How do you compassionately deal with local wildlife that makes it’s way into your home or is destructive to your property? I’m an animal lover, but I’m not running a B&B for all my fluffy, furry, feathery friends.
Juliet, the lazy Labrador on her favorite couch.
This morning as I was pouring my first cup of coffee, I noticed a strange container on the counter. I was sleepy. It looked empty. A few minutes later my husband came down with my 4-year-old laughing and showing off his “catch.”
Late last night he had discovered a tiny frog hopping across the family room carpet! Lucky for the frog, our dog was in a deep sleep, rolled over on her back on the couch with her paws in the air. I can’t figure out how he got in here (the frog) and I really hope there aren’t more on the way. I don’t live in a swamp…I swear!
The frog who broke in late last night.
The girls named the frog and are begging to keep him as a pet, but he will be released back in to the wilds of our back yard tonight.
In reality, a little frog is not much trouble, but this is just one of the many issues we’ve had with the local wildlife.
I’ve also been having an ongoing battle with a woodpecker who lives in our yard. It seems the many, many trees are not enough for him (I’m assuming he is an obnoxious male). He’s been pecking at the side of the house while I’m trying to work. I knock on the walls and he knocks back! He’s putting little holes in the siding of the house. Just another thing to add to the long list of neccessary home repairs.
Remember Woody the Woodpecker? Of course you do! I feel like this woodpecker in my yard is laughing at me in the classic Woody style.
Chappaqua's local wildlife.
My sister had a similar woodpecker issue at her house. My brother-in-law’s solution was a little different than my approach of simply trying to scare him away. He tried to shoot it down. Now, in some places this would not be a big deal, like say, in Alsaka, where they have hunters up the wasilla. But my sister and her husband live in Chappaqua, NY, home of Hillary and Bill. It’s pronounced Chap-uh-qua with a nasal, snooty accent. It’s way upscale and the idea of my somewhat intimidating 6′4″ brother-in-law out in his yard shooting at his own house just cracks me up. I imagine the neighbors, “Muffy dear, what is that man doing?” I don’t think he was successful anyway. But it was good for a laugh.
Our wild backyard.
So anyway, I don’t want to have to go all Sarah Palin on the local wildlife here in Connecticut. The deer eat every plant and flower in the yard and I don’t care. I even caught one looking in my living room window at 2:00 am when I was up with the baby. I should say - the deer caught me. I nearly dropped my sweet child on her head when I saw it watching me.
I can’t simply ignore frogs in my family room and woodpeckers knocking on my door. I have to do something. But what is the friendly way to deal with the local wildlife? Aside from letting them take over my home, is there a way for us all to get along?
This was the only solution I have found so far, that doesn’t actually harm any thing. I think it’s amusing. Watch and learn.
This is not a suitable solution for handling the local wildlife here. It would probably annoy me more than the animals. We also have tons of cute little birds, even hummingbirds on occasion, that I love to watch. It would chase them all away.
Did I mention the bats in my patio umbrella? Field mice sneaking into the basement? I think I need to move to the city. In the meantime, I will continue my research.
What would you do? Any suggestions?
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