Specialist discusses wildlife control issues

by Megan Lawrence

Area farmers and ranchers gathered recently for the Wildlife Damage Control Meeting in Burlingame, Kansas to learn more about managing wildlife.

Charlie Lee, wildlife specialist from K-State research and Extension, spoke to producers about different wildlife and how they can become a problem as well as properly managing each animal.

The evening began with Lee providing tips on how to successfully call coyotes.

“My job is to help producers who are losing livestock from coyotes and teach them how to decrease the coyote population in their area,” said Lee.

“Sometimes calling coyotes works great and sometimes it doesn’t,” Lee said. “On average I kill one of out of every five.”

Lee mentioned there has been a steady increase in the coyote population over the years, however, years where mange is present will cause the coyote population to dip slightly.

According to him, the average age of a coyote is two years, as coyotes live a hard life and encounter many injuries in their lifetime. “They can live for eight to 10 years, however, that is rare,” Lee said.

He advised producers to use calls which work for them. According to him, there are three types of calls; open reed, closed reed and electronic calls. “I like open reed calls and electronic calls best, electronic calls allow the hunter to have their hands free at all times,” Lee said.

Accoriding to Lee, a camouflage pattern is not as important as blending into the area, since coyotes pick out scent and movement first. “Movement is what coyotes key in on first, the hunter has to be able to sit still,” he said.

Lee stated the most important part of calling coyotes is getting to the location before the coyote realizes the hunter is there . “Set up in areas with a lot of coyotes and call into the wind,” he explained.

He also stressed the sound of the call is not as important just as long as the coyotes are responding. “I use the sound of a rabbit in mortal distress,” he said.

lling coyotes is using the call properly, he mentioned. According to him, set the call off when arriving to the sight for 30 seconds or more and then softly call for the first minute or so then wait for 30 seconds then repeat for 30 to 45 seconds and then wait and continue reducing the calling series each time.

“I sit for 15 minutes total and then leave and try a different area,” Lee said. “Remember each call is a separate breath and patience is the key. As long as they are coming, let them keep coming because it is easier to shoot them when they are coming right for the hunter than if they turn at a 90 degree angle.”

Lee stated if a hunter is having problems calling coyotes, it could be related to the home ranges for coyotes. According to him, coyotes will live in three or four individual sections and will not cross home range boundaries of other coyotes.

Deer continue to cause problems for producers each year.

“When it comes to over population of deer it really depends on the tolerance of the landowner,” Lee said. The main regulation controlling the deer population is legislative decisions and human tolerance.”

Lee mentioned if the producer believes over population of deer is a problem then contact the local wildlife and parks biologist and develop a plan on how to control the overpopulation.

Next Lee talked about an animal most producers do not think about being a nusiance the beaver.

According to him, there are two problems associated with beaver, flooding particular areas and cutting down trees. If cutting down trees is the problem, Lee suggested wrapping the tree with 2’x2’ welded wire up to three feet high. If flooding is a problem, Lee recommended fencing. “However, fencing can be difficult since it is hard to keep the fence working if the fence is in a waterway,” he said.

Lee reminded producers beaver are easy to trap or snare.

Another nuisance which can cause producers stress is moles. “The most important thing to know about moles is they are insectivores, meaning they eat insects and like to eat moving objects,” said Lee.

According to him, when a producer is determining the difference between a mole and a vole the producer needs to look at the mound and if the mound looks like a volcano then it is a mole problem.

He recommended, traps are the easiest to use for moles, however, it is difficult to trap them because a mole can move through 300 yards of soil in a day and may not return to an existing tunnel. According to him the easiest way to determine if the mole is using a tunnel is to use a probe and poke holes in the tunnel and if the holes become plugged then the mole is still using the tunnel.

However, if a producer has surface runs with golf ball sized holes in the run than the producer has a vole problem.

According to Lee, voles are herbivores meaning they will eat grass or plants. He mentioned voles will use old mole runs because of the over head cover but will not plug the holes. To reduce vole problems, Lee suggested, keeping the grass short and minimizing overhead cover. He also recommends producers use toxicants like two percent zinc phosphate oats.

“If you have any questions about how to control wildlife contact a local wildlife and parks biologist and they will be able to come out to the location and help the producer develop the best plan for control,” Lee concluded.

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