At dinner I mentioned my discovery and all I got back were blank stares and “wasn’t us”. So what was living in there? I sent the boys out to investigate and they came back quite amused. Turns out I’d lovingly helped a mouse with her nest and she’d repaid the favor by having babies in the fish tank! We put the whole works (tipped sideways) on the edge of our woods.

In the hopes of keeping the mom and her babies out of my warm garage this winter, I checked out Havahart's website and found some great tips to to keep them from coming back…. and how to trap the little creatures (without using my fish tank)….

Considering how often I have to replace ears totally stripped of kernels, I can’t imagine why the squirrels still insist on raiding the bird feeders.   I’ve tried several feeders that promise to be squirrel proof and a few of them have worked fairly well.   However, others have been dismantled or had holes chewed in them to allow squirrels access to the bird seed.  We humans could perhaps learn something by studying the determination and inventiveness of a hungry squirrel.

This year I’m taking a new approach.   Armed with Critter Ridder from Havahart I’m out to retrain my squirrels!  I clean the bird feeders every two weeks (I know you are supposed to do weekly, but I know my limits).  This year I’m adding a spray of Critter Ridder on the outside of the feeder.   I’m also spraying the branch the feeder hangs from and for feeders mounted on posts I’m spraying both the post and a circle of lawn around the base.

I don’t want to get rid of the squirrels – there’s room for every species here as long as they eat from their own table.  I’ll add a bit of the black oil sunflower seeds to the squirrel food cast near the fence as I think they’ll prefer that to trying brave a feeder with an application of Critter Ridder.

Space is an issue if you live in a subdivision bordered by a stretch of woods or if the pond is a shallow pool right off your back deck.Up close, skunks aren’t much fun.Thanks to environmentally friendly companies like Havahart there is no need to harm wildlife in order to reclaim your space.

If a skunk has been coming too close for comfort, it’s possible to relocate them in a way that will prevent an accidental encounter that will frighten the skunk and leave you with burning eyes and an odor even a Mother couldn’t love.

Skunks are nocturnal and emerge from their dens at dusk. They do travel as much as a mile a night but seldom venture more than four miles from their den.Relocating a problem skunk is quite easy as these are not territorial creatures.The Havahart Feral Cat Rescue Kit is perfect for skunk trapping because it has a cover that will keep any spray released by an angry skunk from spreading too far.

The trap is made with a spring loaded door and the rear door can be opened for release.This is a sturdy trap designed to last for years with smooth edges that avoid harming any animal in the trap.Tips on bait to use for various species of wildlife help you find the right treat to lure your skunk into the trap.

After trapping the skunk (and keeping the cover on, of course) you can transport the animal to a wooded area that is farther removed from homes, pets and playing children.When you trap and move a skunk you need to know a little about breeding habits.Skunks breed in February (striped) or April (spotted) and have a gestation period of about 60 days.Until babies are about six weeks old they are left in the den while adult skunks search for food.

For striped skunks it’s best not to place traps from March till July and for spotted skunks avoid May through mid-August if possible.This avoids the problem of trapping a Mother skunk while babies are left to starve in a den. If the problem is a solitary skunk nosing around in late winter or very early spring, chances are the culprit is a male who may have traveled quite distance just looking for love.Use Havahart traps as a humane way to protect your family and pets from noxious skunk spray without harming wildlife.

I wasn’t prepared for the raccoon in my garage though! Hearing noise from the attached garage one evening I assumed I had closed one of the cats in the garage so opened the door and found beady little eyes in a bandit face looking back at me.

Silly me – I must have left the garage door partially open earlier in the day. It did cross my mind that raccoons are usually only active at night but there are exceptions. I left the house by the main entrance and opened the garage door from the outside.

Then I went back into the house and opened the door from kitchen to garage and shooed the raccoon out, closing the garage door after him.

Over the next two or three weeks, the raccoon was in the garage several nights a week. I looked for holes behind shelves or any other way this fellow was getting into the garage. The attraction was simple as there were bags of pet food stored there and the coon was helping himself to it. By the time I heard him he had clearly been at the food and then proceeded to climb onto shelves and tables in the garage and it was that noise that alerted me.

When I found the answer it was a real surprise. In addition to the garage door, there is an exterior door leading from the garage to the side yard. As I was getting pet food in the garage the side door began to swing open. A furry face poked inside, saw me there and quickly disappeared.

Examining the door I found the latch mechanism had become stuck and wasn’t engaging when the door was closed. The little raccoon had discovered he could push on the door and it would open. It was an old door and improperly installed so after he entered, the door closed behind him.

A new latch solved the problem of the swinging door and I sprinkled some Critter Ridder near the entrance to keep her out so she can find a new food source.

First of all, I must admit, skunks scare me. When I was a kid someone told me that skunk spray can blind a person. This is actually true although the effects are temporary. Still. The thought of smelling like a skunk for a week or two is not my idea of a good time. (If it happens, take a bath in ketchup.) Second, I have never had a problem with skunks at my house. I am very, vigilant about trash and never store garbage any place animals can get to it. My neighbor, just down the road, however, is less careful. When he came over to our house and told us about a mother skunk and her 4 little babies who had taken up residence under his porch I had to roll my eyes a bit.

I said, “Oh, back by where the garbage cans are?”

He said, “Don’t give me that look?”

I said, “What look?” and at that point I do believe I rolled my eyes.

Well. Somehow my attitude got me signed up for Skunk Capture duty. This “duty” took place at night, as skunks are nocturnal. I had, as is my way, called up the Havahart company and asked for instructions. They recommended the feral cat trap, as the size is about the same and the cover is darn handy. So there we were, my friend, his 10 year old son and me. In the moonlight, watching for skunks. Now any skunk that saw us, or in fact any human being that saw us, would have been scared because we were dressed in an odd and eccentric fashion. We had raincoats on with plastic trash bags on our legs and arms and a paper bag over our heads with holes cut out. If we saw a skunk we were to duck down so the spray wouldn’t hit us in the cut out eyes. We looked like big lumps of left-over Halloween costumes.

The trap was set out with sardines (stinky to catch stinky). The mama skunk came out and we didn’t see what happened as we were shielding out eyes in the paper bags but after a while we heard the snap of the trap.

I did not go to release the skunk into the wild blue yonder but my friend followed orders and went with a covered cage (that comes with the trap), wore his raincoat and paperbag, carried the trap very low and slow, waited until the skunk was quiet and then released it and froze like a statue of a crazed skunk releaser. I am so glad it wasn’t me. 

The first morning my trap had been sprung but the back panel release door was open and the critter was gone. The ground below the trap was tilled up and the inside of the trap full of dirt. I adjusted the trap by securing the release door with a twist tie in addition to the manufacturer’s steel rings and bars. Next morning, same thing. Door open, twist tie gone and trap full of dirt. The final time I used a plastic zip tie. That release door would have to be opened with wire snips now. This morning the trap again was sprung and empty. The release door was demolished – just the zip tie holding it on. Again, ground tilled up, trap full of dirt.

Can a raccoon really do this to a Havahart trap? Are they so strong as to be able to bend that wire mesh? Or do I have a neighbor who kicked in the release panel? John

Since the weather has warmed up there are always people walking their dogs by my house. Its nice to say hello as they walk by but not so nice when you come home and a careless dog walker has not removed the present his/her pet left in your front yard. If you have flowers by the mailbox like I do, its also not so great to see your flowers wilt because Fido felt the need to mark his territory.

So my critter ridder bottle is now doing double duty. I have sprayed the perimeter of my property to keep dogs and other creatures away… and in my flower bed sprinkled the granular bottle to keep the dogs away from there too. So far it is working great. 

Like me, you’ve probably tried lots of crazy rabbit-proof gardening methods. Planting marigolds near the veggies? Sprinkling baby powder around the perimeter? Nothing really works! A couple years ago, I even put a four-foot high wire fence around my whole garden. That did work but not the most attractive addition to my backyard. Plus it was a hassle to put up, mow around and store all winter.

But things have changed around here thanks to DeFence! This wonder spray has rid my garden of rabbits! Its made from all-natural ingredients; completely organic and safe for all my veggies and flowers; and one application lasts for almost three months. Best of all, the critters hate it. So no more weird remedies or ugly fences for me. I just spray and they stay away!