Small Animal Damage Control Hank Uhden WY Dept. Of Agriculture.

Small Animal Damage Control

Hank Uhden

WY Dept. Of Agriculture

Small Animal Damage Control

• Manual & Handouts

• Purpose of Training

• Training Outline:

• Commonly Used Products

• Commonly Controlled Animals

• Need for Control or Disease Vectors

• Bird Control

• Diseases of Major Health Concern

• Plague, Rabies, Hantavirus

INTRODUCTION

Small Animal Damage Control

• Reduce and/or Eliminate Economic Loss

• Access the Damage

• Positive Pest Identification

Objective of Control Program

Who ?... Me !?!

Small Animal Damage Control

• Preventive or Protective Control

• Habitat Alteration

• Removal of Food Supply

• Exclusion

• Aversion Techniques

• Repellents

• Pyrotechnics

• Scare Devices

• Trapping, Lethal & Non-lethal

• Epizootics

• Toxicants

• Shooting

Correct Control Solution

Small Animal Damage Control

• Bait

• Food item w/ toxicant

• Lethal Dose (LD)

• LD LD

• Milligrams of toxicant / kilogram of body weight

• Lower LD s are more toxic

Toxicology

50

50

100

Small Animal Damage Control

• Grains Commonly Used:

• Barley, Wheat, Oats

• Grains:

• Whole

• Mechanically Altered

• Dependent upon 1) Pest to be controlled; 2) Site of Application; 3) Protection of non-targets

Toxicology

Small Animal Damage Control

• Label Equipment

• Poison

• Skull & Crossbones

• Wear Respirator

•Never carry toxicants in passenger compartment

• Prohibit:

• Smoking, eating, or other hand to mouth contact

Safety Precautions

Small Animal Damage Control

• Rodenticides

Rodent Control

Rodenticides are substances or a

mixture of substances intended for

destroying, repelling, or mitigating rodents.

Small Animal Damage Control

• Rodenticides

Rodent Control

Color Additives:

• Protect seed eating birds

• Aid in bait identification• Aid in bait preparation

• Prevent accidental human consumption

• Prevent diversion for use as livestock feed

Small Animal Damage Control

Specific Products Commonly Used

Strychnine

Zinc Phosphide

Anticoagulants

Aluminum Phosphide

Small Animal Damage Control

Strychnine

ALL ABOVE GROUND USES HAVE BEEN CANCELLED

• Uses limited to below ground - pocket gophers only

• Acute, single dose toxicant

• White, bitter tasting powder - Made from seeds of the Asian strychnos nux vomica tree

Small Animal Damage Control

Strychnine

• Available only in an alkaloid form

• Almost insoluble in water

• Will breakdown if exposed to heat & light

• Other characteristics

• Is not cumulative

• Has a slight odor

• Is not selective

• Toxic to most animals

• Rapidly absorbed - effects rapid

Small Animal Damage Control

Zinc Phosphide

PRE-BAITING IS NECESSARY!

• Use restricted to July - December

• Prozap™ (HAACO) allows use in WY March 1 - June 30 (SLN - 24c)

• Labeled for: meadow mice, voles, ground squirrels, prairie dogs, various species of rats and other rodents.

Small Animal Damage Control

Zinc Phosphide

• Characteristics:• Heavy, finely ground gray-black powder

• Strong, pungent, garlic like odor

• Insoluble in water & alcohol

• Reacts with acids readily

• Less toxic than strychnine

• Slowest acting of the commonly used rodenticides

Small Animal Damage Control

Anticoagulants

• Characteristics:• Reduce clotting ability of blood

• Death occurs from internal & external bleeding

• Affected animals die quietly

• Poison of choice in and near cities

• Little danger to domestic animals

• Available as dry bait, or water soluble

• Vitamin K is the antidote

Small Animal Damage Control

Aluminum Phosphide

• Characteristics:• Registered for control of various burrowing rodents (e.g. Prairie dogs)• Tablet form• Moisture produces phosphine gas• Labeled for outdoor use only

• Rangeland & pastures• Non-cropland areas

Small Animal Damage Control

Gas Cartridges

• Produces carbon monoxide• Unrestricted use product - easy to use• Precautions:

• Do not use near buildings or flammable materials• Carbon Monoxide is odorless, colorless

• Labeled uses: • Small Gas Cartridge: burrowing rodents• Large Gas Cartridge: coyotes, skunks

Small Animal Damage Control

Vertebrate Pests Commonly Controlled

Prairie Dogs

Pocket Gophers

Ground Squirrels

Porcupines

Moles

SkunksBats Birds

Small Animal Damage Control

• Baiting

• Zinc Phosphide requires pre-baiting

Prairie Dogs

• Best when green forage is not available

• Use one (1) teaspoon of bait/burrow

• Fumigants

• Clean-up following bait applications

Small Animal Damage Control

• Precautions

• Always wear gloves

Prairie Dogs

• When working with toxicants

• When handling carcasses - host to plague infected fleas

• Black-Footed Ferret Searches

• Dependent upon size of treatment area, species of prairie dog

Small Animal Damage Control

• General Information:

• Extensive underground burrow system

Pocket Gopher

• Eat plant roots & stems. Girdle trees or clip tree roots

• Mounds are horseshoe shaped

• Active in winter

Small Animal Damage Control

• Control:

• Most Effective: Toxicants and traps

Pocket Gopher

• 0.5% Strychnine Oats

• Large or heavily infested areas - use burrow builder

• Hand baiting, fumigation, or trapping for small areas

Small Animal Damage Control

• General:

• More destructive than prairie dogs - larger numbers & range

Ground Squirrels

• Estivation - tend to live in one place

• Active year around

• Host to plague infected fleas

Small Animal Damage Control

• Control:

• Fumigants

• Gas Cartridges

Ground Squirrels

• Trapping

• Toxicants

Small Animal Damage Control

• Classified as a rodent

• Primarily inhabit forested areas

Porcupines

• Do not hibernate, rest in same place

• Damage: Girdle pine trees, eat fruits, alfalfa, sweet corn

• Control: Trapping and/or shooting

Small Animal Damage Control

• Classified as a rodent

• Pest of gardens, lawns, flower beds

Moles

• Rarely surface above ground

• Most damage caused when digging

• Voles, white-footed mice, house mice, other animals utilize tunnels, cause damage often blamed on moles

Small Animal Damage Control

• Control:

• Exclusion

Moles

• Cultural: Re-packing soil, reduce soil moisture

• Repellents: Onions/garlic around gardens

• Toxicants: Will not take bait readily

• Fumigants

• Trapping: Only effective method

Small Animal Damage Control

• Member of the weasel family

• Classified as a predator

Skunks

• Plant & animal foods - insects preferred

• Will eat small mammals

• Classified insectivorous

Small Animal Damage Control

• Health risk:

• Rabies

Skunks

• Habitat:

• Clearings, pastures, prairies

• Usually a den - hollow logs, under buildings

• Dormant during extreme cold

• Most reports come in early spring and fall

Small Animal Damage Control

• Control

• Preventive control foremost - Seal Openings

Skunks

• Trapping - Lethal & live traps

• Shooting

• Large gas cartridge

• Toxicants - NONE

Small Animal Damage Control

Bats

Most bats are protected under the Migratory

Bird ActHere’s your problem - a bunch of bats in your chimney!

Small Animal Damage Control

Bats

• Insectivorous

• Not aggressive, but will bite if handled• Health risk: rabies & encephalitis

• Control:• Exclusion (permanent solution)• Ultrasonic devices - not effective, some attract bats• Naphthalene Flakes (Moth balls)• Toxicants - NONE

Small Animal Damage Control

Bird Control

• Migratory birds - 50 CFR 21

• Game & Fish Chapter LII Non-game Regulations

• Statutes define:

• “Predacious bird” means English sparrow and starling

• May be taken any time during the calendar year in Wyoming

• Legal to destroy nest & eggs

Small Animal Damage Control

Bird Control

• Statutes Define:

• “Protected bird” means migratory birds as defined andprotected under federal law

• Diseases: • Histoplasmosis• Tuberculosis• Cholera• Parrot Fever

Small Animal Damage Control

Bird Control

• Urban sanitation problems - pigeons, sparrows, starlings, and increasingly geese

• Control: • Habitat manipulation• Aversion• Exclusion• Trapping & baiting

Small Animal Damage Control

Bird Control

• Control - continued:• Toxicants (Avicides) & lethal methods - legality?

• Chemosterilants

• Nest destruction• Poison baits

• Carcasses picked up• Eagles most at risk

• Contact poisons

•Toxic perches

• Surfactant or detergent solutions

Small Animal Damage Control

Bird Control

Methods most effective when used intermittently, in combination with other

techniques AND before birds establish regular feeding habits

Small Animal Damage Control

- Diseases -

Highest Exposure Risk

Plague

Rabies

Hantavirus

Small Animal Damage Control

Plague

• Bacteria Yersinia Pestis

• First discovered in Yellowstone Nat. Park - 1934

• Predominant in prairie dog populations • Causes sudden, unexplained die-offs

• Not prevalent in big game populations• Does exist in feline, canine, squirrel, rabbit, chipmunk and other commensal rodent populations

Small Animal Damage Control

Plague

• Human contact plague in 3 ways:

• Flea bite• Unprotected contact• Airborne particles

• Flea associated with human plague does not exist in Wyoming

• Rodent flea though will feed on humans if the opportunity arises

Small Animal Damage Control

Plague

• Last 80 years, all cases of respiratory (pneumonic) plague have been contracted from house cats• Chances of contracting plague are small

• Treatable if caught in time• Symptoms similar to flu

• Wear impervious gloves (rubber latex) when skinning wild animals

• Most at risk are hunters & trappers

Small Animal Damage Control

Plague

• Three types of plague:• Bubonic - Flea bite

• Septicemic - Fluids from infected animal

• Pneumonic - Secondary/Respiratory droplets

• Control of plague vector• Sevin Dust

Small Animal Damage Control

Rabies

• People at high risk can be vaccinated

• Any animal is capable of contracting, carrying, and transmitting• Rabies can be latent• Occurs most often in spring and fall• Virus remains active even if frozen• Death is not always probable

Small Animal Damage Control

Rabies

• Animals with rabies or suspected cases:

• Cage the animal, notify public health officer

• A rabid dog may:• Bite other animals or moving objects• Seizures, muscle incoordination• Die by progressive paralysis

Small Animal Damage Control

Rabies

• Bats with rabies may be controlled with tracking powders

• Skunks - for testing • Shoot in body, ship head to State Vet Lab

• Rabies can be contracted through open wounds or breaks in the skin

• Wear impervious gloves when skinning wild animals

Small Animal Damage Control

Hantavirus

• Deer mouse is primary carrier

• Transmitted by: • Direct contact with mice• Inhaling airborne particles

• No known person to person transmission• Infection in cats is rare• Similar virus to hemorrhagic fever - no known cure

Small Animal Damage Control

Hantavirus

• Causes flu-like symptoms

• Safety Precautions:

• Controlling rodents, cleaning areas:• Wet mop• Wear rubber or latex gloves• Wear a HEPA filter - Not paper • Eliminate compatible environment• Disinfection and cleaning bleach

Small Animal Damage Control

Summary

• More rodent & predator information:

Dept. Of Agriculture:

http://wyagric.state.wy.us/techserv/tsindex.html

Control Information:

http://wildlifedamage.unl.edu/

QUESTIONS ?