There are many wild animals in North Carolina that sometimes becomes nuisances to homeowners. Some damage timber, flood your land, eat holes in your house, damage plants, eat small pets or just give you the creeps when you see them in your attic or crawl space and you just want them OUT! Here are a few facts about some of the animals that we here at Craven Wildlife Control sometimes have to deal with.
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Beavers
In the late 1800's beaver pelts brought the equivalent to one months wages for a store manager. That adds up to roughly $1,600.00 in today's money. That why between 1903 and 1905 they suspect that the last native beaver in North Carolina was trapped and killed. Then in the early 1930's along came responsible hunters, trappers and other outdoor enthusiast that wanted to see beavers brought back to our great state. Strict harvest restrictions was put on them and breeder groups were brought in from neighboring states. Now, 70 years later, they have went from nearly extinct to being listed with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission as a nuisance animal.
Beavers can grow to be over 4 feet long from head to tail and weigh in excess of 70 lbs. They are very aggressive animals toward their own species and have been known to kill their own if injured or sick. Beavers can bring almost any large tree down in a very short time. They eat the tender green bark and limbs and use the larger limbs to build dams and lodges.
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As you probably already know beavers are prolific dam builders. Beavers can dam up any flowing water and create several feet of standing water. Many colleges and wildlife institutions have built devices to drop water levels and out smart beavers but the beavers always find a way to dam up their devices. The very best way to prevent beaver damage is to remove every single beaver from a area.
If your area has plenty of wood and grass to eat and build dams with more beavers will likely move in. Most people opt for a contract to take care of the problem. They seem like a great deal to invest at first but can be a real money saver if you do live in such a area.
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Coyotes
Coyotes average weight is between 25lbs and 35lbs. They breed once a year in early spring with a litter of about 6 pups. They usually dig dens much like a fox to raise there pups in. They prefer to build a den under some protection such as a fallen tree, an abandoned building or an old junked car. They have the same life expectancy as the average household dog.
Coyotes are found in every county in North Carolina. They are opportunistic feeders that will eat fruits and vegetables as well as bugs, small game, big game and family pets.
Yes, I did say family pets. They will eat cats and dogs if given the opportunity. Coyotes are believed to be the reasons why both grey and red fox species are on the decline in North Carolina. Coyotes are highly territorial and will kill anything that threatens to take over its home range. They are highly adaptable and can live in the most remote countryside and in the middle of any major city.
Coyotes have been documented here in North Carolina to be cross-breeding with large domesticated dogs. This makes for one dangerous critter.
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These "coy dogs" as they are called are real killing machines. They have the natural hunting and killing instincts of the Coyote and the no fear of man attitude of the domesticated dog. Get caught away from your home or car and you may be in some serious trouble!
Coyotes are not a native animal to North Carolina. Some say that they were brought here by fox hunters when fox populations were low. Some blame the Wildlife Commission for bringing them in here to control the deer population. The most logical answer that is found is natural migration to our state. Coyotes, unfortunately, are here to stay. No program has work thus far to completely eradicate them from any state.
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Groundhogs
Groundhogs are one of those animals that can be very destructive your home. Their diet consist mainly of grass, flowers, roots, leaves and other greenery. Sometimes they will eat grubs and worms but not often. Their love of greenery often gets them in trouble when there is a area close by with flowers, gardens and crops.
Groundhogs are great diggers and live in the ground in burrows. These burrows have usually 2 to 3 holes for entry and exits but can have as many as 7 or 8 holes per burrow. They raise one litter a year with 4-6 pups in it. They are ready to dig their own burrows and leave home in 5-6 weeks. Groundhogs are sexually mature at one year old. The average weight of a groundhog is 6-8 lbs and roughly 12-20 inches long.
Many of the burrows are dug under porches, concrete slabs, homes foundation, retaining walls and other solid structures that provide a dry, stable roof over their heads. Many buildings have cracked and even fell in because of sub-surface destruction from these little diggers. Left to do as they please they can make a property dangerous to even drive across, much less walk across. They are very dangerous to livestock because the holes they dig make perfect places to turn ankles and break legs.
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Most are not dangerous physically to humans although when cornered or provoked any animal may attack humans and pets. The best thing to do is not approach them, leave the area and call a expert when problems arise.
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| This is damage done by groundhogs under the foundation of a building. As you can see groundhogs can be very destructive to buildings and outside structures. |
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Bats
Bats are very interesting little creatures. By emitting high-pitched sounds and listening to the echo, bats locate prey and other nearby objects. This is the process of echolocation, an ability they share with whales and dolphins. This is a very important feature in the bats life because their eyesight is very poor. Bats also have very good homing instincts. bats have been relocated over 300 miles before and found their way back to the same house within weeks of being released. The only way to keep bats out of a area is what is called an exclusion. This can be done by Craven wildlife control.
A bats lifespan is about 20 years. They reach sexual maturity at about 2 years old. Bats usually have one young a year called a pup. This pup can not fly for at least 2 months after birth and fully depends on its mothers milk to keep it alive. Bats have one baby a year so their populations are restricted. There are very strict times of the year when bats can be excluded from a home. Unless a bat is in the living space and is directly effecting people and pets they cannot be removed from May 1- August 31. Any other time a wildlife control officer can remove them from your property.
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Bats are important to the ecosystem and are very helpful to you in many ways. Bats eat many biting bugs such as mosquitoes, black gnats, dog flies, sweat bees and other small aggravating bugs.
Bats can carry several different vectors and zoonotic pathogens such as rabies, SARS, ebola and henipavirus. Even though only 0.05% of bats actually have the rabies virus the vast majority of reported rabies cases in the US are from bat bites.
Bat feces, known as guano, can carry parasites such as bed bugs that can get into living quarters of your home if left untreated. Bat guano can damage the structure of a house causing rot and deterioration of walls and studs.
A bat can easily bite you and you not even know it. They have razor sharp teeth but since they are so small you might not be able to see the bite marks. The best advise is to leave them alone and call Craven Wildlife Control with your problems first.
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