The snow under our bird feeder gets pretty much beaten down by birds and squirrels. Lately we’ve been noticing really fat mice darting around under the feeder. Are mice active in the winter in snow? B. H., Pepperell, MA Mice do remain somewhat active in winter, but I wonder if you aren’t seeing voles instead
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In our Northeast region, raccoons can be a year round problem. Before they den up for the winter, raccoons are very active searching for food to put on fat for those cold days ahead. They don’t hibernate but can become less active (see Do Raccoons Hibernate?). They might even remain in their dens for weeks
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We often get calls from office buildings and apartment buildings that have had enough of pigeon droppings. Even so, they usually don’t understand all of the problems that can result from accumulated droppings, beyond the obvious unsightliness.
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If the opossum is regularly visiting your yard, there must be a food source that is attracting it. Make sure you keep your garbage in a heavy duty, tightly-sealed garbage can, clean up birdseed under feeders, pick up fallen fruit or rotting produce in the garden, and don’t leave pet food (or pet poop) outside.
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A mole’s shallow feeder tunnel is used for hunting and looks like a long, squiggly ridge that is about 2 inches across. When the mole has eaten all the worms and insects in this tunnel, it is abandoned, and another one is started. One indication of an abandoned feeder tunnel is dead grass above as a result of root disturbance. Abandoned tunnels sometimes collapse in spots due to erosion, leaving random holes that can be mistaken for burrow openings.
VIEW MORECopperheads use their venom to incapacitate their prey. They only bite people in self-defense. Because they are endangered in Massachusetts, both copperheads and timber rattlers are protected by law, and it is illegal to kill, possess, or harass them. Penalties include fines and jail time. University of Massachusetts herpetologist Graham Reynolds said, “As one of the most attractive species of snakes in North America, the loss of copperheads in Massachusetts would be a great loss to Bay State biodiversity…the last remaining populations of copperheads represent what little is left of our wild areas.”
VIEW MOREIf the holes were made by an animal, they could be either nest burrows or exploratory holes used to find food. For example, skunks like to feed on grubs and other soil insects and they forage at night. They will leave behind lots of exploratory holes as they root for their dinner. It’s not unusual for a homeowner to step outside in the morning and find dozens of holes in their lawn that weren’t there the day before, thanks to a visiting skunk
VIEW MOREOpossums are nomadic and don’t have any one den site. Most nights are spent in a different place under buildings, in hollow logs, brush piles, or in old squirrel nests. Sometimes opossums will even bunk in the same burrow with a woodchuck or a skunk. On rare occasions, they may den in a garage or shed. They don’t have any set territory and are constantly on the move so they’re not easy to track.
VIEW MOREDespite what you’ve heard, rabies is not transmitted only by a bite. Rarely, a person get rabies from contact with the saliva or central nervous system tissue of an infected animal. You can get rabies if the animal’s saliva gets into your eyes, nose, mouth, or an open wound or scratch. You cannot get rabies from contact with an infected animal’s urine, feces, or blood (unless the blood is mixed with saliva or brain or spinal tissue).
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