- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
A mountain lion entered an Orange County corral last week where nine pygmy goats belonging to members of the Trabuco Trailblazers 4-H Club were housed. Only one goat survived the encounter.
UC Cooperative Extension human-wildlife interactions advisor Niamh Quinn said she was heartbroken, but not surprised.
“We know that this is happening all over California,” Quinn said. “Sixty to 85 percent of depredation permits are issued to hobby farmers and ranchers who seek to kill wild animals that threaten their livestock.”
The loss of the goats is a sad reminder for Californians to be aware of wildlife predators in their areas and make sure that livestock enclosures are secure against...
- Author: Niamh Quinn
In October 2016, the University of California Cooperative Extension, Orange County, in association with the Pest Control Operators of California, Target Specialty Products, and Univar, hosted a three-day West Coast Rodent Academy for pest management professionals. The event was held at University of California's Agricultural and Natural Resources South Coast Research and Extension Center in Irvine, CA.
At the academy, participants learned about rodent identification, rodent disease, sanitation, monitoring, trapping, and urban rodent surveys. Participants were provided with opportunities to learn about good environmental stewardship practices and provided with updates on the laws and regulations concerning trapping and the use of...
Squirrels commonly cause damage around homes and gardens when they dig holes, feed on fruits and nuts, gnaw on cables, or chew their way into buildings.
The squirrels in your landscape may be tree squirrels or ground squirrels. If you aren't sure which kind they are, visit the UC IPM web site to read about Tree Squirrels and Ground Squirrels.
If you know your arboreal visitors are tree squirrels, you can read more about them and their management in the newly revised UC IPM Pest Note: Tree...
- Author: Niamh Quinn
[From the August 2016 issue of UC IPM's Retail Nursery & Garden Center IPM News]
In many cities across California, urban coyote conflicts appear to be rising. Recent analysis of coyote reports from several entities in southern California has shown that coyote conflicts are generally much higher during the pup-rearing (May–August) and dispersal seasons (September–December), compared with the breeding season (January–April). It is unclear whether this is due to territoriality issues, increased human conflict due to increased coyote activity, increases in energy demands on coyotes when...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
From the UCANR Green Blog
In another sign of growing frustration with wildlife in Southern California residential areas, a coyote was shot and killed in a Silver Lake neighborhood by an unknown suspect in June, reported Nina Agrawal in the Los Angeles Times. Residents are taking to social media to commiserate about increasingly bold coyotes, and actions taken to control them.
"It's very disconcerting. Are they coyote vigilantes or something?” the Times quoted one resident.
In a report presented to the L.A. City Council, the...