoroughly removed and cleaned. We also inspect pipes to ensure that all connections are intact.After cleaning we install a bird cover over the existing vent. Vent covers are securely attached with four stainless steel screws.
Once the bird cover is installed we move on to the next vent.This process is not rocket science and is an easy preventative procedure that can be done by most homeowners. This is definitely a procedure that should be done to prevent birds from gaining access to the interior of your home.
Practical Jokes We Play.
My son, Erik, being a practical joker at times, got me one day while installing a bird vent. He was up the ladder about 15 feet cleaning a vent. He was pulling handful after handful of nesting materials and dropping it below. The bag I was using to collect the dropping was filling up, so I decided to go to the truck and get another bag.
My devilish son could not resist himself and as I turned the corner of the home, he quickly slid down the ladder and laid down on the grass. When I returned, I almost had a heart attack when I noticed him on the ground. I couldn’t believe that he fell and since he wasn’t moving I thought for sure that he was seriously hurt. I dropped the everything and ran over to him.
It didn’t take very long for me to figure out that he was all right since he started laughing hysterically. I was pretty upset at him for a while, however, I give him credit for holding a straight face for as long as he did.
As always, anytime you require a professional trapper, make sure they are licensed with the Michigan Department of Natural Resource and insured. Cost varies greatly so do your homework and call several trappers and compare pricing for the services offered.
Ron Baker is the owner of Trapper Rons Humane Animal Removal & Relocation Services located in Farmington Hills. He assists homeowners and business with all wildlife nuisance issues in Farmington and surrounding cities. He can be reached at (248) 426-0036.
We have also spent a lot of time performing animal and bird exclusion services.Exclusion calls from frantic homeowners always begin this time a year. They desperately want for us to solve problems with birds nesting in dryer and bathroom exhaust fan vents. Bird often enter unprotected vents to nest for the spring. Often venturing throughout the vent piping system birds can get stuck in bathroom exhaust fans.Vents are a wonder spot for birds to build nests and protect their young. They are very difficult for predators to enter and they typically are fairly high from the ground.
Unfortunately nesting birds can be a problem with proper vent ventilation, vent operation,and odors entering the home. In addition the scratching, chirping and other noises birds make can be very annoying.My mother-in-law, Ruth, tells a story where she was doing her hair in the her bathroom when a very disturbing event happened. While brushing her hair, she saw something fall from the bathroom exhaust fan. To her horror, from the reflection in the bathroom mirror, she saw several maggots on her shoulder.
Apparently, a bird had entered through the outside vent, traveled through the pipes, got stuck in the bathroom fan and died. A typical bird exclusion call for us is to assess and inspect each vent for bird activity. Some homes can have vents as high as 25 feet off of the ground, requiring a sizable extension ladder. Nesting materials inside the vents are thoroughly removed and cleaned. We also inspect pipes to ensure that all connections are intact.After cleaning we install a bird cover over the existing vent. Vent covers are securely attached with four stainless steel screws.
Once the bird cover is installed we move on to the next vent.This process is not rocket science and is an easy preventative procedure that can be done by most homeowners. This is definitely a procedure that should be done to prevent birds from gaining access to the interior of your home.
Practical Jokes We Play.
My son, Erik, being a practical joker at times, got me one day while installing a bird vent. He was up the ladder about 15 feet cleaning a vent. He was pulling handful after handful of nesting materials and dropping it below. The bag I was using to collect the dropping was filling up, so I decided to go to the truck and get another bag.
My devilish son could not resist himself and as I turned the corner of the home, he quickly slid down the ladder and laid down on the grass. When I returned, I almost had a heart attack when I noticed him on the ground. I couldn’t believe that he fell and since he wasn’t moving I thought for sure that he was seriously hurt. I dropped the everything and ran over to him.
It didn’t take very long for me to figure out that he was all right since he started laughing hysterically. I was pretty upset at him for a while, however, I give him credit for holding a straight face for as long as he did.
As always, anytime you require a professional trapper, make sure they are licensed with the Michigan Department of Natural Resource and insured. Cost varies greatly so do your homework and call several trappers and compare pricing for the services offered.
Ron Baker is the owner of Trapper Rons Humane Animal Removal & Relocation Services located in Farmington Hills. He assists homeowners and business with all wildlife nuisance issues in Farmington and surrounding cities. He can be reached at (248) 426-0036.
Monday, June 05, 2006
Roosters In The City
Trapping is never boring. One day you may trap raccoons and opossum, the next day coyote and fox. Some days, however, you may have the oddball call. Not to long ago I received a call from a man in an affluent subdivision. He told me that someone must have dumped chickens in his yard and he wanted them removed. Not knowing how to react to the situation and looking forward to a new challenge, I accepted the contract.
Upon arrival I surveyed the area and noticed that the chickens had migrated into the attached garage. Before contacting the home owner, I walked slowly into the garage and pushed the door opener mounted on the wall. As the door nosily closed, I stood on guard to ensure that no birds would fly or run out.
Once the birds were safely and securely entrapped in the garage, I made contact with the homeowner. It was a mystery to him as to why the chickens suddenly appeared two days earlier. Not only did the homeowner not want the birds on his property, he didn’t care what happened to them.
I counted four hens and two roosters. They were the most beautiful chickens I had ever seen. I don’t know what kind they were but they were tall white and majestic. They reminded me of the rooster on the Kellogg’s Corn Flakes cereal box.
After thinking about this situation and formulating a game plan, I decided that the only way to nab the bird was to corner each one and grab it by hand. This was a great idea in theory, however, not as easy as it may sound. After a few minutes, I finally had the first bird cornered. All I had to do was reach out and grab it by the neck. I prepared myself, moving my hand slowly towards the neck. I was a mere inch from success when the chicken started cackling and fluttering its wings. It flew up and over my head, startling me in the process. I tried knocking it down with swinging motions of my arms.
After this failed attempt and feeling like a compete fool, I finally cornered another bird. This time I was ready for the bird to fly and when it did I reached out and grabbed it by a drum stick
It took about a half an hour, but I finally captured all six birds. As I caught each bird I placed it into a live cage. I had three cages, so I placed two birds in each.With the birds in the back of my truck and the homeowner happy, I left with another fun story to tell my readers. While driving away, I started to call some associates of mine to see if they would like to take the birds off of my hands.
I only had one person that was interested, John lived in the country and his son wanted to raise the chickens. In discussing the logistics to bring John the birds, he asked how the birds were stored. He expressed concern when I told him that I had three cages with two birds in each.
John, told me not to put two roosters in the same cage since they will fight to the death. Upon hearing this I immediately pulled over to check. I had no idea that roosters would fight and I couldn’t remember if I put two roosters in the same cage.
The next morning I met with John and gave him one rooster and four hens.
As always, anytime you require a professional trapper, make sure they are licensed with the Michigan Department of Natural Resource and insured. Cost vary greatly so do your homework and call several trappers and compare pricing for the services offered.Ron Baker is the owner of
Trapper Rons Humane Animal Removal & Relocation Services located in Farmington Hills. He assists homeowners and business with all wildlife nuisance issues in Farmington and surrounding cities. He can be reached at (248) 426-0036.
Upon arrival I surveyed the area and noticed that the chickens had migrated into the attached garage. Before contacting the home owner, I walked slowly into the garage and pushed the door opener mounted on the wall. As the door nosily closed, I stood on guard to ensure that no birds would fly or run out.
Once the birds were safely and securely entrapped in the garage, I made contact with the homeowner. It was a mystery to him as to why the chickens suddenly appeared two days earlier. Not only did the homeowner not want the birds on his property, he didn’t care what happened to them.
I counted four hens and two roosters. They were the most beautiful chickens I had ever seen. I don’t know what kind they were but they were tall white and majestic. They reminded me of the rooster on the Kellogg’s Corn Flakes cereal box.
After thinking about this situation and formulating a game plan, I decided that the only way to nab the bird was to corner each one and grab it by hand. This was a great idea in theory, however, not as easy as it may sound. After a few minutes, I finally had the first bird cornered. All I had to do was reach out and grab it by the neck. I prepared myself, moving my hand slowly towards the neck. I was a mere inch from success when the chicken started cackling and fluttering its wings. It flew up and over my head, startling me in the process. I tried knocking it down with swinging motions of my arms.
After this failed attempt and feeling like a compete fool, I finally cornered another bird. This time I was ready for the bird to fly and when it did I reached out and grabbed it by a drum stick
It took about a half an hour, but I finally captured all six birds. As I caught each bird I placed it into a live cage. I had three cages, so I placed two birds in each.With the birds in the back of my truck and the homeowner happy, I left with another fun story to tell my readers. While driving away, I started to call some associates of mine to see if they would like to take the birds off of my hands.
I only had one person that was interested, John lived in the country and his son wanted to raise the chickens. In discussing the logistics to bring John the birds, he asked how the birds were stored. He expressed concern when I told him that I had three cages with two birds in each.
John, told me not to put two roosters in the same cage since they will fight to the death. Upon hearing this I immediately pulled over to check. I had no idea that roosters would fight and I couldn’t remember if I put two roosters in the same cage.
The next morning I met with John and gave him one rooster and four hens.
As always, anytime you require a professional trapper, make sure they are licensed with the Michigan Department of Natural Resource and insured. Cost vary greatly so do your homework and call several trappers and compare pricing for the services offered.Ron Baker is the owner of
Trapper Rons Humane Animal Removal & Relocation Services located in Farmington Hills. He assists homeowners and business with all wildlife nuisance issues in Farmington and surrounding cities. He can be reached at (248) 426-0036.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Opossum Have Feelings Too
Opossums are, in my opinion, the easiest animals to trap, they are fairly slow and if you approach them quickly, they play dead. This is an amazing reaction to fear. Instinctively they understand that most predators will only eat live animals.When opossums feel threatened, they will fall over, their eyes will gloss over and they produce and odor from their mouths that smells like a decaying carcass. This is a very effective self preservation tactic that works well in the wild, however, Trapper Ron is never fooled.
Sometimes the situation calls for a caring touch as in the case of one call I received. Not only for the animals but for the people that fear them.I was in between calls when I received a frantic call from a woman who said that there was an animal in her bath tub. She had no idea what it was other than it was white and looked like a large rat. I assumed it to be an opossum. She told me that price was not an option and that I needed to get there right now. I just happened to be in the area so I headed her way.
Upon arrival I noticed a woman and a man standing on the front lawn. It seemed clearly obvious to me that they were very concerned. I grabbed my catch pole and proceeded into the house. The homeowners would not come in, so with some directions to the bathroom, I entered the home. To my surprise the opossum was still in the tub and when it saw me it did what most opossums do, it played dead.The funny thing about the situation was not that the animal was in a bath tub, but that it had a full roll of gray duck tape on its neck. At some point this animal had managed to stick its head through the tape roll and couldn’t get it off. I have no idea how long this poor animal had been dealing with this heavy roll of tape, however it explained to me why it could not get out of the tub.
Using my catch pole, I managed to get the noose over its head and around the duck tape roll and gently secured the noose. As I headed out the front door of the home, with the animal in tow, I was amazed to see the homeowners literally running down the sidewalk away from me.With a chuckle, I proceeded to my truck and placed the animal into a transport cage. I removed the noose from the catch pole and carefully removed the tape. The homeowners were very pleased that the animal was out of the house, however, they insisted that I check the rest of the house before they would go back in.
As always, anytime you require a professional trapper, make sure they are licensed with the Michigan Department of Natural Resource and insured. Cost vary greatly so do your homework and call several trappers and compare pricing for the services offered.
Ron Baker is the owner of Trapper Rons Humane Animal Removal & Relocation Services located in Farmington Hills. He assists homeowners and business with all wildlife nuisance issues in Farmington and surrounding cities. He can be reached at (248) 426-0036. or at WWW.TRAPPERRON.COM
Sometimes the situation calls for a caring touch as in the case of one call I received. Not only for the animals but for the people that fear them.I was in between calls when I received a frantic call from a woman who said that there was an animal in her bath tub. She had no idea what it was other than it was white and looked like a large rat. I assumed it to be an opossum. She told me that price was not an option and that I needed to get there right now. I just happened to be in the area so I headed her way.
Upon arrival I noticed a woman and a man standing on the front lawn. It seemed clearly obvious to me that they were very concerned. I grabbed my catch pole and proceeded into the house. The homeowners would not come in, so with some directions to the bathroom, I entered the home. To my surprise the opossum was still in the tub and when it saw me it did what most opossums do, it played dead.The funny thing about the situation was not that the animal was in a bath tub, but that it had a full roll of gray duck tape on its neck. At some point this animal had managed to stick its head through the tape roll and couldn’t get it off. I have no idea how long this poor animal had been dealing with this heavy roll of tape, however it explained to me why it could not get out of the tub.
Using my catch pole, I managed to get the noose over its head and around the duck tape roll and gently secured the noose. As I headed out the front door of the home, with the animal in tow, I was amazed to see the homeowners literally running down the sidewalk away from me.With a chuckle, I proceeded to my truck and placed the animal into a transport cage. I removed the noose from the catch pole and carefully removed the tape. The homeowners were very pleased that the animal was out of the house, however, they insisted that I check the rest of the house before they would go back in.
As always, anytime you require a professional trapper, make sure they are licensed with the Michigan Department of Natural Resource and insured. Cost vary greatly so do your homework and call several trappers and compare pricing for the services offered.
Ron Baker is the owner of Trapper Rons Humane Animal Removal & Relocation Services located in Farmington Hills. He assists homeowners and business with all wildlife nuisance issues in Farmington and surrounding cities. He can be reached at (248) 426-0036. or at WWW.TRAPPERRON.COM
Birthday Fun
The most rewarding thing about trapping is having the opportunity to help people. Sometime, I also get a great story in the process. In this case, I got to share a funny experience with my father.My family was finishing a birthday dinner for my mother, when my wife received a call from a frantic woman. Apparently she had discovered a raccoon in her mini van. Kathy, my wife, was concerned for the woman and decided to delay the birthday cake so that I could handle this emergency call.
My father opted to come with me on this call. He loves the stories I tell and this time he would have his own to tell.As we drove to the call, I instructed my father on how to handle this type of call. I gave him basic pointers to assist me with removing the raccoon quickly. As we pulled into the driveway I had one last instruction for him. “Stop laughing, you have to be professional”. He was laughing because the husband was standing behind the mini van--tailgate open. He appeared to be on guard, protecting his family from being eaten by giant man-eating raccoons. He was armed with a hockey stick and he never took his eyes off of the mini van.
The image was comical.I approached the rear of the mini van and I noticed that there was a Little Tykes wagon basically filling up the storage area behind the last bench seat. I looked in and around the rear and saw the tail of the deadly raccoon. As I directed my catch pole towards the raccoon, it moved to the other side of the wagon. I repeated this process and the stealthy raccoon moved again. After repeating this process several times and wondering how this animal could move from one side of the van to the other so fast, it occurred to me that there were two raccoons in the van.After a few more attempts, I finally had a raccoon noosed with my catch pole. I dragged it out of the van and towards my awaiting father. He opened a transport cage and moments later we had a raccoon securely caged.
The husband and his wife carrying a small child approached very relieved that the animal was out of the van.There relief quickly turned to concern when my father told them there was another one in the van. The wife without hesitation, child in tow, quickly turned and ran back into the house. The husband looked at me almost embarrassed for how his wife acted.My attention turned back to the van and the remaining raccoon. With all of the commotion it had moved to the front of the van. I closed the rear hatch to prevent the animal from leaving prematurely and prepared to extract the animal from the driver side door.The husband, feeling more confident with this situation, pressed his face up against the front passenger window to get a better view of my actions. I slowly opened the door and sent my catch pole in. As the noose inched closer to the raccoon, it suddenly became spooked. In a futile attempt to escape, it ran up the passenger seat and leaped.
It took every professional bone in my body not to laugh when I saw the simultaneous actions of the raccoon smashing into the passenger window and the husband falling backwards to the grass.Moments later, the second raccoon was securely caged.As it turns out, the homeowners had left their garage and van door open the night before. The raccoons had been in their car all night and day. They drove to church with their three kids earlier and the wife went to grocery store before calling me. They were amazed that the animals went un-noticed all day. That amazement turned to relief when my father told them that they were extremely lucky that one of the kids didn’t step on a raccoons tail.The call took all of 30 minutes, and we returned home just in time for birthday cake.
As always, anytime you require a professional trapper, make sure they are licensed with the Michigan Department of Natural Resource and insured. Cost varies greatly so do your homework and call several trappers and compare pricing for the services offered.
Ron Baker is the owner of Trapper Rons Humane Animal Removal & Relocation Services located in Farmington Hills. He assists homeowners and business with all wildlife nuisance issues in Farmington and surrounding cities. He can be reached at (248) 426-0036. or WWW.TRAPPERRON.COM
My father opted to come with me on this call. He loves the stories I tell and this time he would have his own to tell.As we drove to the call, I instructed my father on how to handle this type of call. I gave him basic pointers to assist me with removing the raccoon quickly. As we pulled into the driveway I had one last instruction for him. “Stop laughing, you have to be professional”. He was laughing because the husband was standing behind the mini van--tailgate open. He appeared to be on guard, protecting his family from being eaten by giant man-eating raccoons. He was armed with a hockey stick and he never took his eyes off of the mini van.
The image was comical.I approached the rear of the mini van and I noticed that there was a Little Tykes wagon basically filling up the storage area behind the last bench seat. I looked in and around the rear and saw the tail of the deadly raccoon. As I directed my catch pole towards the raccoon, it moved to the other side of the wagon. I repeated this process and the stealthy raccoon moved again. After repeating this process several times and wondering how this animal could move from one side of the van to the other so fast, it occurred to me that there were two raccoons in the van.After a few more attempts, I finally had a raccoon noosed with my catch pole. I dragged it out of the van and towards my awaiting father. He opened a transport cage and moments later we had a raccoon securely caged.
The husband and his wife carrying a small child approached very relieved that the animal was out of the van.There relief quickly turned to concern when my father told them there was another one in the van. The wife without hesitation, child in tow, quickly turned and ran back into the house. The husband looked at me almost embarrassed for how his wife acted.My attention turned back to the van and the remaining raccoon. With all of the commotion it had moved to the front of the van. I closed the rear hatch to prevent the animal from leaving prematurely and prepared to extract the animal from the driver side door.The husband, feeling more confident with this situation, pressed his face up against the front passenger window to get a better view of my actions. I slowly opened the door and sent my catch pole in. As the noose inched closer to the raccoon, it suddenly became spooked. In a futile attempt to escape, it ran up the passenger seat and leaped.
It took every professional bone in my body not to laugh when I saw the simultaneous actions of the raccoon smashing into the passenger window and the husband falling backwards to the grass.Moments later, the second raccoon was securely caged.As it turns out, the homeowners had left their garage and van door open the night before. The raccoons had been in their car all night and day. They drove to church with their three kids earlier and the wife went to grocery store before calling me. They were amazed that the animals went un-noticed all day. That amazement turned to relief when my father told them that they were extremely lucky that one of the kids didn’t step on a raccoons tail.The call took all of 30 minutes, and we returned home just in time for birthday cake.
As always, anytime you require a professional trapper, make sure they are licensed with the Michigan Department of Natural Resource and insured. Cost varies greatly so do your homework and call several trappers and compare pricing for the services offered.
Ron Baker is the owner of Trapper Rons Humane Animal Removal & Relocation Services located in Farmington Hills. He assists homeowners and business with all wildlife nuisance issues in Farmington and surrounding cities. He can be reached at (248) 426-0036. or WWW.TRAPPERRON.COM
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