September 2000

Take another look at that raccoon on the cover. Seems pretty cute and harmless, doesn't it? But when you hear the unmistakable sound of one of its relatives rooting through your garbage at 3 a.m., that perception changes radically. The cuddly looking masked bandit suddenly becomes a nuisance.

In rural areas, hunting and trapping are important tools for managing abundant wildlife and the problems they can cause. We've expanded raccoon hunting and trapping seasons five times in the last decade, and those who run a treeing walker or a trapline are enjoying some of the most liberal harvest seasons of their lifetimes. They also are helping to curb some of the problems that accompany a near-record raccoon population.

However, managing wildlife in our cities and towns presents different challenges. For the most part, hunting and trapping are not practical. Our bird feeders, fruit trees and trash provide a smorgasbord for wildlife that have learned to live near humans-animals like raccoons, opossums, skunks, squirrels and coyotes. Many of these animals aren't just getting by in urban and suburban areas-they're thriving.

In 1999, there were nearly 68,000 nuisance problems reported, most of which occurred in the Chicago metropolitan area. Many of these could have been avoided by removing food sources and animal-proofing homes. As the saying goes, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Homeowners have three options when unwanted wildlife guests have moved in. About 170 city and county animal control units have Nuisance Wildlife Control Permits. Your local agency can tell you if they service wildlife complaints and, if so, what kinds of assistance they provide. Commercial businesses have cropped up in most cities and can be located through the yellow pages or by calling a DNR office. Make sure the person you hire has a Nuisance Wildlife Control Permit.

Homeowners who want to remove animals themselves must obtain a permit from a DNR office. We generally discourage this approach, recommending a professional instead. All too often, do-it-yourselfers are ill prepared for what can happen.

Removing an animal from your home is a necessity, but is a short-term solution. More likely than not, a bump in the night will signal another intruder unless you follow up with exclusion and removal of food sources. Here are some suggestions:

• Keep pet food and water dishes indoors, especially at night.

• Use metal or durable plastic trash containers; and secure the lids with elastic cords.

• Move any bird feeders away from the house. Try using a feeder with a gravity-operated treadle to prevent access by squirrels and raccoons.

•Don't feed any stray animals that could later become a problem.

• Trim branches that extend over the roof; install a commercially-available chimney cap; and repair broken or weak areas of your roof.

• Remove piles of brush, old appliances and junk from your property; and initiate community clean-up projects to remove brush, tall grass and rubbish from vacant lots in the neighborhood.

For more suggestions, contact the Department's Clearinghouse (217) 782-7498 to request copies of "Keeping Wildlife Out of Your Home" and "Nuisance Raccoons in Urban Settings."