Keep Wild Animals Away

RJ, the raccoon voiced by Bruce Willis in the recent animated movie "Over the Hedge," gets one of the most poignant lines in the film. Trying to persuade an uneasy Verne the turtle (Garry Shandling) to join him on a raid of a suburban home's seemingly endless food supplies, RJ reminds his reptilian friend that "humans are just as scared of us as we are of them."

Probably more so. Gladys (Allison Janney), the movie's regulation-spouting, helmet-haired homeowner from hell, is so freaked when she encounters the motley crew of critters chewing through her trash can's contents that she calls in a wildlife "specialist" equipped with enough firepower to take out a small city (let alone the flick's adorable porcupine triplets).

Yet the animals in the movie -- just like those in your back yard or on your roof -- are hardly appearing unbidden.

"So many folks don't realize they are unintentionally inviting animals into their homes by providing food sources and easy access" to hiding places and nesting sites, says Bonnie Bradshaw, an expert in wildlife rehabilitation and founder of 911 Wildlife, a humane animal control company in Dallas. Make your home and yard less appealing to animals in the first place, and they're more likely to move on. Here are a few ways to do just that:

BATTEN DOWN THE TRASH. "Raccoons are very dexterous and pretty brainy," says John Hadidian, director of urban wildlife programs at the Humane Society of the United States. Trash-can raids, says Hadidian "are not a problem with the raccoon; they're a problem with the trash." To that end, he recommends homeowners put cans on the curb the morning of pick-up -- not the night before; secure lids with bungee cords; and store full cans in a garage or shed if possible.

REDUCE ACCESS. Keep tree branches trimmed so animals don't use them as an express lane to your roof. And be mindful of cable, electric or other lines connected to your roof as animals can also use them to access your house. Look carefully for entry points you may be inadvertently offering to wild animals. "Do you know what's behind your gutter?" asks John Griffin, founder of ACE Wildlife Services in Frederick, which uses humane techniques for capturing animals and returning them to their preferred dwelling region or "home range." "Do you know what your roof looks like?" he asks. "When people don't keep up with their trim boards, they deteriorate and become soft. Maybe a squirrel will work on it for a while, then a raccoon finds it." And suddenly you have a new houseguest.

COVER UP THE KIBBLE. Leaving cat or dog food on the porch or in the yard overnight will attract animals, Bradshaw notes. "It's often the first thing I ask a customer -- whether they have a pet," she says. Entice wild critters with Fido's or Fluffy's food bowl -- or a birdhouse full of seeds or peanut butter -- and they'll wind up looking for a den site, maybe under your porch. While you don't necessarily have to take your birdfeeder in overnight, Bradshaw says, "make sure it's not overflowing."

CONSIDER GENTLE HARASSMENT. That means sprinklers activated by motion sensors, streamers hanging from branches or reflectors that will startle animals when passing car headlights throw unexpected flashes of light their way. It does not mean poison, pellet guns or outsized weaponry. "We see the idea of overkill all the time," says Griffin. "People say, 'We saw a raccoon. Come and trap it.' That's the wrong mentality. Part of our mission is to remove the fear clients have and also to educate them about what the animal is doing," whether it's gathering food or trying to find a quiet place to deliver young.

TRY THE SOAP TRICK. If deer are frequent visitors to your yard, hanging individual bars of soap from tree branches may repel them, especially if the soap boasts what manufacturers call a "fresh scent," Hadidian says. "Some people find Irish Spring works. I've used Ivory, which also worked pretty well." It may be the soap's scent or its tallow fatty acid content that bothers deer by reminding them of what they smell when they sense a predator -- or its urine -- is near. Just the same, the soap trick won't work forever, Hadidian notes. "They do tend to acclimate to it."

ELIMINATE HIDING PLACES. Animals can hide in any number of places in your yard -- behind wood and rock piles, under porches, inside sheds. Chimneys are popular hiding spots for small animals, says Griffin. For example, raccoons like them "because they den in a hollowed-out tree," he says; chimneys offer a similar warm, dark and high-up space. Keep critters out by installing caps on chimneys, dryer vents and other egress points. ACE and others will install chimney caps and build one-way doors that let wild animals out, but won't let them back in.

The Humane Society of the United States's Urban Wildlife program includes more tips athttp://www.wildneighbors.org.

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