Critters in the back yard...
I really enjoy wandering about the back yard during the early morning and late evening, but...does anyone else encounter 'critters' in the back yard? I have found a 60" corn snake, a 12" ring neck snake, a 24" black snake and...a 36" timber rattler. This does not count the varied possums, raccoon, dogs, cats, armadillos and deer. I really wasn't too concerned until the rattler and raccoon came along. Does anyone else have this difficulty?
I really enjoy wandering about the back yard during the early morning and late evening, but...does anyone else encounter 'critters' in the back yard? I have found a 60" corn snake, a 12" ring neck snake, a 24" black snake and...a 36" timber rattler. This does not count the varied possums, raccoon, dogs, cats, armadillos and deer. I really wasn't too concerned until the rattler and raccoon came along. Does anyone else have this difficulty?
You have a cool collection there, well except for the rattle snake. I was an animal guy that collected many different species of reptiles.
The Game Warden that lived down the road would bring me orphaned baby coons to rehab. There are so many deer around here they get to be a real pest besides all the car vs deer accidents. To many coyotes too. We love the wildlife around the house and the area.
The occasional Mink in the fish pond doesn't work out for the fish at all. We stopped doing Fancy fish and now all the occasional mink will get is Wal Mart goldfish.
Ok so you found critters in your yard. Do you want them there or not?
If you don't, here are some tips to keep them away:
For snakes, scorpions, things that slither on the ground, if you have fireplace ash or ash from an open fire, use the ash to create a 2-3 inch high/wide berm around the area you want them to stay away from. They will not cross an ash barrier.
For the four legged critters: Collect your pee in a gallon jug and mark your territory. Pour the pee out in a ring around the area that you want them to stay away from will deter them from coming there.
Scavengers will only show up if there's a food source. Make sure your pail lids are secure with bungee cords, keep trash away from the common area.
Hope these tips help!
P.S. next time you go to the barber, get a plastic bag and fill with hair clippings. spread them around the property. larger animals will avoid the area.
Before I got all the holes plugged under the fence we got a lot of rabbits in the yard attacking the vegetable garden. So I put netting over the garden. Then I started to find snakes tangled in the netting. No rattlers though. Now we have bird feeders out in the trees and something was dumping them and eating all the seed. I put out a trap and caught raccoons two different times. May have been the same one. I released it in the woods up the road. The second time I released it farther away in a park. Also caught a possum. It's now in the same park.
I had a really nice visitor to my yard a month or so ago; a Bald Eagle swooped down to grab something out of the creek beside the house. That was truly a remarkable sight. It was about 100 feet away, came down through the tree opening in the creek bed and then circled a bit and flew away. I've had several sightings around the area but none that close. A beautiful sight!
I am at the dead end of a road with no close neighbors, so the yard, front and back, are clothing optional. We have two acres, and I have jogging paths laid out so I can excercise without leaving the property or getting dressed. One path is a small loop - 11 times around is a mile. The other path follows our property edge and 3 1/2 times is a mile. I was jogging on this straighter path path one day, and I caught motion in my left peripheral vision. I turned my head, and a bald eagle was passing me at head level about 5 feet away. That was so cool!
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