Wildlife In My Yard: Coexisting with
smaller animals, avoiding & addressing potential conflicts.
Montclair Township’s Relationship with Wildlife -
Conflict and Habitat Management
Montclair Township follows a policy of humane coexistence with
wildlife. Co-existing means allowing animals to live their natural lives out as
safely as possible, and addressing any wildlife-human conflicts with humane,
innovative, and non-lethal approaches.
Many residents moved to Montclair to live in a more verdant,
nature-surrounded suburb. This choice means we can expect to encounter wild creatures who also call our town, and
sometimes our yards, “home”. Learning to
accept, appreciate and co-exist with our wild neighbors is necessary.
Montclair Township is also part of the Humane Society of the United States’ Wild Neighbors Program and
follows their protocols. The program goal is to reduce and resolve
wildlife-human conflicts humanely. While
wildlife-human conflicts are infrequent in Montclair, residents can solve
wildlife issues by proactively implementing
prevention, exclusion, and distraction strategies. However, learning to
live with our beautiful wildlife neighbors, without disturbing their lives, is
the ideal goal. Learning to share your yard with wildlife is the most
compassionate thing to do.
Montclair Animal Control is your go-to first call for
information on local wildlife, and to resolve any issues that may arise. Montclair
Animal Control Officers are available 24/7 by calling 862-621-9113.
Please note: Trapping and relocating wildlife,
including birds’ nests or killing wildlife is ILLEGAL, ineffective, cruel, and
goes against the values of our township. Illegal infractions should be reported
and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
“The main point that we
try to consistently relay to our residents in any situation where wildlife is
on their property is "exclusion". If there are no safe, quiet places
for wildlife to hide around their property, then the wildlife will move along.”
– Montclair Animal Control Supervisor Michele Shiber.
The most common complaints to Montclair Animal Control are
not always deer or rabbits, but groundhogs, raccoons and skunks. The information here
focuses on these smaller animals who call our Township home.
TOOLS AND
STRATEGIES
We can
employ tools and landscape strategies to minimize or eliminate wildlife
conflicts in our gardens and yards, while respecting our suburban community as
their home as well. While deer are easier to deter, deterring smaller animals
humanely is also possible. In fact many of the issues that we attribute to deer
can be attributed to our smaller wildlife friends.
Suggested Reading On Topic:
● “The Wild-Friendly Gardener: How to Grow Food
in Harmony with Nature” by Tammi Hartung
● “The Humane Gardener” by Nancy Lawson
Gardening
guru Tammi Hartung advocates co-existence and strategies for vegetable gardens:
●
The simplest
level of co-existence is avoiding harm in order to foster wildlife as a
contributing partner to the gardening experience.
A
Montclair resident shares: “A kind and humane approach would be learning
to share the planet with them or just persuading them to find another home in
your neighborhood.”
●
The next level of
co-existence is to determine not only what wildlife is present, but the
relationships among plants and animals.
●
Implement a
strategy that benefits both wildlife and the plant ecosystem.
○
Plant a surplus
of plants and share some. Some animals are grazers who will browse for a while
and move on. Squirrels store food for the off-season. Planting Oaks and Black
Walnut trees, for instance, will reduce squirrels' need to eat your vegetable
garden.
○
Distract them
with decoy plants. For example, plant parsley as a decoy for deer and rabbits
away from a vegetable garden. Sunflowers will distract omnivorous birds like
blue jays and finches from eating raspberries and strawberries.
A Montclair
resident writes: “ I don’t have deer in the yard but rabbits, raccoons,
skunks, opossums, squirrels and even a groundhog visiting the garden. My theory
is the diversity of native plants in the yard (over 120 different species) that
have created a natural barrier. The yard is a true oasis for wildlife and
pollinators but they are not setting territory in the yard.”
●
Add aromatic plants: Steer wildlife away by inter-planting the garden with things they don’t
like. For example, deer are less likely to forage around lavender, sage,
chives, agastache and mint among other species; rodents around peppermint and
thyme. (Many of these are also native pollinator loving plants)
●
Natural repellents: Short of a physical barrier like a fence, this is the best way for
discouraging. Spray a garlic-water mixture around the plants that you want to
protect. Spray hot chili pepper in your garden soil to deter squirrels and
chipmunks - they despise the burning sensation on their feet. (ground black
pepper works almost as well).
Don’t forget
temporary or permanent fencing as the best solution, typically. For animals who do not dig, like rabbits, installing
a fence from the ground up a few feet will typically suffice. For diggers like
groundhogs and squirrels, ensure you install a fence parallel to the ground as
well as vertically.
To deter
rabbits and groundhogs, a Montclair resident suggests: “You just need to stake the corners and use poles to keep it on the
ground so they can’t get under. Try MTB 20GA Galvanized Hexagonal Poultry Netting
Chicken Wire 12 inches x 150 feet x 2 inches Mesh.
-
Arlai
45cm/1.48 Ft Garden Stakes, Plastic Coated Steel Plant Stakes Sturdy Tomato
Stakes, Pack of 25.
-
Eco-Friendly
2-FT Fiberglass Garden Stakes, Tomato Stakes, Plant Stakes (Pack of 20),
0.25-Inch Diameter
Use poles in the corners to shape the
wire, and then thread poles through the wire in short sections to keep it low
to the ground- or they will just come under.”
Other tools and strategies
In addition
to the proven strategies shared above, following are additional ideas shared by
the experts - the Humane Society of the
United States (HSUS), our own Animal Control Officers, and local residents.
These have been found to work in the Montclair Township area.
Chipmunks
The Humane Society of
the United States explains: Chipmunks don’t usually damage property, but they
may injure ornamental plants when they harvest fruits and nuts. Occasionally
chipmunks dig up and eat spring flowering bulbs and burrow in flower beds or
under sidewalks and porches. But there are no documented cases of a chipmunk
burrow causing structural damage.
●
Put
a temporary mesh fence around your garden; close all holes and cover the top.
● See Humane Society of the United State’s recommendation on
chipmunks
Groundhogs/Woodchucks
Residents should NOT
trap and transfer groundhogs, even by hiring a service, nor consider killing
them. There are ways
to deter them, if letting them live on your property is impossible. However,
with some clever planting, they should leave most of your plants alone.
Humane Society of the United States
(HSUS): Woodchucks can be harried from
burrows by harassment assaulting the animal's senses, or by disturbing the
burrow system. However, there is only a small window of time in the year when
this can be done humanely, so timing is crucial. Read more HSUS recommendations on groundhogs.
Advice from Montclair residents:
● “This worked well for
my garden and garbage. Orbit 62100 Yard Enforcer Motion-Activated Sprinkler
with Day & Night Detection Modes, Black”
● “When we put in a
vegetable garden, a gardening guru friend said that when we put up the chicken
wire fence, to lay the bottom edge out flat on the ground 12” and staple it
down. The critters will be standing on it when they try to dig down, and
they’re not smart enough to back up another few inches and start digging. It
seriously worked! That fat groundhog was in the yard all summer and never got
into the vegetable garden!”
● “Live and let live. As
someone else mentioned, there may be young groundhogs in the burrow, and
removing or chasing away the adults would condemn the youngsters to a cruel
death. If there are pups they will leave the burrow in a month or two to find
their homes elsewhere. I had a groundhog family living under my sunroom last
spring into the summer, and once the kids were old enough to leave the nest,
they all left and I haven't seen them since.”
Rabbits
Adult wild rabbits eat
clover, grass and other plants, as well as twigs and even bark, if other food
sources are scarce. Gardeners may find that rabbits nibble their flower and
vegetable plants in spring and summer and the bark of fruit and ornamental
trees and shrubs in the fall and winter.
A
Montclair resident shares: “Fox pee is really good for repelling rabbits.”
See Humane Society of the United State’s recommendation
Racoons
HSUS explains: Smart and resourceful, raccoons often get into trouble when they take
advantage of the enticing foods we offer in our yards and gardens.
Advice from Montclair residents:
●
“I had this same issue and upgraded our
garbage cans with these clips from Home Depot! No issues since.”
●
“Try
sprinkling cayenne pepper on the cans & around the area of the cans. It
helped when I had raccoons coming onto my porch at night.”
●
“We
clip bungee cords around the cans to keep the lids from being opened by animals
lacking opposable thumbs. It has completely stopped our garbage can visitors
problem”
● See Humane Society of the United State’s recommendation
Skunks
Skunks, easily identifiable by their characteristic
black and white striping, are infamous for producing a foul odor when
frightened. Although a skunk’s spray is known mostly for its robust smell, it
can also cause intense discomfort if it gets into a person or animal’s eyes.
Fortunately, these mild-mannered creatures rarely use this potent defense, and
provide quite a few benefits to the areas they inhabit. In cases where eviction
is necessary, a few mild harassment and deterrence
techniques can help you humanely remove skunks while escaping smell-free.
●
Advice from Montclair residents:
○
“Apart from the smell and bad interactions with your dog, skunks
are great to have in or near your property this time of year. They eat ticks
and mosquitoes as well as other insects. They like to come out at dusk and at
night most of the time. We have some skunks in our neighborhood and I often see
them at night. I stay clear and let them do their thing.”
○
“Apparently skunks hate orange peels. We threw some peels around
the hole it had dug and it went away in no time!”
● See Montclair Township Animal Control’s
recommendation on
skunks
● See Humane Society of the United State’s recommendation
Squirrels
HSUS: Squirrels' adaptable nature means they’re adept at finding
the easiest, best sources of food and shelter, even if that food is your bird
feeder and that shelter is your attic.
Luckily we live in an acorn-rich town due to our noble oak
trees. That means more squirrels, which is a great thing for our local fox
families, but not so great for our vegetable gardens.
Tools:
●
Put
a temporary mesh fence around your garden and cover the top. It is better to
use an aluminum type of fence as squirrels can eat through netting.
● Other Humane Society of the United
States recommendations