Armadillos, Cuban tree frogs, raccoons: How to deal with these pests in your yards

Whether you live in an apartment with a balcony, or a condo, or a house with a yard, you are part of an ecosystem complete with wild animals. Some are a lot easier to live with than others.

We become more aware of some of them at this time of the year. Fall is very obvious to the animals. The days are much shorter for the animals and night temperatures are already beginning to cool off. They don’t have the liberty of air conditioning or electric lighting. Their bodies are beginning to strongly signal to them to eat more and store up fat for migration, or less abundant winter months. A few of them might be thinking of moving in with us. (I’m thinking of roaches, but there are others …)

Armadillos have been more active, digging small holes as they look for insects to eat. They are not hard to trap. Use inexpensive roofing flashing to direct the armadillo into the trap. The more flashing you use, the better. Armadillos have poor eyesight. Make sure you cover the bottom of the cage with pine straw and leaves so they can’t feel the wire bottom. And don’t release the animal, kill it. Wear gloves when handling them as armadillos are known carriers of leprosy. While it’s not likely to be infected, why take a chance? (https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/UW082)

Raccoons are native and powerful, very clever, cute and can cause a lot of problems. It is illegal to feed them. Seeing one in the daytime does not mean it is sick. They cannot be trapped and relocated legally. They can carry rabies and distemper and moving them could transport the disease. They are too cozy with humans and sometimes move into attics. Once there, they do considerable damage to plumbing and insulation as well as wiring (sometimes causing fires).

We have a problem with Cuban tree frogs. They eat a lot of animals including our native green tree frogs and breed voraciously — they can lay 1,000 eggs a year. They can be caught fairly easily. Wear gloves as they have a slimy substance on their skin that is irritating. I catch them in the plastic sandwich bag I plan to use to dispose of them. A little benzocaine (found in Oragel) on their bellies will help to put them to sleep. Then just put them in the freezer for a relatively painless death. (https://ufwildlife.ifas.ufl.edu/cuban_treefrog_inFL.shtml)

In Florida, we are dealing with a constant siege against invasive species like the Cuban tree frog. The animals come in with shipping and are blown in with storms and sometimes even released by careless humans.

Much as we prefer not to think about them, all neighborhoods have roof rats. They are the dominant species of rat in Florida, have a pointed snout, a longer tail than body, and come in different colors, even in the same litter. They have large ears, and their droppings are banana-shaped.

They are quite fond of citrus and have a telltale way of eating it. They make a hole in the peel and eat the fruit out, leaving a scooped-out fruit peel. They will eat Meyer lemons, even though you might think it would be too sour. They will eat palm fruit. They will eat snails, leaving a pile of snail shells behind, as if they had a snail party. They will eat birdseed.

To gain control, build a tamper-proof enclosed trap station with several traps inside. Pick citrus fruit when it is ripe so the rats can’t get it. Clean up fallen palm fruit. Use tamper-proof rat traps to check for populations. Here is more information about roof rats: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/UW120.

Coyotes are in every county in Florida. They have been moving east from the western US for years. Their success is partially because they have no predators around. We have eliminated wolves from our landscapes and panthers are relatively scarce in North Florida. While coyotes aren’t desirable, they do help control rodents and raccoon populations. Trying to control their populations is pointless. Those efforts just lead to younger breeding and larger litters, offsetting any coyote kills.

Instead, make sure you are not providing food by not having cats and small dogs running free. Those are easy prey for coyotes. There is also a city ordinance against those animals running free. Don’t leave pet food out.

If a coyote has been sighted in your area, walk your dog on a short leash and be aware of your surroundings, especially at dawn and dusk and when near wooded areas. Also, animals left on tie-outs are easy prey for coyotes. Don’t leave pets tied out. Coyotes sometimes hunt in packs and will kill animals tied up.

There are other wild animals sharing our world. They were all actually here first, so the truth is, we are sharing theirs. If we are careless in our habits, they are justified in coming closer. So let’s take care to live in our spaces so that we aren’t encouraging the animals we don’t want.

Becky Wern is a Master Gardener Volunteer with the Duval County Extension Service and the University of Florida/IFAS. For gardening questions, call the Duval County Extension Office at (904) 255-7450 from 9 a.m. to noon and 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and ask for a Master Gardener Volunteer.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: How to deal with armadillos, raccoons, Cuban tree frogs and raccoons