My family greatly appreciates wildlife, but sometimes too many critters can get to be a lot of aggravation. More than one of our spring plantings of greenhouse plants has been ripped from the ground by hungry, inquisitive raccoons.

It took a long time to figure out the attraction. We would reset the plants only to find them ripped from the ground the next morning. Finally we figured out the plants had a fertilizer containing a small amount of fish oil. The slight smell of fish oil emulsion was all it took for the masked bandits to rip out the plants.

Nuisance wild animals are a common problem in the spring. Hoosiers have several options for dealing with them. Calling a licensed wild animal control company is one – for the name of a licensed company, visit www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/2351.htm

Hoosier landowners or tenants can also trap and release or kill (using legal methods) raccoons, skunks, opossums, squirrels, beavers, muskrats, minks, long-tailed weasels, gray squirrels, fox squirrels, red foxes and gray foxes on their own property without a permit if the animals are damaging the property. Groundhogs, moles and chipmunks may be taken at any time using any equipment, without a permit.

Live traps for capturing animals can be purchased from garden-supply or home-improvement stores. Have a plan in place for how you will handle the animal once it is trapped.

Be careful when live-trapping wild animals in the spring because they may have young. If you know the species of animal you are trapping, it may be best to wait until after peak birthing season, which can be found by species, also at www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/2351.htm

If the animal is to be released after capture, it must be released in the county of capture and may not be kept as a pet, sold, traded or given to another person. Releasing wild animals on a city, county or state property may be illegal or require written permission. Contact proper officials before releasing wild animals on public property.

At any time and without a special permit, landowners may take coyotes on land they own or provide written permission for others to take coyotes on their land. A valid hunting or trapping license or nuisance wild animal control permit is required to take a coyote on land other than your own.

Coyotes taken outside the hunting and trapping season by a landowner or someone with written permission from a landowner cannot be possessed live for more than 24 hours, and the live coyote may not be sold, traded, bartered or given to someone else.

To keep wild animals from becoming a nuisance, Department of Natural Resources (DNR) wildlife officials recommend the following:

•Take in dog and cat food at night and keep birdfeeders out of the reach of wild animals or take in birdfeeders at night

•Install a commercial chimney cap made of sheet metal and heavy screen; repair soffits to prevent access to attics, and install strong, metal vent covers

•Prune tree limbs at least 10 feet away from the roof

•Buy heavy metal garbage cans with lockable lids; otherwise, keep garbage cans indoors as much as possible

•Install metal skirting around the bottoms of decks

•Provide shelter structures for fish in ornamental ponds and water gardens; cover the pond during the night with metal screening

Nuisance Canada geese can also create problems in the spring when nesting. You may oil the eggs of Canada geese or remove their nests after registering with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. A link to its goose egg and nest destruction registration page is at www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild

A list of licensed nuisance waterfowl control operators who are trained to remove adult geese is at www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/files/fw-NuisanceWaterfowlControl Operators.pdf

Landowners experiencing conflicts with whitetail deer should contact their district wildlife biologist for information on handling the conflict. Pond owners experiencing problems with otters should also contact their biologist for more information or to request a special control permit. A district biologist contact list is also online, at www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/2716.htm

DNR kids’ fishing derbies

Free fishing derbies will take place June 6 at three Indiana state parks. Salamonie, Ouabache and Mississinewa Lake will be holding fishing contests for children, with prizes. Age categories are: 2-5, 6-10 and 11-14. Kids must be accompanied by an adult.

Sign-in begins at 8:30 a.m. Fishing is from 9-10:30 a.m. Awards will be presented afterward. Prizes will be awarded for overall longest fish, and longest fish in each age category. Each child may win no more than one award. Participants must use the provided bait.

Registration for any of the three locations is required by calling 260-468-2127. The regular gate fees of $5 per in-state vehicle and $7 per out-of-state vehicle apply.

Ford Hoosier Outdoor Experience

wins recreation award

Indiana’s DNR’s annual Ford Hoosier Outdoor Experience was honored recently by the Great Lakes Park Training Institute (GLPTI).  The event won a 2015 Park, Facility and Recreation Program award from the institute at its annual conference at Pokagon State Park.

GLPTI is an Indiana University initiative through the school’s Eppley Institute for Parks and Public Lands. The Ford Hoosier Outdoor Experience is Indiana’s largest, hands-on, outdoor recreation event.

Hosted at Fort Harrison State Park, the two-day event features 50 activities and 120 partners. It is organized by the DNR and Indiana Natural Resources Foundation (INRF). Approximately 20,000 people attended the event in 2014.

The event’s goal is to introduce attendees to new outdoor activities they may have never tried before. Activities range from fishing to riding off-road vehicles.

“Our goal is to share our love of outdoor recreation with our visitors, and reaching 20,000 in one weekend is a remarkable accomplishment made possible by the generosity of our sponsors and the hard work of DNR employees,” INRF Executive Director Bourke Patton said.

The seventh annual Ford Hoosier Outdoor Experience will take place this year on Sept. 19-20. Information on the upcoming event is available at www.HoosierOutdoorExperience.IN.gov

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments may contact Jack Spaulding by email at jackspaulding@hughes.net or by writing to him in care of this publication.