Posted on 06/25/2025 5:24:23 PM PDT by Dacula
I need to get rid of some wildlife in my suburban Atlanta backyard. My biggest problem is wife foxes. I have three that have dug a hole and live in the ground. They are about the size of a medium sized dog.
To make matters worse, I bought a field camera and have spotted Armadillos, raccoons, groundhogs and opossums.
I contacted the county extension agency and they suggested that I pay for an extermination company to come out. They want too much money. I cannot shoot them them because there are house close to my property.
Thank you in advance.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Wife = Wild
Grok says to get a dog. If you have no dog maybe you could borrow one.
Maybe put some battery powered ultrasonic devices by their dens.
Are there regulations against use of bow and arrow? Also, there are some dog breeds that would take care of the problem. Karillion, pitbull, dogo, Pyrenees or Anatolians would do it. Or one of the tougher German Shepherds.
Ideally, you could borrow one of these breeds and house them temporarily for a few weeks. Or get one of your own. Would need a fence or a long runner line.
According to Trump, migrants eat dogs and cats.
Maybe they will also eat foxes?
Pure Ammonia might help.
Cayenne pepper, lots of cayenne pepper.
For garden I had I I used a Mix of Cayenne water with some soap and used a tank sprayer to spray all over the garden.
When I had trouble raccoons, climbing the downspouts up to my roof, I made Cayenne vegetable oil and painted the down spouts.
You may want to reconsider the option of paying pros to exterminate the wildlife. You described quite a few different animals. Most of them are ground dwellers, ie tunnels, mazes and nests. Just plain gophers are hard to get rid of without going to extremes. You don’t want to end up like Bill Murray in Caddyshack, outfoxed by a rodent!
Did you buy this property with the idea of removing all wildlife, or have you found a lot more than you were aware of before settling into your home?
I have a new family with 2 kits in my backyard. No idea where their den is. They eat peanuts. As do the raccoons, possum, groundhog, and skunks. About 1 - 20lb bag of shelled peanuts a week. Very skittish foxes but the others do fairly well with peanuts falling on their heads. Was worried the foxes would chase the other dinner guests, but they seem to co-exist with the others, who have always eaten together.
“Can I get me an Moab around here?”
Mix ammonia and castor oil in a hose-end sprayer and spray the entire yard.
Likewise: armadillos, raccoons, groundhogs and opossums. Very cool. Count your blessings.
Until you find the solution protect your attic and crawl space and out buildings, and raccoons will come through your window screens.
Terriers might do the trick as well.
They’re GREAT for rats. I would imagine other critters are just variations on a theme for these dogs.
Very true. Three Jack Russels would take care of anything in that yard.
Get some used kitty litter and contaminate the den.
Clean up the yard. Keep it mowed. Trim off low limbs that offer shade and shelter, thin bushes, that will make it less attractive to critters. They dig dens in sheltered locations so open everything up to eliminate hiding places. Don’t plant vegetation up against buildings. Close off any porches or decks or crawlspace under buildings and sheds.
Make sure there are no open trash cans and that all kidded cans have bungee cords or other fasteners to insure animals cannot lift the lids.
Animals are attracted to junk laying around, brush piles, water, and of course, a food source.
Don’t put out birdfeeders if you don’t also enjoy the other varmints that are attracted to the grain. Raccoons especially will congregate where there are birdfeeders, or cat ladies who leave food outside for stray animals and pets.
Most animals aren’t a big bother, and can actually be enjoyable, if you just have a tidy yard and don’t leave any kind of pet food or birdseed out overnight. I have bobcat, coyote, fox, raccoon, otter, opossum, woodpeckers, hawks, owls, eastern diamondbacks and water moccasins plus all the harmless snakes and turtles, ducks and wading birds here. The only species that is extremely bothersome are the raccoons and peiple’s wandering dogs, and coyote. But I had very little trouble with raccoons when I had a dog, even though they were very attracted to my poultry.
Armadillos are just looking for grubs, which is beneficial. If you don’t want armadillos, treat your grass for insects regularly to insure that there are no grubs. They will dig in any mulch laid down because mulch attracts insects they like to eat.
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