With the emergence of Spring-like conditions in northeast Oklahoma, some Bartlesville residents have noted a rise in the number of “nuisance animals” — such as foxes, snakes, possums, skunks and beavers — that have made their way to local neighborhoods, raising concerns about the safety of pets and small children.
City of Bartlesville offices have received a few inquiries recently regarding these unwanted visitors, but there is little the City — or the Bartlesville Police Department — can do.
“We are not licensed trappers, so we are unable to assist residents with this type of problem,” said Police Chief Tom Holland. “We can set live, humane traps for dogs and cats, but when it comes to trapping and relocating wildlife, that requires a licensed professional.”
Trapping is one option, but there are several other options as well — the simplest of which is to take steps to make yards and homes less attractive to wildlife, such as keeping pets — and their food — inside at night, says Osage County Game Warden Ryan Walker.
“The first thing that needs to be done is to remove all sources of food, especially at night, when these animals are more likely to be out,” Walker said. “If people would keep their cats and dogs in at night, as well as make sure they bring their pets’ food into the house or garage, that would alleviate most of the problem.”
Other suggestions include securing garbage cans, covering fish ponds and patching holes in foundations and elsewhere to prevent animals from getting under homes and out-buildings, and placing a fence around gardens and fruit trees.
“There are several steps that can be taken before a trapper is called in, and we suggest those steps be tried first,” Walker said.
If all else fails and trapping the animal is required, residents may contact a Nuisance Wildlife Control Operator, independent contractors who are certified by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife, to remove the animal, Walker said.
For Washington County, the NWCO is Vance Fielder of Wildlife Control Solutions. For a small fee, Fielder will work with property owners to trap and remove wildlife from the neighborhood.
“The first thing I would ask people who have a nuisance animal on their property is to please not try to trap the animal themselves or scare it away,” Fielder told the City of Bartlesville recently. “Not only is it illegal (to trap animals without a license), it rarely works and it makes my job a lot harder, to do it the right way.”
Fielder dispels many outdated stereotypes about trapping, saying his first priority is to contain the animal without injuring or harming it.
“My job is to protect the animal, more so even than the client,” he said.
For live trapping, cages are used most of the time, Fielder said. But in some cases, particularly with adult foxes that often ‘out-fox’ the cage-type traps, foot traps are used.
“When people think of foot traps, they often think of those large traps with the metal teeth that hurt the animal,” he said. “But that’s not the case now. My foot traps are rubber-lined. It works kind of like a ‘Chinese finger trap.’ It holds the animal there but doesn’t injure them at all.”
Rather, Fielder says, the animals are humanely trapped and relocated outside the city limits in a habitat that is more appropriate for wildlife — and far enough away that they don’t wander back to town.
“We take them outside the city limits a certain distance to make sure they don’t travel back to town,” he said.
For more information about this service, contact Wildlife Control Solutions at 918-331-8151.
For more information about preventing nuisance animals in your neighborhood, see https://www.wildlifedepartment.com/facts_maps/howdoi/nuisance_wildlife.htm