landscape design 10 (raccoon/master gardener program/vertebrate pests/cliff notes)

6amish in front of my house tuesday am.

sort of freaked me out (not enough to not go out and try to take pics) cuz it's a rabies spreader and is known to come through dog doors; i have 4 animals with a dog door.

it shouldn't be dumb enough to come into my backyard cuz i have COONHOUNDS did you hear that buddy RACCOON HOUNDS.

maybe i am freaked cuz my chapter for my master garden class that day was on vertebrate pests and he was looking at me in a real ominous fashion

i know that's a picture of his butt. he was looking at me while i was trying to focus, as it was pitch black.

MASTER GARDENER PROGRAM

VERTEBRATE PESTS-LECTURE-CLIFF NOTES

1. rats can live on a full diet of feces so scoop the poop
2. it's illegal in wa to use any killing trap other than a common mouse trap
3. the poison ops do things like make the rodent bleed internally to death aka if your dog eats it there is no turning back
4. most humane way to kill is to use the trap that snaps the rodents neck
5. first step is to remove access to food, shelter andwater (aka reduce carrying capacity) then you gotta kill em' .
6. wa state law says you can't remove pests from your property and relocate (even big things like raccoons). rodents have constantly growing teeth like 5" a yr so they need to chew
7. burying rats/mice have smaller ears and eyes to keep dirt out
8. a roof rat has a longer tail and bigger eyes and ears cuz they stick to a vertical plane
9. rats/mice can swim a min. of a half mile
10. the deer mouse (adorable with white underbelly) spreads the hanta virus which is 33% fatal to those whom come in contact
11. the house mouse leaves a scent trail aka urine so if it ran through your rice bag, don't eat it
12. an easy id to see if rats or bats are coming and going; they have greasy hair that leaves a smudge
13. mushy feces means they are still around
14. bat poop shimmers under the light cuz they are insectavores and the bugs had sparkly exoskeletons
15. wa state law for an ...iscide...you must follow directions cuz if do something like over use the killer chem. and it kills your neighbors dog etc... it's up to 1 yr in jail and a 5 grand fine
16. lock down your traps or they will run off with them
17. cheese doesn't really work well on rats/mice
18. rats, mice and moles keep the paths or tunnels close to walls or borders
19. empty rodent trap daily or they will eat their own
20. if a rodent dies in your wall don't worry... blowflies will find it and lay their larvae in the corpse as feed
21. after 4 weeks the animal will be gone aka smell gone then you need to kill the flies
22. none of the sound devices for deterring bats, rats, racoons etc have been proven effective
23. bats can get through a 1/4" crack (not a rd one cuz of their wings)
24. bats are not rodents they can not chew into anything
25. in the nw the shrew mole is not considered a pest cuz it does not burrow
26. it has black tail vs the 6 other types in the nw that are burrowing pests that have pink tails
27. moles live off of earthworms (insectivores) they are not known for depleting a food source but they will move along when the well starts to run dry
28. mole's schedule -sleep 4 hrs then run the tunnel looking for worms- repeat.....
29. they go further undergrd in winter to follow the worms
30. they don't like light in their tunnels
31. if you want to see if one is active push light holes in their mound, they will fill it back up
32. moles live solo (not colonial animals) and cover a 1/4 acre territory
33. once the tunnel is built mound building stops till they need to move along (food source)
34. voles are rodents
35. they do not make mounds they make 1-2" little holes in ground
36. voles, rats etc...will use a mole's tunnel if it exists
37. voles rarely cause severe damage
38. mountain beaver is native only found in wa, or, bc and the sierra's
39. thought as one of the most primitive rodents
40. not related to a reg. beaver
41. they are rodents that eat herbaceous and woody plants (love rhodies)
42. they do not regulate their temp well so if they are exposed and it's under 50degrees they will die in an eve.
43. no repellants (or relocation) are legal just put up fences
44. deer no real proven detterrent just put up fences and/or create a spooky environment
45. most common (prized game animal too) in wa state is the black tail deer (black tail)
46. you may also see a mole deer (rat tail)
47. eastern grey squirrel (rodent) is the largest nuisance around wa
48. hardy tulip culprit, bulb or flower need to cage