Learning to live with wild neighbors
While some might be annoyed by backyard wildlife, David Dionne understands that wild animals’ behavior is just part of the food chain.
“Animals are doing what they do naturally,” the Red Mountain Park executive director said. “We are going to interact with them. We just have to learn how to attract wildlife that we want and make sure to not attract wildlife we don’t want.”
In May, Dionne gave a talk on “Learning to Live with Wild Neighbors” at the Homewood Public Library. He offered his expert advice to educate the public on wildlife behavior and to eradicate myths on how to deal with wildlife.
Dionne spoke at the library at the request of Homewood Chief of Police Jim Roberson. Roberson said the police department receives frequent calls concerning wildlife in residential areas.
“People say, ‘What can we do to eradicate these animals?’” Roberson said. “First of all, it can’t be done. Second, they were here before we were. Right where we are standing there were animals all over. Instead of leaving, they learned to live with people. We have to do the same.”
In his presentation, Dionne explained several types of wildlife and how to both attract and repel them. Though wildlife can cause issues in domestic life, most wild animals’ instinct is to avoid people. Dionne stressed that the main reason animals interact with people is because they are attracted to something in their yard.
Mammals, reptiles, insects and arachnids find homes where there is food and proper shelter. Many creatures find that a suburban backyard fits their needs.
To avoid unwanted wild animals, Dionne’s solution is to keep a clean yard and exterior home. Small but deadly creatures can find their way into buckets left in the yard or cracks on the side of a house. During the talk, Dionne shared a story of a large copperhead snake that made its way into his friend’s backyard shed through a crack under the door.
Dionne reminded his friend to check for eggs left in the shed. Sure enough, the copperhead had left eggs behind.
Feeding wild animals, whether intentionally or unintentionally, can also present problems. If an animal finds leftovers in a yard, it will often associate the yard with food and become a frequent visitor. This is especially true for coyotes.
“Once a coyote makes that association, they’ll never break it,” Dionne said.
Even the responsibility of owning a bird feeder can cause bigger issues with wildlife. If birds or other animals find feeders in a yard, they grow accustomed to feeding there.
“If you stop feeding them, they will stop feeding their babies,” Dionne said.
It is important to make the commitment to keep feeding devices full throughout a season once animals have begun eating from it.
Dionne also said residents should remember that while feeders attract birds, birds might attract other animals. For many animals, birds and creatures that feed on birds are prey. This can cause bigger wildlife problems in a yard.
“It’s important to get people to think of it as a food chain,” Dionne said.