As I walked through our farm today I lamented at the spongy ground beneath my boots. The never ending rain here in the Cincinnati area this spring has brought with it a host of problems for our community. But wait, this is a wildlife website, what does rain have to do with any of this?

Simply, because it is weakening the structural integrity of your home or business, increasing harborages for nuisance wildlife species, and bolstering the food source supply for these species for a high yield summer. .

When rain is improperly diverted with inadequate, damaged, or insufficient gutter systems the water pools in places on the roof it is not meant to and seeps into the cracks and crevices of your building. One small unsecured portion of your soffit or fascia can start the process of water intrusion, leading to over saturation of the wood, in turn leading to rot and or insect damage.  

Once the wood starts rotting or the insects such as carpenter ants, termites, or other wood destroying insects start consuming it, the wood is significantly compromised. Grey Squirrels, flying squirrels, rats, mice, chipmunks, raccoons, and even birds and bats will take advantage of the weak points to gain access to the structure and take up residence in your walls, attic spaces, and roofline. 

Even if it is not on the structure, inadequate or improper management of rainwater runoff can lead to a host of problems when it comes to nuisance wildlife. 

For the wildlife that burrows, the softening of what might normally be solid ground is tempting for new burrows, excavations, and tunneling. Though it seems counterintuitive as it would likely just fill with water, I have trapped ground moles in water logged tunnels, captured chipmunks trapped near small burrows turned into mini spelunking caverns, and we all know the stories of rats thriving in sewer systems and pipes. 

Lastly, let's talk about food availability. If you are at all in the same situation as myself, mowing, trimming, and maintaining the horticulture on your property has been difficult as we seemingly only have 2-3 hours of sunshine a week and even then, everything is still over saturated and hard to maintain when wet. I myself have not been able to mow my 2.5 acres of grass for almost three weeks now. The tall grasses are starting to seed, and those seeds are an easy food source for small rodents. Those small rodents are an easy food source for snakes, small mammals, and predators such as coyotes, foxes, minks, and others. The tall grasses are also a prime haborage (hiding spot) for the aforementioned predator species. 

The accumulation of small micro-marshes on your property where water is not adequately draining lend themselves to great places for small amphibians and those small amphibians are a favored food source of raccoons, skunks, otters, and more. 

So what can be done? I can't control the rain, but I can control some of the effects of the rain.

When it comes to structural weak points of your home or business, I have spent 14 years learning to read the signs and be able to identify and address them. Our wildlife inspection service will look over your entire structure determining where and how nuisance wildlife has or possibly will gain access to your home or business.

Our inspection does not just stop at the physical building, we will let you know of any natural or man made attractions and harborages that could entice wildlife on your property. We can help you create a plan to address those issues on your own, or through local landscaping, excavating, and water management companies.

Click on the “Schedule Service” tab in our website menu to schedule your inspection on the date and time that is convenient for you. The inspection service is $85 and is fully credited toward any trapping, removal, or exclusion work you end up hiring Huntsman Wildlife to do after the results of our inspection.

Till next time… see ya folks!