October/November 2016 83 INJURED OR ILL BIRDS OR ANIMALS Check the center’s website or call the center immediately. Do not offer food or water to an animal, and do not handle creatures that could harm you, or animals that carry rabies, such as skunks, raccoons and bats. PESKY CRITTERS GETTING INTO YOUR HOUSE OR GARDEN Local wildlife experts say the best thing you can do is take away the things that are attracting the animals, or block them from accessing whatever you want protected. Don’t leave out bowls of water or food for pets, as those will bring unwanted wildlife to your home. Make sure all potential access points to your home are covered (make sure no babies are trapped inside). Use safe repellants, like products or home recipes seeds to create new growth, eating unwanted insects, and other beneficial activities. HOW TO HELP The Wildlife Center always needs donations, both cash and in-kind. See the website for a long list of equipment and basic household supplies (wcsv.org/how-tohelp/ wishlist). The center’s website also has a link to an Amazon.com registry of unusual items, like live mealworms and waxworms, along with many other products, that will be delivered directly to the center. Donors will receive a written thank you with tax information. GOT ACORNS? If you’ve got oak trees with acorns this fall, and the trees have not been treated with pesticides, you can collect and bring to the center to feed recuperating wildlife. that have an odor wildlife won’t like (see examples on the website, wcsv.org/ coexisting/deterrent). Utilize plastic owls or snakes in the garden (move them often), or aluminum foil flags or wind chimes. Do not use poisons or sticky traps. Poisons could result in secondary poisoning of predators, like raptors, and even domestic pets. Sticky traps can catch birds and other small animals you didn’t intend to harm. For humane eviction, call WildCare Wildlife Solutions Services, 415-453-1000, ext. 23, or Wildlife Emergency Services, 855-548-6263 (also offers exclusion solutions and rescues). TREE TRIMMING The Wildlife Center urges people to always check before having a tree trimmed, so as not to disturb birds’ and squirrels’ nests. It’s actually illegal in California to destroy squirrels’ nests. FRISKY FELINES Cats are the worst enemy of birds and small animals. Place multiple bells on your cat’s collar, or keep indoors. WHY SAVE A SQUIRREL (OR OTHER ANIMALS THAT ANNOY YOU)? “The way I always answer is that we as humans need to understand we are not the only ones living here, we need to learn how to coexist with the animals and the environment, and squirrels are part of the environment,” says Wildlife Center Hospital Manager Ashley Kinney. “As a mom I want to teach the next generation to respect animals that are in our area and how to enjoy them.” She tells people to focus on the positive aspects of our animal neighbors, like dispersing Two juvenile Great Horned Owls in the flight enclosure getting ready for release.
South Bay Accent - Oct/Nov 2016
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