What Other Rodents and Small Animals are Considered Pests?

Among the many small animals that can be considered animal pests are moles, foxes, gophers, badgers, raccoons, groundhogs, opossums, skunks and minks.

We have listed them below giving the reasons why they are considered pests.

Foxes can cause a lot of damage if you keep chickens. They will try to take the birds away as they will view them as a food source. Foxes, like all mammals, can carry rabies. It is always a safe precaution to avoid contact with foxes and also prevent their contact with pets.

Moles can cause a lot of damage to lawns. They push the soil up into ridges that are unsightly and unwelcome and they create molehills, mounds of earth. Traps can be used, but these tend to cause severe injury to the animals. The use of insecticide to deplete the mole’s food source works better in the long run.

Gophers are nuisance animals that can do a lot of damage to many different types of crops. The usual attempts at control is through the use of strychnine-treated grain.

Badgers can also do a lot of crop damage, as well as preying on domestic fowl. They are sometimes trapped and released some distance away, but more often they are destroyed.

Raccoons can invade homes by building dens in attics and in chimney parts. They cause disturbing noise and can pose a fire risk through nesting materials blocking chimneys. Raccoons can carry rabies and should not be approached, especially if seen active during daytime.

Groundhogs, also known as woodchucks, will feed on everything you grow in your vegetable garden. Control of the damage they will do is usually through erecting a strong chicken wire fence to keep the groundhogs out. It is necessary to bury the wire up to 12 inches deep in the soil for best results.

Opossums can cause damage and be a nuisance in a similar way to raccoons. They can invade parts of a house, such as inaccessible attics if they can gain access.

Mink will prey on domestic fowl and are a nuisance around farms. The best approach is to use secure fencing to contain domestic fowl and other small animals that might be at risk.

Skunks can dig under foundations and cause damage. They are well known for their ability to release a bad strong-smelling odor when provoked. Skunks can carry rabies.

Sources:
http://www.nps.gov/nero/ipm/animalpests.htm
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu
https://wildlife.unl.edu/pdfs/controlling-house-mice.pdf
https://extension2.missouri.edu/g9425

For further information about these types of animal pests, you should visit the articles above.

Here is what we feel about the subject at Pest Control Products:

Any animal that enters your home or garden and causes damage or has the potential to spread disease is a pest in our eyes. The question is can you put up with them or not? If you can’t, then do something about it ASAP.