HOUSE GUESTS: Coexisting With Critters

Summertime means easy living, and usually easy pickings, for the wild animals and rodents that make their home in back yards and attics and under houses in the San Fernando Valley.

Homeowners often unwitingly provide fast food for critter by giving them easy access to untended pet food and garbage cans. Rodent numbers are on the rise because winter’s heavy rains created more vegetation that provides plenty of food and nesting sites.

Animal control centers get most complaints between May and October. Right now is the height of the Valley’s opossum season. The West Valley shelter, for example, has a backlog of more than 75 people waiting for opossum traps. And raccoons are just coming into their season now.

Larger game, like coyotes and mountain lions, pose problems of their own. But the smaller critters can be more than just a nuisance since some carry such diseases as rabies and bubonic plague.

Who to Call The Los Angeles Animal Regulation Department provides tree traps and will release trapped animals. Los Angeles county Animal Care and Control no longer provides traps but will relocate trapped animals. Humane traps may be rented at some pet shops, but residents must obtain a permit at an animal shelter to trap a wild animal.

West Valley: West Valley Animal Care and Control Center (818) 882-8800 East Valley: East Valley Animal Care and Control Center (818) 764-7061 Agoura Hills, Calabasas: Agoura Animal Shelter * (818) 991-0071 Burbank: Burbank Animal Shelter (818) 953-8719 Santa Clarita, San Fernando: Castaic Animal Shelter * (805) 367-7696 * Rents traps for $20 for seven days; will retrieve and release animal For rats and mice, call Los Angeles County Department of Health Services Vector Control, (213) 881-4046

Critter-Proofing Your Home Never leave pet food outdoors Keep trash can lids tightly fastened Never feed wild animals Remove fallen fruit from ground Keep building vents secure and screens intact Keep heavy vegetation and ivy at least 18 inches off the ground and away from walls to discourage nesting

Sounds From Above Sometimes you can identify an unwanted small wild animal by the noise it makes. Some animals make their nests in attics. A test: 1. Footsteps on roof? Raccoons or opossums 2. Scurrying sound during the day? Squirrels 3. Chewing noise and running at night? Rats

Raccoon (Procyon lotor) Habits: Notorious garbage can raider and fond of ripping up lawns in search of grubs and worms; will tear up roof shingles and even enter houses through pet doors in search of pet food. Known to depopulate ponds of koi and other ornamental fish. Trapping: Pests with a sweet tooth prefer cookies or marshmallows.

Skunk (Mephitis mephitis) Habits: Feeds at night on insects, fruits and small mammals. Occasionally enters houses to raid pet food dishes, but more likely to wander under house. Trapping: Cat or dog food in a wire cage, or raw bacon, chicken or hot dog hung on hook in box trap.

Roof Rat (Rattus rattus) and House Mouse (Mus musculus) Habits: Rat eats fruits, nuts, berries and vegetables, lives in yards, attics and sheds and is able to enter openings half an inch wide. Mouse feeds on anything humans eat, may even eat soap and glue, nests in soft material like pillow feathers and shredded paper and can squeeze through quarter-inch holes. Trapping: Peanut butter in snap-type traps, near mouse droppings or along walls for rats.

Eastern Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger) Habits: Active during day, burying food such as nuts, acorns and tree buds during summer for winter. Known for getting into attics and invading gardens, nut and fruit trees, often taking a bite and dropping fruit. Trapping: Walnuts or peanuts in small trap placed at base of tree.

Opossum (Didelphis virginiana) Habits: Nocturnal, feeds on insects, fruits, eggs fresh and rotten meat. Loves pet food. Will invade garbage cans, areas under houses and crawl spaces. Known to breed in attics. Uses prehensile tail and back paws to grasp tree branches. Trapping: Cat food is best bait, with a trail of food leading into trap. Sources: Los Angeles County Animal Care and Control, Los Angeles Department of Animal Regulation, Zenith Environmental Pest Control, Reader’s Digest North American Wildlife, Peterson Field Guide to Mammals.