The City of Van Buren has many places that allow wildlife to thrive. Parks, golf courses, wooded lots, undeveloped wooded areas, streams, ponds, and of course the Arkansas River provide food and shelter for wildlife. Conflict with humans occurs when excess wildlife has to find their own food and shelter. Typical needs for Van Buren animal control are squirrels and raccoons in attics, and gophers and moles causing lawn damage.
Old Fort Wildlife Control is locally owned and operated. We can safely remove wild animals from under houses and outbuildings, inside attics, and from your yard.
The smell and sight of a dead animal are awful. Decomposition happens very slowly then all of the sudden it can be overwhelming. OFWC can remove dead animals from your yard, under the house, in the attic, or anywhere else on your property and get rid of that awful sight and smell. A few examples of how animals can die on the property are: Opossums in your garbage cans, eating your pets’ food, roaming close to the house, or living under the house? Old Fort Wildlife Control can remove opossums and repair any damage they may have caused. Identification The opossum is a small-medium-sized marsupial with white/gray/black fur, a white face, and a naked tail. It’s usually 2ft long, 8-12 inches tall and weighs 6-10 lbs. Opossums are nocturnal, climbs trees, and can hang by its tail. It eats mostly dead matter but will kill smaller birds/animals. It is generally harmless although will stand its ground and shows its teeth when threatened. If an opossum feels very threatened it may “play dead” for 20 minutes or so. Removal Method Old Fort Wildlife Control will locate entry/exits and place cage traps in the best location. As animals are caught and removed, the traps may be moved. After a few days of no catches and no sightings or damage, the traps are removed. Entry/exits are then blocked or repaired to discourage other uninvited guests in the future. Armadillos are an invasive species that can cause damage to lawns and landscaping when they are digging for insects to eat, and when they dig dens against foundations, in the yard, and in flower beds. These dens make excellent homes for other nuisance species if the armadillo abandons the den. Identification The armadillo is a barrel-shaped mostly nocturnal animal with a leathery armored shell, a thin pointy head, and long claws for digging. Usually 24 -30 inches nose to tail and weighs 8-12 lbs. The armadillo is nocturnal although can sometimes be seen during daylight. Its food source is earthworms, grubs, and yard insects, the same food source as moles and skunks. An armadillo will dig golf-ball-size or smaller holes in the lawn looking for food. It may also dig a large burrow against the house foundation, behind air conditioning units, under landscaping bushes, or anywhere the dirt is soft and free of rocks. Removal Method Cage traps are used to catch armadillos. There is no effective bait for armadillos so traps are placed in travel ways or at burrows. After the armadillo is removed we will locate the den (if on the property) and fill it in to discourage other animals from moving in. Raccoons living in the attic, eating your pets food, or being a nuisance on the property? Old Fort Wildlife Control can remove the raccoons from the property, seal the entry/exit points, and clean up the mess in the attic. Identification A raccoon is a small dog-sized mammal with gray/black/silver fur, a black and brown striped tail, and a white face with a black mask over the eyes and nose, At 16-30 in long and 10-40 lbs, it is very agile with front paws as far as carrying and opening things. Raccoons are usually found near water. Removal Cage traps are used to catch raccoons where they are causing damage. Raccoons may run in groups so multiple traps may be used around the property. Extra care must be used when setting the traps as raccoons are sometimes hesitant to go in a cage trap. For females with cubs in an attic, subtle harassment and other deterrents are used to convince mom to take herself and the kids elsewhere. In most cases, cage traps should not be used since the cubs would die without mom, causing a mess in the attic and she will have them hidden very well. In areas with a high raccoon population, it’s recommended to do trapping and removal in late winter before the females start building nests. Once the raccoons are removed, repairs can be done so others don’t move in anytime soon. Squirrels living in trees around a property are not a problem until they chew holes in the siding and move into the attic. They may make running and jumping noises at odd hours, and chew on boards and wiring. We can remove squirrels from your attic using exclusion, where they can get out but not back in, or by trapping and relocating. Identification Squirrels are members of the rodent family and mostly live in hardwood trees. In our area, there are small gray squirrels and the larger red fox squirrel. A squirrel is a medium-sized rodent, 10-15 inches long with another 6-10 inches of furry tail. Squirrels in our area are either the smaller gray squirrel (gray in color) or the larger fox squirrel (reddish-brown or orange/brown/grey in color). The squirrel spends most of its time in trees although does come to the ground for traveling or looking for food. Squirrels are most active during the daytime in the early morning or late afternoon. Their primary food source is acorns and tree nuts. Squirrels may chew holes in siding to get into an attic. Eventually smaller animals like mice and rats may find the holes and larger animals like raccoons. Removal Method Squirrels are caught by mounting small cage traps at the entry/exit to the attic. No bait is used, they will be caught when they are coming and going. Since it’s impossible to catch every squirrel in the neighborhood, the goal is to verify that no squirrels are in the attic so repairs can be done. If squirrels are caught, the trap is replaced with an empty one. Once no squirrels are being caught and no noises are being heard, traps are removed and repairs are done. Bats are present throughout our area and are beneficial by consuming large amounts of insect pests like mosquitos. Bats can become a nuisance when they roost in attics or somehow find their way into houses or buildings. Bats are known to carry rabies and a bite may transfer the disease to humans or pets. In Arkansas, all bats are considered protected, non-game species and it is illegal to kill them except in the case of potential rabies exposure and the bat needs to be sent to the AR Department of Health. Our bat control program consists of an initial inspection and population survey to determine the size of the colony, then exclusion using a variety of techniques that allow the bats to leave a structure but not find their way back in. After a period of time when the structure is determined to be bat free, cleanup of the guano can be done. Are beavers cutting down trees, building dams, flooding property, plugging culverts and causing bank erosion? OFWC can safely remove beavers using lethal traps and for long-term damage control, barriers can be built in culverts and other structures. The beaver is a large, semi-aquatic rodent known for building dams and lodges. It has large, curved teeth, small ears, small front feet, large webbed back feet, a wide hairless tail, and weighs 40-60 lbs. The beaver is primarily nocturnal although may be seen a little before dark and after daylight. Beavers build one or more dams using sticks, mud, rocks, and other debris in creeks, rivers, and pond spillways. The upstream side of the dam provides still, deep water to protect against predators, and to float food and building material. Beavers live in either a lodge made of sticks, a bank den, or a combination of both. Entry to the lodge or den is underwater. Inside there is a shelf where the beaver can come out of the water. Beaver kits are born in the springtime, Apr-June. The kits born the previous year are forced out of the colony at the end of summer and the beginning of fall. They go downstream or upstream or even across the land to find a mate and start their own colony. During winter, the average colony size is four, two adults and two youngsters. During summer, a colony size can be six or more. Traps are set in the water in travel ways or at scent locations. The traps quickly dispatch the beaver. As beavers are caught, traps are reset and moved. If a dam exists it is breached to track activity. When tree chewing and dam maintenance stop, traps are removed. OFWC can help with the destruction of the lodge (if one exists) and can advise on deterrents to keep future beavers from building dams, clogging culverts, etc. Skunk living under the house, an out-building, or in the yard? That awful smell gives them away every time. Besides the smell, skunks may also dig in the lawn and landscaping searching for food. Old Fort Wildlife Control can safely trap the skunks and remove them from the property. Identification A striped skunk is a house-cat-sized mammal with black fur and an unmistakable white strip or V from head to tail. The skunk uses an extremely noxious odor as a defense mechanism. Skunks are nocturnal rarely seen during the daytime. Skunks are burrowing animals so drawn to crawl spaces and under outbuildings. It is common for several skunks to den together which contributes to the higher rate of rabies than other animals. Skunk mating season starts mid-late February so males are roaming around looking for females. If a female is living on or close to your property, she will attract all the males in the vicinity. Removal Method OFWC uses cage traps to safely catch and remove skunks without additional odor. Once they are all removed, repairs can be done to make sure another skunk doesn’t move in. Are moles tearing up your yard and landscaping with tunnels and dirt mounds? Mole trapping and removal is available from April-November. A typical yard may have 2-6 moles. Identification A mole is a mouse-sized mammal that lives underground. It has grey or brown fur, a short tail, large front paws for digging and small back legs for moving. It lives on a carnivore diet eating mostly earthworms then grubs and other insects. It has eyes but are mostly useless since it lives in darkness. Moles have a very good sense of smell for locating their food, When a good food source is found, like a yard with lots of worms, a tunnel complex is built for sleeping, eating, and traveling. While searching for food, moles make golf ball size tunnels slightly underground leaving an unsightly trail of raised earth. Moles can also make dirt piles on the surface, from baseball to basketball-sized, which are the excavations of a tunnel system that cannot be seen from the surface. In winter, moles follow their food source deep underground and cannot be caught except on a streak of warm days. Removal Method Small, lethal traps are used inside the most active tunnels, safe from kids, pets, and mowing equipment. Traps are checked every few days and moved as needed. As moles are caught, mounds are cleaned up and tunnels are smashed. Severe damage may require heavy equipment like a riding mower to smash the tunnels. When damage stops, traps are removed.
Dead Animal Removal
Opossum Trapping
Armadillo Trapping
Raccoon Trapping
Squirrel Trapping
Bat Exclusions
Beaver Trapping and Control
Identification
Removal Method
Videos
Skunk Trapping
Mole Trapping
Old Fort Wildlife Control does not handle domesticated animals or pets. For dog, cat, and pet problems in Van Buren city limits, call the Animal Control division of the Van Buren Police Dept at 479-474-1234