Did You Know?
The HSUS can offer you expert advice on solving problems with wildlife. Learn more about how to humanely control wildlife or browse by animal below to find advice on humanely handling conflicts with that animal.
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October 28, 2011
What to Do About Bats
Got a bat loose in your house, or a family of bats living in your attic or chimney? Find out how to safely and humanely send them on their way, and learn how (and why) to protect bats and their natural habitats.
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October 2, 2009
What to Do About Beavers
The most common problems associated with beavers are the flooding and the damage to trees. Flooding can become a crisis after heavy rain or snow brings on water that has and there is nowhere to go.
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October 3, 2009
What to Do About Black Bears
More bears are being seen in the suburbs. Run-ins with bears don’t happen that often, but a chance meeting one could be serious. It is important to teach people how to behave in bear country, and—when necessary—teach bears to avoid people.
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March 19, 2012
What to Do About Canada Geese
Where there are Canada geese, there are goose droppings, and therein lies the problem that most people have with these otherwise mostly harmless birds. Geese shouldn’t get a death sentence for doing what comes naturally—especially when long-term, effective, and humane solutions exist.
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August 29, 2011
What to Do About Chimney Swifts
Anyone who knows these birds, with their cigar-shaped bodies almost constantly aloft, chattering, sweeping insects out of the sky, will wonder why they need to be mentioned in a work on resolving animal conflicts. The reason for this is not because they cause any special problem for us, but because we cause problems for them.
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October 3, 2009
What to Do About Chipmunks
Although most commonly found in forests, chipmunks will also make their homes in yards, where you might see them in and around stone walls, under walkways or patios, or in gardens.
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October 3, 2009
What to Do About Cougars
Cougar populations are relatively small—largely due to persecution and habitat loss—but as people move further into cougar country, sightings of these solitary big cats are on the rise.
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March 9, 2011
What to Do About Coyotes
Got coyote problems? First learn what the coyote is after, then use humane strategies to avoid or solve problems.
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October 3, 2009
What to Do About Crows
Crows may be intelligent because they are very social, living as extended families who share food and look out for each other.
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October 2, 2009
What to Do About Deer
Like other wild animals deer now thrive in some of the densest human settlements. Some say that deer populations have expanded gone beyond acceptable limits, damaging yards and gardens, affecting forests, and posing hazards to drivers. But deer cannot be reduced to the inconveniences their presence may cause.
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October 3, 2009
What to Do About Foxes
Foxes are well adapted to urban life, and use a wide range of habitats, exploit a wide range of natural and human-produced foods, and alter their activity schedules, if necessary, to be primarily active when humans are not.
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February 17, 2012
What to Do About House Sparrows
The house sparrow is the most widespread of the sparrows, most often in conflict with people, and are one of the most widespread animals on this planet.
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October 2, 2009
What to Do About Opossums
Opossums get a bum rap: Most problems people think have with opossums are really caused by other animals. But we can help you solve those, too.
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October 3, 2009
What to Do About Pigeons
Our cities provide room and board. In return, pigeons add a little warmth and live to our cold concrete canyons. So what's the problem? In a word: droppings. Pigeon droppings are unsightly and they can damage buildings, monuments, and cars.
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October 3, 2009
What to Do About Prairie Dogs
Prairie dog numbers have dwindled dramatically but people still try to wipe out these highly social creatures. Prairie dogs are used as live targets in organized shoots on public lands even though they play an important role in the ecosystem.
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March 13, 2012
What to Do About Raccoons
Raccoons are a good example of a wild animal that makes the most of living near people. But their ability to take advantage of what people have—usually unintentionally—offered gets raccoons into trouble.
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October 2, 2009
What to Do About Skunks
Skunks are infamous producers of an odor so powerful that it quickly and easily communicates a clear message: “Don’t mess with me”
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October 2, 2009
What to Do About Snakes
Snakes instill a deep-rooted fear in many people that few other animals can match. But there’s no justification for the persecution of these animals and the acts of violence often committed when even the most harmless of them is sighted.
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October 2, 2009
What to Do About Squirrels
In public opinion wildlife polls, squirrels generally rank first in likeability and in problematic behavior. People want them around or they don’t, depending on what the squirrels are doing at any given moment.
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October 3, 2009
What to Do About Starlings
European starlings are widespread across North America. They eat a wide variety of foods and use a wide variety of places to nest and roost.
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October 3, 2009
What to Do About Wild Mice
House mice came to American along with the first European settlers. They prefer to spend their lives inside buildings including homes, barns, warehouses, and offices. Wild mice such as the native white footed mice and deer mice would rather spend just the colder months indoors
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October 3, 2009
What to Do About Wild Rabbits
Rabbit eat flowers and vegetable plants in spring and summer, and the bark of fruit and ornamental trees and shrubs in the fall and winter. Mowing and raking yards can disturb rabbit nests. Cats and other animals catch and injure small rabbits.
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October 4, 2009
What to Do About Wild Rats
Rats are incredibly hardy animals who have never shown any problem adjusting to change. Usually that change is the introduction of a new poison, as humans constantly work harder and harder to exterminate these animals.
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October 3, 2009
What to Do About Woodchucks
The woodchuck (a.k.a. groundhog) is often caught between being a celebrity and a villain—one day we rely on his shadow to forecast the seasons; the next day we grumble as he makes a meal of our carefully planted garden or digs up the yard.
