Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Categorization And Seasonal Periodicity Of Terrestrial Vertebrate Pest Control Inquiries In Virginia, Harry J. Dutton, Jefferson L. Waldon, Peter T. Bromley

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

Information requests for species-specific preventive and control measures directed to the state's extension wildlife specialist were recorded by species or species group, month, day, and year, and by type of human group inquiring. Skunks (15.5%), snakes (14.7%), and bats (10.9%) were inquired about most often. Homeowners (67.4%) were the most frequent inquirers. Summer (43.5%) and spring (29.0%) were the seasons when most information requests occurred. Woodpeckers (16.0%) were the most frequently reported species in the spring. In the summer, the most frequently requested information was about bats (20.2%). Snakes (29.7%) were the most frequently reported species in the fall. Over …

Research Needs In Education And Research Institutions, Jay B. Mcaninch

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

Research to support wildlife management programs has traditionally been conducted by scientists in education and research institutions. Much of this work has resulted from state and federal agency program needs or has been funded by state or federal agencies upon solicitation from scientists at these institutions. Regardless of the origin of the research, these institutions have primarily provided the investigators and staff for conducting research on animal damage problems. The priorities, duration and depth of the efforts have been dependent upon the committment to damage control research by the investigator and the quality of funding support.

Deer Damage Control Preferences And Use Decisions Of New York Orchardists, K. G. Purdy, W. F. Siemer, G. A. Pomerantz, T. L. Brown

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

Previous studies in New York, the nation's second leading state in apple production, have contributed much to deer management decisions that give consideration to orchardists' concerns about crop damage. Little information, however, has been reported about orchardists' reasons for adopting or not adopting particular types of deer damage controls or their preference for various forms of possible damage control assistance. Two complementary studies, conducted in early 1987 by the Human Dimensions Research Unit, Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, have addressed these information needs. A mail survey of orchardists in an important fruit-producing region of southeastern New York indicated that …

Cooperative Beaver Control: Usfws-Adc And Private/Industrial Landowners: An Overview, Kim F. Rohr

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

Beaver populations in North Miss. and West Tenn. have increased rapidly. Pelt trapping has been the major control method in the past. With low demand and poor prices for southern pelts, this activity is almost nonexistent today.

Research Needs In Wildlife Damage Control: Research Needs As Perceived By State Directors In The Eastern Adc Region, Dennis Slate

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

This presentation provides a brief overview of wildlife damage-related research needs as they are perceived by Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Animal Damage Control (ADC) State Directors in the Eastern ADC Region. There are 23 State Directors in the Eastern ADC Region who are responsible for managing operational and technical assistance animal damage programs in 31 states. Because of their collective experience with a variety of species and control techniques under various environmental circumstances, their imput and insight should be valuable in helping those in the research community more clearly define wildlife damage-related research needs.

Landowner Perceptions Of Beaver Damage And Control In Arkansas, T. B. Wigley, M. E. Garner

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

Landowner perceptions of damage caused by beavers (Castor canadensis) and of beaver control programs in Arkansas were determined by mail survey. Beavers were present on lands owned by 36% of the 1,716 respondents. Girdled timber, blocked culverts and flooded timber were the first, second and third most common damages reported, respectively. Thirty-two percent of all respondents and 90% of those with beavers reported at least one form of damage. Four percent of land owned by respondents was flooded by beavers. Of landowners with beavers, 50% described damage as substantial or severe, and 46% perceived damage as unreasonable. At …

Preliminary Testing Of A Selenium-Based Systemic Deer Browse Repellent, T. R. Angradi, W. M. Tzilkowski

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

Silviculturists use a variety of techniques, including repellents, to reduce browse damage by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) to valuable eastern hardwood seedlings. Systemic selenium, sodium selenite, was evaluated with captive white-tailed deer for its repellency in white ash (Fraxinus americana) and black cherry (Prunus serotina) seedlings. Selenium had no effect in reducing browsing of black cherry. However, there was a reduction (p < 0.05) in the white ash browsing level.

Control Of Ring-Billed Gull Colonies At Urban And Industrial Sites In Southern Ontario, Canada, H. Blokpoel, G. D. Tessier

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

At eight urban or industrial sites in southern Ontario colonies of Ring-billed Gulls (Larus delawarensis) were controlled to ameliorate problems caused by the adults and their young. At the Nanticoke Generating Station on Lake Erie a growing colony was eliminated by collecting eggs and subsequent harassment of adults. One colony at the Stelco Yards in Hamilton Harbour was eliminated by installing a gull exclosure and collecting eggs from nests outside the exclosure and another was controlled by frequently destroying nests and eggs. At Toronto Island Airport an incipient colony was controlled by collecting eggs and harassing adults. At …

State/Federal/Private Cooperative Program Relationships In Wildlife Damage Control, Rene M. Bollengier Jr.

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

On December 19, 1985, Congress transferred the Animal Damage Control (ADC) program from Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Department of the Interior, to Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The transfer of personnel and equipment was officially completed on April 1, 1986. The transfer brought to USDA personnel with hundreds of years of collective animal damage control experience in agricultural and non-agricultural types of man/wildlife conflicts.

Use Of Drc 1339 To Control Crows In Three Roosts In Kentucky And Arkansas, Frank L. Boyd, Douglas I. Hall

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

Field tests utilizing DRC 1339 (3-chloro-4-methylbenzamine hydrochloride) 98% concentrate on whole kernel com for crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) control were conducted in January and February 1981 in Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky, and in 1982 in Ashdown, Arkansas. Treated bait was placed in staging areas near the roosts after prebaiting indicated good acceptance at the sites. The rate of acceptance varied with bait placement. Best results were obtained when bait was placed on bare ground at habitually used staging areas close to the roost site. Population reductions of up to 25% were obtained with limited baiting. DRC 1339 appears to …

The Critter Control Concept Approaches Of A Firm Specializing In Nuisance Wildlife Control, Lynn Braband, Kevin Clark

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

The private sector has been involved in certain aspects of nuisance wildlife control for some time. Examples include commensal rodent control by pest control companies, capture of nuisance furbearers by trappers, and repair of structural damage by carpenters. Social trends, such as increased urbanization, increased population of certain wildlife species, and decreased government funding have combined to provide increased opportunity and need for the private sector in nuisance wildlife control.

Frogs Captured In Green Bean Harvest: Analysis Of A Pest Problem, Donald F. Caccamise

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

In southern New Jersey a new agricultural pest problem has seriously impacted production of green beans for plant processing. Newly acquired harvesters inadvertently capture frogs, which are difficult and expensive to remove from harvested beans. Goals of this project were to (1) define the biological properties of the pest problem, and (2) identify biologically sound and effective methods to manage the problem.

Fowler's toad (Bufo woodhousei fowleri) was the most numerous (82%) of 9 species sorted from harvested beans, and it was also the most common in field censuses (76%). Density estimates based on field censuses were higher …

Status Of The Coyote In The Northeastern United States, Robert E. Chambers

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

This report represents a summary of information derived from responses to mail questionnaires from the state wildlife agencies in 16 northern states extending from Maine to Minnesota with minor modifications by the author where experience deemed it feasible.

The Problem Of Planting Louisiana Swamplands When Nutria (Myocastor Coypu) Are Present, W. H. Conner, J. R. Toliver

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

Logging of baldcypress (Taxodium distichum) in the swamps of the southeastern United States is once again becoming common and an area of particular concern in Louisiana is the regeneration of cypress in its natural environment. One way to ensure the proper stocking of cypress is to plant seedlings, but nutria usually damage or destroy newly planted seedlings and are a deterrent to cypress regeneration in flooded areas. In 1985 cypress seedlings were planted in a flooded logged area and in an area where flooding was preventing the establishment of natural seedlings. Nutria destroyed 86% of the seedlings in …

The Urban-Suburban Canada Goose: An Example Of Short-Sighted Management?, Michael R. Conover

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

During the last 30 years, Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) populations have become established in many urban and suburban parts of North America. Most of these scattered populations were established when live geese were released in these areas or nearby rural areas by individual hunters, sportmen's groups and game agencies. The birds quickly found lawns in urban-suburban areas an abundant source of nutritious grass for grazing and discovered people willing to provide supplementary handouts. The resident goose populations thrived; in Connecticut alone their population has increased to 9,000. However, the increased populations contributed little to the hunter's take because …

Effectiveness Of Human Hair, Bgr, And A Mixture Of Blood Meal And Peppercorns In Reducing Deer Damage To Young Apple Trees, Michael R. Conover, Gary S. Kania

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

We evaluated the ability of three repellents [human hair, Big Game Repellent (BGR), and a mixture of blood meal and peppercorns] to reduce deer damage on young apple trees in two Connecticut orchards. Most of the deer damage consisted of winter browsing on dormant apple buds. Little browsing occurred on leaves or buds during the growing season and only a few cases of pre-rut rubbing of trees were observed. In one orchard, buds were browsed during the winter on 52% of the untreated control trees, 45% of the trees sprayed with BGR, and 40% of the trees containing a hair …

New Uses Of Livestock Guarding Dogs To Reduce Agriculture/Wildlife Conflicts, R. Coppinger, J. Lorenz, Lorna Coppinger

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

Pilot programs in several states have shown that livestock guarding dogs are 70-80% effective in reducing predation on livestock by wildlife, primarily coyotes. In order to increase that percentage, ineffective dogs were studied and new techniques tested that had the potential of turning problems into successes.

From the population of over 1,000 dogs that has been placed on farms and ranches nationwide during the past ten years under the auspices of the Livestock Dog Project at Hampshire College, data was analyzed for each of the three basic behaviors (trustworthy, attentive, protective) that a good guardian needs to exhibit. A wide …

Management Of Suburban Deer: An Emerging Controversy, Daniel J. Decker

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

During the last 10 years the presence of deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in suburban areas has become an increasing concern from the standpoint of damage and nuisance problems. It is unclear whether (a) overall deer numbers in suburban environments have increased (possibly because of residential development in "natural" settings and creation of food sources represented by residents' ornamental plantings and vegetable gardens), (b) more development in suburban areas has forced deer into adjacent remaining patches of suitable habitat, resulting in increased deer densities in certain localities, or (c) some combination of both. Regardless of the factors perpetrating the situation, …

The Bird Strike Hazard (Bash) Program, Edgardo R. Farraro, Russell P. Defusco

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

The hazards birds pose to aircraft has been of concern to the Air Force for more than 20 years. After losing several aircraft due to bird strikes in the early 1960's, the Air Force formed a team to evaluate bird hazards to Air Force aircraft. The team, from the Air Force Weapons Laboratory (AFWL) at Kirtland AFB NM, handed over this mission to the Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard (BASH) Team at HQ Air Force Engineering and Services Center (AFESC) at Tyndall AFB in 1975. In 1986 (October) the BASH team moved to Bolling AFB, Washington DC.

Temporal Use Patterns Of Wintering Starlings At A Southeastern Livestock Farm: Implications For Damage Control, J. F. Glahn, S. K. Timbrook, D. J. Twedt

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

The farm use patterns of individually marked and transmitter-equipped starlings at a livestock farm in south-central Kentucky were studied each month during the principal damage period (December-February) of 1982-83 and 1984-85 following a pilot study in January and February of 1980. In addition to intensive observation at the farm, sightings of tagged starlings away from the farm were solicited from the public and mapped. For each year of data on individual starlings that used the farm at least once after marking, the expected frequencies of farm occurrence were calculated and compared to observed frequencies. In all 3 years, there was …

Involving Hunting And Trapping In Cooperative Wildlife Damage Control, Ed Hackett

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

The perception of a wildlife damage problem may vary greatly among groups with a stake in the problem. To the deer hunter, there is no such problem as too many deer. To the farmer, in the midst of a personal economic disaster, one deer may seem too many. To the conservation officer (CO) who has spent a career building deer populations, the farmer's problem may be a sign of success. To the USDA-APHIS-ADC staff member, solving the farmer's problem may be the most important issue. The key to resolving these conflicting views of the same event is to make each …

Urban Gray Squirrel Damage And Population Management: A Case History, J. Hadidian, D. Manski, V. Flyger, C. Cox, G. Hodge

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

Lafayette Park, a 3.0 hectare national park located across the street from the White House in Washington D.C., has had a gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) density as high as 50 animals/hectare. In recent years this large population caused significant damage to mature trees and other vegetation. In keeping with the legislative mandate to protect and preserve the historic landscape in Lafayette Park, the National Park Service implemented a squirrel management program following an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach. The population was studied and monitored to determine the ecological bases for high squirrel numbers. Action was taken through a …

Distribution And Impact Of Canada Goose Crop Damage In East-Central Wisconsin, James Heinrich, Scott Craven

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

The steady increase in the numbers of Canada geese on or near Horicon National Wildlife Refuge since its establishment in the early 1940s has resulted in many opportunities, and a few difficult problems. The problem of crop depredations has plagued the Horicon area since the mid-1960s. Each increase in goose numbers has brought with it renewed farmer concern, and each incident has resulted in some change in goose management direction. Increasing problems, more geese, lower harvest quotas, and the new Wisconsin Wildlife Damage Program combined to encourage the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) to take a comprehensive look at …

Controlling Blackbirds And Starlings At Winter Roosts Using Pa-14, J. F. Heisterberg, A. R. Stickley Jr., K. M. Garner, P. D. Foster Jr.

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

The only EPA-registered chemical for lethal control of winter roosting blackbird (Icterinae) and European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) populations is Compound PA-14 Avian Lethal Agent (PA-14). Between 1978 and 1987, 39 PA-14 spray operations, 15 by helicopter and 24 by ground-based spray systems, have been conducted at 33 winter roosts in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama. In-roost bird mortality for the aerial operations have been poor, averaging only 4% of the pretreatment roost populations or 114,000 birds killed per spray operation. Although very labor-intensive, a ground-based sprinkler system application method has proven much more successful, averaging 67% in-roost bird mortality …

Catch Effectiveness And Selectivity Of Several Traps, Edward P. Hill

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

The effectiveness and selectivity of several traps and trap modifica­tions were field-evaluated and compared in Alabama from 1977 to 1980. No. 220 Conibear traps placed in baited open-end boxes (TB) on the ground posed a hazard to dogs and were not recommended for general use in terrestrial sets. They may be effective to control feral dogs in special situations or areas. TB devices attached to tree trunks 1 m above the ground eliminated the hazard to dogs, but rendered the trap ineffective for taking small mammals.

No. 220 Conibear traps with selective position treadle triggers placed in trail water-sets were …

Status Of The Coyote In The Southeastern United States, Edward P. Hill

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

The range of the coyote (Canis latrans) in the southeastern United States, particularly east of the Mississippi River, has recently expanded. Although populations were present in Arkansas and Louisiana in the 1960s, only isolated individuals were known to exist east of the river before 1975. In addition to Arkansas and Louisiana, the present range includes Mississippi and Alabama, the western three fourths of Kentucky and Tennessee, Northwestern Florida, southcentral and northwest Georgia and scattered portions of Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Peninsular Florida. Recent literature indicates that several releases have influenced the rate of …

Methiocarb-Treated Rice Seed Applied After Field Draining Fails To Repel Blackbirds From Sprouting Rice, N. R. Holler, P. W. Lefebvre, R. E. Matteson, G. R. Gutknecht, R. A. Dolbeer

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

Blackbirds, primarily Agelaius phoeniceus, cause extensive losses to sprouting rice in southwestern Louisiana. Methiocarb applied to seed prior to planting at rates above 1.0 g a.i./kg rice (0.1%) has provided excellent protection to sprouting rice in Louisiana under conditions of high bird pressure. To reduce treatment costs, some farmers have used over-flights of methiocarb-treated seed applied at low rates to part of the field after draining. This study showed this technique was not efficacious under conditions of high bird pressure. Four fields treated in this manner suffered 98% loss of sprouts compared to 100% loss in four untreated fields. …

An Evaluation Of Controlled Hunting For Management Of Feral Pigeons, Michael D. Hoy, Albert E. Bivings

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

Pigeons (Columba livia) are a problem for municipal governments throughout most of the eastern United States. Toxicants, sterilants, trapping, and shooting are the principal control techniques. Due to a general public aversion to toxicants and to monetary constraints, a pigeon control program which utilized periodic hunting pressure was initiated in Stuttgart, Arkansas County, Arkansas. Guidelines for organization of controlled hunts are presented along with pigeon harvest rates and population trends. The city government and interested citizens consider the program to be successful and cost effective.

Home Range Responses Of White-Tailed Deer To Crop-Protection Fences, S. E. Hygnstrom, S. R. Craven

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

We studied the home ranges and activity patterns of 24 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in south-western Wisconsin via radio-telemetry and visual observation to determine their response to single-strand electric crop-protection fences. Deer were allowed to establish feeding patterns in alfalfa fields during the spring green-up periods of 1986 and 1987. In mid-April of each year, 7 fences were constructed around selected 7-25 ha alfalfa fields to exclude deer from varying portions of their home ranges. No fences were constructed around alfalfa fields in one area. Fences were built around 50 and 100% of the alfalfa in 2 other …

Wildlife Damage To Agriculture In Nebraska: A Preliminary Cost Assessment, R. J. Johnson, R. M. Timm

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

We estimate the annual financial losses resulting from wildlife damage to major crops and livestock in Nebraska. For each wildlife species, the damage problem is presented along with a description of how the estimate was made. Field crop estimates include losses from Plains pocket gophers (Geomys bursarius), commensal rodents (Rattus norvegicus and Mus musculus), field rodents in grain fields (e.g. Peromyscus maniculatus, Dipodomys ordi, Spermophilus tridecemlineatus), house sparrows (Passer domesticus), blackbirds (e.g. Agelaius phoeniceus and Ouiscalus guiscula), lagomorphs (Sylvilagus floridanus, Lepus californicus, and L. townsendii), deer (Odocoileus …