A determined squirrel attempts to eat bird seed on a squirrel-proof bird feeder. It meant to protect your bird seed from persistent squirrels through technology that closes the seed ports based on weight of the intruder standing on the perch ring.

I was reading some educational material provided by the PA Game Commission about nuisance wildlife.

There is a saying that goes that you are never too old to learn something new and I have found that to be a true statement in my experiences. Anyone who lives in Pennsylvania has had to deal with the issue of nuisance wildlife. The animals can be small as a mouse sneaking around and as large as a bear trashing your garbage bin.

Either way, small or large, they become a problem that you want to eliminate. Creatures that I have had to try to control include; mice, chipmunks, squirrels, racoons, skunks, bears, flying squirrels, ground hogs, porcupines, foxes, hawks, rabbits, deer and more…you get the message!

Each animal has its own set of issues it brings to home owners and there are plenty of dos and don’ts around each species. We had some strange nuisance wildlife over the years that I can recall.

For example, we had a small fountain pond with some fish in it, between the raccoons and a blue heron they literally cleaned out the pond. The blue heron surprised me the most as we live in a woodsy area with no waterways near us. The raccoons are always around somewhere and are opportunistic with most food options in the garden, orchard or animal pens. They are fairly easy to catch with a trap or box trap but then you need to figure out your plan once you get one.

They are aggressive, carry distemper and rabies virus at any given time. If you dispatch one, you need to let the PGC know of the circumstances. I relocated some one year and a fellow that I knew was irate as all get out when he told me they were now raiding his corn patch … I only let 17 of them go?!

If you dispatch of them permanently, you now need to dispose of these animals in a sanitary manner … how’s that work with such a great number?

Some of the creatures like chipmunks are protected and you are not allowed to harm them. A few feral/barn cats took care of the population around the neighborhood, but the cats can be very harmful to other species such as rabbits and song birds. There is always a pro and con with every approach that you might take. Groundhogs ruined my wife’s flower garden this year and once they get a taste, they won’t be deterred from eating their fill of it.

This particular groundhog relished cone flowers and phlox and mowed down the flower beds. They are crafty, but greedy and that is their downfall to being relocated. I took some to the local sportsmen’s property, but they ended up digging a burrow under the gun range pavilion. I wouldn’t hang out at a gun range if I was them.

How about deer? They can really be destructive to shrubs, fruit trees and gardens by their feeding on them. Deer are tasters by nature, they like to browse and take bites out of plants and such.

My neighbor had a peck of green tomatoes with a bite taken out of each one, but none eaten. He ended up with fences and electric wires surrounding his garden. No more deer, but plenty of voles and moles tunneled under his fencing, bringing with them a whole new set of problems.

The most unusual nuisance animals that I had experiences with was a bobcat trying to eat pigs in a pen by sneaking through a doorway and when confronted, blasted through a window to make his escape. The pigs proved to be capable to survive the encounter with the bobcat, but not the farmer!

I bet the local anglers at the Boyers Sportsmen’s Lake weren’t too happy when they stocked trout for the spring fishing season as they found out how many predator nuisance animals like trout.

They had otters, raccoons, snapping turtles, bald eagles, herons and ospreys visit the lake all season.

Rumor was that they were better at fishing than the fellows as they carried away trout.

Remember when you put out a food source for any potential animal, they will take advantage of the free meal. It’s tough to find food everyday in the wild, when opportunity presents itself, wildlife will take the chance. Gardens, bird feeders, crops, poles and even plantings around your home are like setting the table for wildlife. Clean out your recyclables before placing them in a bin, place trash in secure cans in a garage until the last moment and don’t throw scraps around your yard ever.

Animals can become very habitual to humans and your actions. Until we meet again, keep things straight!

Jay Hewitt is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle