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July 16, 2007
Warmer winter weather a boon for urban
critters
by Joe Matyas, Sun Media
(reprinted from The London Free Press)
If you think you're seeing more
raccoons, squirrels and other small wildlife
roaming London, you might be right.
Why?
Milder weather -- less severe
winters and more favourable warm-weather months
-- may be the answer.
The better the weather, the more
creature comforts -- food and higher survival
and breeding chances -- there are for urban
wildlife many homeowners simply consider pests.
Pest-control and removal firms
are noticing the fallout.
Ted Foreman of Bob's Animal
Removal, a trapper licensed by Ontario's Natural
Resources Ministry, said he's seen bigger
litters -- and earlier births -- in recent
years.
"The weather has been so nice
that some animals are breeding earlier and
having second litters earlier," he said.
"They're adapting to changing
conditions."
Raccoons, squirrels and skunks
are leading the seasonal parade of intruders
into household rafters, chimneys, walls, sheds
and the spaces beneath decks, said Mark Rouble
of Humane Wildlife Control, a London
pest-control company.
Now, it's time for the debut of
the pest world's winged star.
"The next big wave is going to
be bats," said Rouble.
"They were birthing in June and
early this month and they'll soon be swarming
around at night," he said.
Rouble estimates the company has
been 40 per cent busier in the London area over
the past six weeks than during the same period
last year.
"We've had calls on a variety of
animals and birds, it hasn't been species
specific."
Rouble attributes the higher
number of calls to greater numbers of wildlife
newborns.
"Litters are about the same size
as normal, but there's probably more of them,"
Rouble said.
A relatively mild winter and
spring created conditions for higher survival
rates of females and more breeding
opportunities, said Rouble, who studied wildlife
at the University of Guelph and has worked in
animal control for 10 years.
Besides wild animals, abandoned
cats have become a growing problem, Foreman
said.
"We trapped about 600 raccoons
last year and 400 wild cats," he said.
Garbage is a huge attraction for
animals in the city, he said.
"Raccoons, skunks and possums go
garbage-picking and they tend to live near their
food sources. It's easy for them to get into
plastic bags or cheap garbage cans."
Rouble said critters also find
compost heaps "an easy source of food," and
attics and sheds more convenient dens than
hollow logs or crooks of trees.
"People call us for two reasons
-- because they have animal intruders living,
urinating, defecating and chewing wires in their
homes, or animals spending time on their
properties."
Rouble recommends homeowners
check obvious entry points to houses, to help
prevent wildlife from getting in.
"Roofs are a favorite entry
point, so having good chimney caps, sturdy vents
and soffits in good repair are important."
Ontario regulations prevent
animal controllers from catching animals and
releasing them to the wild, said Rouble.
"We're limited to release within
one kilometre," he said, adding that's why his
company concentrates on repairs that prevent
re-entry.
Foreman said his company abides
by the client's wishes.
"Some people want us to catch
the pest and let it go, and others want us to
put it down," he said.
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