Home| Ask the Expert | Contact | Site Map | Store

| About | FAQ| Disclaimer |

"...because an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Help us by:

l suggesting a link.
l noting a problem.
l telling your story.
l sharing advice!
l sharing photos!
l volunteering!

just visit http://members.icwdm.org
User name  ICWDM
Psswrd       guest    
We appreciate your help!!

Introduction & Disclaimer

Prevention is an imperfect discipline. Animals adapt to our methods and materials and workmanship break and decay over time.  Monitoring and maintenance are necessary in any prevention program. Acting quickly before a problem gets out of hand will save you a lot of trouble down the road.

If you are looking to mitigate a problem that is already occurring please visit the solutions links in the menu bar. If you aren't sure what the cause of the problem is then visit the animal damage identification section.

Protection Methods

Habitat Modification

• Predators, like all wildlife, need shelter and cover to survive. Changing the landscape to reduce the ability of the predator to hide and stalk livestock can help reduce predator efficiency.

Repellents

• Often not effective on four legged predators but can be effective for birds. See Waterfowl

Barriers

• Fencing

		Keeping valued animals behind secure fences is an excellent way to protect them. In general, fences should be high enough to prevent egress of the species you intend to protect and large enough to prevent entry of potential predators. If protecting pets/livestock against coyotes, the fence should be at least 6 feet higher than the surrounding terrain. A device known as the "coyote roller" can be placed on top of shorter fences to prevent the coyote from gaining a foothold and climbing over. However, the fence should be at least 5 feet high before installing this device. Fences must also be secure to the ground (better to have them buried in the ground) to prevent coyotes from crawling under the fence. Chainlink fences, though expensive, can be very effective if tall enough and properly secured to the ground.
Woven-wire fencing	Chain-link fencing

• Housing

Keep animals indoors or in enclosed areas. 

Guard Animals

		Booklet on Using Guard Animals--Missouri Dept. of Conservation   Guidelines for Using Donkeys-Ontario Provincial Document  Llamas as Livestock Guarding Animals--Iowa State University PDF Info on Using Donkeys-Texas Dept of Ag. Raising and training a livestock guarding dog
Sheep dog to protect sheep	Llamas have been used for guarding flocks

Population Control

• Hunting--check state and local regulations
• Trapping--Check state and local regulations
• Toxicants--Contact Wildlife Services

Inspection Techniques

• Identification of Predation
• Hole Paper Stuffing