URBAN WILDLIFE

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NUISANCE ANIMAL CONTROL

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries does NOT provide nuisance animal control or removal services. We do provide some technical assistance via telephone and mail and maintain a list of permitted Nuisance Wildlife Control Operators (NWCO's) that provide nuisance animal control services for a fee. NWCO's are permitted by the Department to remove nuisance wildlife. Anyone in the business of trapping nuisance animals must be permitted by LDWF. NWCO's are permitted to handle most species except deer, bear, and alligators. For your nearest NWCO or information regarding these species, contact your local LDWF District office.

Every day, someone has a problem with some species of wildlife and immediately want the animal removed, thinking that will solve the problem, rather than look at why the problem exists and correcting that situation. In most cases, the animal is seeking food or shelter. To resolve the problem, and prevent it from occurring again, the cause of the problem must be determined and that situation corrected. If food is available and attracting animals, remove or secure the food so that animals cannot get to it.

Many animals seek shelter or den sites under raised buildings or in attics. Preventing access to these areas will prevent problems from occurring. Openings into attics can be covered with hardware cloth. Skirting installed under mobile homes can prevent animals from gaining access underneath. Chicken wire or lattice can be used under raised houses.

Below is a list of common nuisance animal problems and a description of the solution to the problem.

MAMMALS

Armadillo - damages lawn while foraging for earthworms, grubs, etc. Armadillos do not eat plant material but often uproot plants in search of food. There are no effective chemical repellants for armadillos. Treating the lawn with an approved lawn insecticide may remove the food source thereby encouraging the animal to search elsewhere for food. Check with a lawn and garden for information on treating lawns. These animals often must often be trapped and removed. See regulations under "Outlaw Quadrupeds" for information on shooting armadillos. See "LIVE TRAPPING" below.

Beaver - dams waterways causing flooding; cuts and damages trees and shrubs in yards along waterways. Considered "Nuisance Animals" and may be trapped or shot year-round without permit, however local laws or ordinances may take precedence. See Regulations for details. Wrap trees with hardware cloth to protect. Contact Louisiana Department of Agriculture or USDA Wildlife Services for professional assistance. See "CONTACT LIST" below.

Coyote - often takes livestock, calves, poultry; often seen in residential areas and occasionally takes pets. Coyotes are also "Outlaw Quadrupeds" - see regulations. For professional assistance, contact the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, or USDA Wildlife Services. See "CONTACT LIST" below.

Deer - Contact your local LDWF District office for information on nuisance deer. See "CONTACT LIST" below.

Fox - takes poultry and occasionally takes small pets. Poultry must be kept in well built, secure pens with a roof or chicken wire cover. Free ranging poultry are fair game for predators and failing to protect them often results in loss of birds. It is also recommended that an electric fence wire be strung along the bottom and top of the pen. This is highly effective in keeping out other predators as well. Do not leave small pets unattended.

Moles - frequent yard pest. Best control is to use a mole trap available at most hardware or lawn and garden stores

Nutria - damages levees and yards by burrowing activity and eating grass. May be taken year-round by any means EXCEPT that they may not be taken at night by spotlighting and shooting. Contact USDA Wildlife Services for professional assistance. See Regulations or "CONTACT LIST" below.

Opossums - often eat pet food left out overnight, get into garages; occasionally takes young poultry and eggs. NEVER leave pet food or other foods out at night. Adjust feeding schedules so that pets eat during the day. Secure livestock/poultry food in metal garbage cans or in closets or sheds. May be hunted and trapped - see Regulations. Outside of the open season, opossums may be trapped under a permit issued by this Department.

Rabbits - damage vegetable gardens, cut seedlings. Rabbits can be fenced out of gardens using chicken wire or hardware cloth 18" tall. To protect seedlings and shrubs, form a cylinder out of chicken wire or hardware cloth and place around plants to be protected. Wire may need to be staked down to prevent being turned over by rabbits.

Raccoons - eats pet food and any other food available, garbage etc.; gets into attics, garages, sheds. NEVER leave pet food out at night and make sure no food is available. Use metal garbage cans with tight fitting lids. Close all openings that may provide entry to attics etc. If raccoons are already residing in an attic: Turn on lights in attic, play a portable radio in the attic, spray the inside of the attic with household ammonia. If this fails to drive the animal out, trapping may be required. See "LIVE TRAPPING" below.

SQUIRRELS - damage gardens, plants, trees, get into attics, chew on houses. Squirrels present one of the more difficult problems to solve. In residential areas, squirrel populations are often extremely dense and control is difficult at best. If in the attic: see RACCOONS above for info on getting animals out of attics. When damaging gardens, plants trees, etc. trapping is often the only solution, however in areas with numerous squirrels, removing a few squirrels from a yard only makes room for more to move into that area. Trapping may provide temporary relief. Frightening devices such as artificial owls are sometimes temporarily effective for keeping squirrels out of gardens etc. These devices must be repositioned in the area daily and often lose any effectiveness in a short time. Where legal, take as many squirrels as possible during the open squirrel season. Trapping requires a permit from LDWF. See "LIVE TRAPPING" below.

BIRDS

Most wild birds fall under the regulations of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (U.S.F.W.S.) and are Federally protected. These birds cannot be shot, trapped or otherwise killed without first obtaining a permit from the U.S.F.W.S. The only birds that do not fall into this category are: pigeons, European starlings, house or English sparrows. Domesticated waterfowl, "city park" type ducks and geese are unprotected also, although domesticated mallards that resemble wild mallards in size and color and Canadian geese fall under the jurisdiction of the U.S.F.W.S. Unprotected birds listed above may be taken any time and by any means. *Note* Refer to local municipal laws or ordinances protecting birds and discharge of firearms.

BLACKBIRDS, CROWS, GRACKLES - see regulations

EGRETS, HERONS - frequently take fish from ornamental, backyard ponds, as well as stocked farm ponds and similar fishing ponds. To prevent these birds from taking goldfish and koi, cover the pond with bird netting, usually available at garden centers. Drive three or four stakes in the ground around the pond, one to two feet tall and drape the netting over these stakes covering the pond. The birds will not be able to reach the fish and move on. Provide some form of escape cover in the pond for the fish. Short sections of six inch or greater diameter PVC, clay or concrete pipe will work well when submerged in the pond. Add aquatic vegetation to the pond to increase cover. Under normal conditions, egrets and herons cannot remove enough fish from a large pond to make a significant impact to the fish population

HAWKS, OWLS - often prey on poultry See FOX above for information on protecting poultry. Hawks and owls normally prey on native birds and mammals, sometimes taking small birds at feeders and squirrels in residential areas. This is normal behavior and there is no need for any control measures.

WOODPECKERS - Pileated woodpeckers are large woodpeckers that frequently do considerable damage to wood trim and siding on houses. In almost every case, the wood is infested with carpenter bees and their larvae. The woodpeckers are able to locate the larvae within the wood and feed on them, destroying the wood in the process. To correct this problem, contact a professional pest control operator to treat the house for carpenter bees.

LIVE TRAPPING

Currently it is illegal to live trap and relocate wildlife without a permit from this Department, except that furbearers may be trapped during the open trapping season by individuals possessing a valid trapping license. A permit is required: outside of the open trapping season; when trapping game animals; when no license is obtained (licenses are generally used by commercial trappers). Regardless of the reason for the trapping and the conditions of the permit must be adhered to. There is no fee for the permit.

Click here for permit application.

*WARNING* It can be dangerous to handle trapped animals. It is often easier to get an animal into a trap than to get one out! Raccoons especially can be very aggressive when you attempt to release them. Heavy leather gloves should be worn and extreme caution must be used when releasing animals. Always stand behind the trap and point the open end towards a clear area when releasing, giving the animal a clear path out and away.

Should a bite occur, DO NOT RELEASE THE ANIMAL if it hasn't been released yet. Regardless of the animal species, contact your local parish health unit for instructions on having the animal tested for rabies and contact your doctor. If a bite occurs, and the animal has been released and cannot be immediately re-captured, contact your doctor and the parish health unit. Animals that appear healthy may be infected with the rabies virus and transmit the virus to humans. The rabies virus is fatal to humans if not treated before symptoms develop.

Below is a description of some trapping techniques that have proven to be successful for various species.

Armadillos are difficult to catch. There is no bait that works well and the animals often fail to enter the trap. To increase your chances of catching armadillos, place traps along known travel lanes, along fences, walls or raised garden beds and create a funnel out of long boards that will guide the animal into the trap. Place the boards in a "V" shape with the narrow end of the "V" open and leading into the trap. Try using earthworms for bait by placing a container of fishing worms in the rear of the trap with the top removed.

For squirrels, use black-oil sunflower seeds for bait. These are available wherever bird seed is sold. Trapping squirrels that are eating pecans in September is often unsuccessful due to the fact that the squirrels would rather cut pecans in the tree than enter a wire cage to get to some other "bait". Trapping is residential areas with dense squirrel populations may provide temporary relief, but other squirrels will quickly replace the ones removed.

For raccoons, opossums etc., use leftover meat scraps or cat food as bait. Remember that you may catch the neighbor's cat.

Trapped animals should be released a minimum of five miles from the trap site to prevent their return.

Trapping in the spring and early summer should be avoided. Spring and early summer is the breeding season for most wildlife and removing adult animals may result in young animals being orphaned. If these young are in an attic or under a house etc., it can result in dead animals in the den thereby causing a new problem as they decay.

LDWF does not loan or rent traps. Traps are available from some parish animal control offices. Traps may be purchased at hardware stores and lawn and garden centers.

CONTACT LIST

Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry
Provides trapping services for beaver and coyote.
Baton Rouge 225/925-3962
Toll Free 1-800-558-9741

USDA Wildlife Services
Loans traps and equipment and provides technical assistance
Port Allen 225/389-0229
Crowley 337/783-0182
Bastrop 337/283-2819

LDWF District offices

LDWF Nuisance permits
225-763-3557

The Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management
http://www.wildlifedamage.unl.edu/