Discouraging Problem Wildlife

Discouraging Problematic Wildlife
Is your home a haven for rats, mice, squirrels, raccoons, opossums, skunks, fleas, mosquitoes,
red imported fire ants, or filth flies? Resolve these issues to reduce their numbers.
Food
Water
Landscape
Structures
•Ripe/fallen fruits & vegetables: remove daily
•Snails & slugs: use repellants, remove by hand, or treat with gardenfriendly products
•Pet food: store in covered metal containers, clean up spills, take
indoors at night
•Birdfeeders: clean up spills, use spill-catchers, install baffles
•Trashcans: keep lids on tight, repair/replace broken cans
•Dense vegetation: remove or thin, dispose of clippings
•Branches: prune 4’ up, away from structures, off of roof line/fences
•Remove succulent edible plants to discourage snails & slugs
•Palms: trim old leaves, install collar or baffle
•Water appropriately & use water-wise plants
•Pet waste: dispose daily
•Flea control for pets: all year
•Fire ant mounds: inspect daily & report them to OCVCD
•Pools/spas/ponds/birdbaths: clean, filtered, & circulating
•Pet water: replace daily, take indoors at night
•Ponds: use mosquito fish & natural bacteria
•Potted plants: empty the drain pan daily or fill with small gravel/sand
•Rainwater collection: cover with screen, use water regularly
•Leaky outdoor faucets: repair or add sand/soil below them
•Standing water: drain or fill with sand/soil
•Routine inspection & repair: daily or weekly
•Gaps, holes, cracks: fill properly
•Air conditioning units & external plumbing: seal gaps
•Fencing: extend to 24” below ground, replace broken/missing slats
•Gates: cover gaps with hardware cloth/metal
•Firewood: at least 18” above ground, away from buildings/fences
•Window/door screens/foundation access covers: replace if missing,
repair all holes
Contact OCVCD at 714-971-2421 only for: rats (control, education), mosquitoes (control, education), red imported fire ants (control,
education), or filth flies (education only). For help with other animals, contact your local animal control agency (find yours at
ocpetinfo.com/lost/shelters) or a private pest control company (find one at pcoc.org). For help with plant pests, consult UC Davis
(ipm.ucdavis.edu), OC Ag Commissioner’s Office (ocagcomm.com/services/lab), or a private pest control company.
Red Imported Fire Ant
Two-”humps”
Solenopsis invicta
Southern House Mosquito
Culex quinquefasciatus
Two-toned
Bites, holds on,
and stings
Large mound
of soil atop
the nest
Pacific Coast Tick
Dermacentor occidentalis
Adult
female
Raft of
eggs,
hatching
Cat Flea
Ctenocephalides felis
Flattened
front-to-back
Female, full of
blood & eggs
Eastern Fox Squirrel
Sciurus niger
Flattened
side-to-side
Roof Rat
Rattus rattus
Pupa
Larva
Striped Skunk
Feral Cat
Mephitis mephitis
Felis catus
Rusty hairs on
the belly and
under the tail
Virginia Opossum
Didelphis virginiana
Large ears,
long tail
These animals have
fleas that may spread
flea-borne typhus!
Raccoon
Procyon lotor