Small Animal Damage Control Hank Uhden WY Dept. Of Agriculture.
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Transcript of 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 ?