Too many woodland critters in my yard.

fuzzybuddy

fuzzybuddy

SF VIP
Location
The Sticks, Northeast PA.
I live in the sticks- Northeast Pennsylvania. I'm surround by state game lands on three sides. So, I know there are woodland critters. I don't know what it is this year, but I'm swamped with critters. There are two bears, who literally live down the road. I have 4 deer with 2 fawns munching my lawn as I type this. Then there's racoons, gophers, turkeys, rabbits, owls and squirrels. And mice and ants. Now, I have a 4 foot snake running around. I understand where I live, but I've never been inundated with critters like this year.
 

Last edited:
fuzzybuddy said:
I understand where I live, but I've never been inundated with critters like this year.
Click to expand...
Got some wildfires around?
Might check the local reports

Other than that, it can be cyclical, for some reason

When we lived up at the cabin, critters seemed to come in bunches.
Birds, especially

One year it was crows.....thousands of them
They only stayed a few days
Pretty much a fly by

One early winter it was nutcrackers
They stayed the winter, took over the feeders
Real bullies
Then
Were gone
Never saw 'em again

Bear, blackies, would generally come down the mountain late summer, early fall
Hungry

Deer, mulies, were seasonal
They'd migrate to Christmas Valley in late fall, and return in spring
Basically checking in on the progress of the garden

deer are back.jpg 5.jpg



But every year was different
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I live in the sticks- Northeast Pennsylvania. I'm surround by state game lands on three sides. So, I know there are woodland critters. I don't know what it is this year, but I'm swamped with critters. There are two bears, who literally live down the road. I have 4 deer with 2 fawns munching my lawn as I type this. Then there's racoons, gophers, turkeys, rabbits, owls and squirrels. And mice and ants. Now, I have a 4 foot snake running around. I understand where I live, but I've never been inundated with critters like this year.
Click to expand...

Two bears is no problem. But if three show up and you smell porridge cooking... ;) :eek:
 
With last winter's quadruple rain and snow the wildlife around here is going...wild! Squirrels by the bushel! Rabbits(cottontail & Jack) by the dozens. All the usual birds, by the hundreds.
Our apricot tree yielded some serious fruit, we picked well over 90+ lb.s of fruit, just a fraction of the total. In a matter of days every last apricot was gone, cleaned up by the squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, the myriad of birds....

Haven't seen the Coyotes, or even heard them. I think someone living nearby is shooting them.
 
CT is having somewhat of a problem with black bears and moose. I don't know if they're escaping the Canadian wildfire by coming down through New England, but that's rather a long haul.

DEEP has been humanely relocating them except for one poor moose who moved into someone's yard.

We had a black bear dumpster diving here at my condo community.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I live in the sticks- Northeast Pennsylvania. I'm surround by state game lands on three sides. So, I know there are woodland critters. I don't know what it is this year, but I'm swamped with critters. There are two bears, who literally live down the road. I have 4 deer with 2 fawns munching my lawn as I type this. Then there's racoons, gophers, turkeys, rabbits, owls and squirrels. And mice and ants. Now, I have a 4 foot snake running around. I understand where I live, but I've never been inundated with critters like this year.
Click to expand...
Just remember............ it could be worse. ;) It could be 2 legged critters.


crowds of people.jpg crowded.jpg
 
Woodland Critters! That's what happens when you live in the woodlands. You can't tell them to go back where they came from, because they're already where they came from. You should thank them for sharing it with you. Even my dog loves the deer. He becomes transfixed when they are in the yard, but he doesn't chase them. However, for some reason the rabbits drive him crazy. He feels it's his job to clear the yard of rabbits, and make sure they stay in the bushes. The yard is only for the deer and him. Haven't had a bear this year. That will be interesting when one shows up.
 
We've lived in the center of the Village for 5-1/2 years. We have a deep lot and lots of garden beds and no issues....until this year. A large groundhog moved in under the porch and noshing up and down the block! We trapped it and a neighbor relocated it miles away. Then we saw another one who ate the tops off most of my perennials - he went too. Yesterday a smaller one showed up! Deer have eaten the tops of my tomato plants and I've seen a couple go through the yard. I'm sure there are raccoons too but haven't actually seen any - yet. Kind of surprised that these animals are right in the middle of town. No moose yet.
 
JustDave said:
Woodland Critters! That's what happens when you live in the woodlands. You can't tell them to go back where they came from, because they're already where they came from. You should thank them for sharing it with you. Even my dog loves the deer. He becomes transfixed when they are in the yard, but he doesn't chase them. However, for some reason the rabbits drive him crazy. He feels it's his job to clear the yard of rabbits, and make sure they stay in the bushes. The yard is only for the deer and him. Haven't had a bear this year. That will be interesting when one shows up.
Click to expand...
My old Spaniel was like that about squirrels.
 
The deer get their mail, here.
Right now, I have 7 deer feeding on my lawn. They are so used to us. My neighbor's lawn abuts my lawn. He was mowing his lawn with a riding mower. The deer were standing about few feet away from the property line, on my side. He's going back and forth by them, and it ain't bothering them at all. Later, I mowed my lawn, all the deer did was mosey onto his side. I'm on a noisy riding mower going feet from them. After I finished, the deer came by, walking around to check out what I mowed.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I live in the sticks- Northeast Pennsylvania. I'm surround by state game lands on three sides. So, I know there are woodland critters. I don't know what it is this year, but I'm swamped with critters. There are two bears, who literally live down the road. I have 4 deer with 2 fawns munching my lawn as I type this. Then there's racoons, gophers, turkeys, rabbits, owls and squirrels. And mice and ants. Now, I have a 4 foot snake running around. I understand where I live, but I've never been inundated with critters like this year.
Click to expand...
I'm okay with bears and there are a few wandering around here... right in town. It's a river town and they always end up by the water, but strange anyhow. Love deer and their babies and I often see them in the back yard.... again right in town, but there's a huge woods nearby. Squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, bunnies... I'm fine with all of them... even ants. But THEN you said snake... a 4 FOOT snake to boot, so that's where I'd have a big problem! Do you know what kind it is, @fuzzybuddy ? Not copperhead or timber rattler, I hope! 😨🐍
 
I watered the orchard today. Because I haven't used that well for some time, I kept an eye on things by planting myself in a chair under an apple tree (with a good book and a wee dram of single malt) to make sure the old pump kept chugging along. In the two hours I sat there, I saw too many rabbits to count, an equal number of squirrels and chipmunks, half a dozen does all with fawns. There was also bear scat under the trees, and I heard raccoons talking to each other in a nearby copse of conifers. I didn't even try to count the birds with everything from chickadees to bald eagles passing through.
 
CallMeKate said:
I'm okay with bears and there are a few wandering around here... right in town. It's a river town and they always end up by the water, but strange anyhow. Love deer and their babies and I often see them in the back yard.... again right in town, but there's a huge woods nearby. Squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, bunnies... I'm fine with all of them... even ants. But THEN you said snake... a 4 FOOT snake to boot, so that's where I'd have a big problem! Do you know what kind it is, @fuzzybuddy ? Not copperhead or timber rattler, I hope! 😨🐍
Click to expand...
I'm not a snake expert. It's gray black. Google says it's a rat snake. Depending on the size and shape of the head, it's either harmless or poisoness. It moves so fast, can't get a good look at it. I'm not thrilled about the snake, either. I don't even like the little green grass snakes. Yuk.
 
chic said:
Okay but how did they become woodland creatures in Missouri which I thought would be too cold for them??
Click to expand...
I asked my smartphone and the first article is from our cities news paper in may 2023.

Armadillo population in Missouri increasing with warmer weather, experts say​


Mid-Missourians may have spotted more armadillos than usual lately, and the Missouri Department of Conservation says the population of the critter in the Show-Me State is increasing.

Armadillos are becoming more common in Missouri — particularly in the southern and central regions of the state, according to Nate Bowersock, a biologist from the Missouri Department of Conservation.

The shelled mammal's presence has been expanding in the United States since the late 1800s when humans brought it into Texas from Mexico, Bowersock said.


According to Bowersock, armadillos are not aggressive and don't pose a substantial threat to humans or other living things, but they do have some interesting behaviors.

"One thing that armadillos do with they're frightened is actually jump," Bowersock said.

When you see an armadillo while driving, Bowersock said, try to slow down or go left or right.

"But obviously, everyone's safety is more important than swerving for any animal," Bowersock said. "So the big thing is, just try to slow down is your best bet."

While armadillos are native to South America, humans introduced them to the southern U.S., and climate change could be the reason for the animal's move farther north, Bowersock said.

​


Armadillos are sensitive to cooler temperatures, so with average annual temperatures increasing, they are able to tolerate moving north into areas that were once cooler.

"It's anecdotal with climate change, but you do see a steady increase from out of the ... southern portions of the state northward, and that this point, most counties within Missouri have at least had a sighting of armadillos," Bowersock said.

Increased amounts of noticeable roadkill has been one indicator for Bowersock of the armadillo's expansion into the state.

"I think with this warmer winter we had this last year, I think that we saw a bigger expansion because animals weren't hiding in the holes in the ground trying to stay warm — they could move around a lot more this winter," Bowersock said. "I think that might have helped move the animals around a lot more and why we're seeing more animals dead along the side of the road."

Armadillos primarily eat bugs like worms, spiders and other invertebrates, which gives them a habit of digging. They also burrow when it's time for them to give birth, and this habit of digging can upset property owners, according to the Department of Conservation's website.

The department's website says armadillos that cause damage may be trapped to prevent further damage. It also says that while they may be shot with a BB-sized shot, they are nocturnal and nomadic, so this isn't usually practical.

Bowersock said residents having problems with armadillos can call the Department of Conservation, and wildlife damage biologists can come help residents remove the armadillos.

"... They're just a very adaptive animal, and there's not much that seems to bother them, unfortunately," Bowersock said. "So they can kind of spread and go where they want ... it's tricky to catch an armadillo."

https://www.komu.com/news/midmissou... native to,move farther north, Bowersock said.
 
I have a problem with rabbits having babies in the yard. They scrape away the grass, dig a hole and deposit the babies, then cover it with some of the loose grass they scraped up. This just happened this morning again. I put wire screening around most of the bottom of the chain link fence, but I'm going to have to do more apparently.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top