- Skunks are high risk for rabies. Do not touch with your bare hands.
- To avoid being sprayed, keep pets and children away from skunks.
- Do not leave pet food out at night. Skunks love dog and cat food.
- Block access crawl spaces, sheds, and other denning sites.
- Remove debris piles, and keep garbage cans tightly covered.
- Skunks do not eat dogs or cats. They do not attack children.
- They prefer not to spray and give clear warning before spraying.
- If they have babies, please wait until the youngsters can run away with their mother.
- Usually, removing food and denning sites will make the skunk go away,
if not try gentle harassment. Shake a soda can with coins in it from a distance.
Do not trap them. Do not feed them.
- Ducks eat snails, slugs, dog and cat food, as well as grass and other plants.They deposit big, messy droppings everywhere.
- If a duck lays eggs in the bushes, wait until the babies hatch, then open the gate. Mama will lead the babies to the nearest park or stream. She knows the way.
- Baby ducks cannot get out of a pool without help. Lay a board on the steps
so the babies can climb out. Then open the gate. Moma will lead them away.
Do not catch the babies. Their best chance for a long life is with their mother.
- All snakes found in and around Modesto are not venomus. Leave them alone.
- Come back in a couple of hours and the snake will be gone.
- Snakes eat insects and mice. They do not attack pets or children.
- Rattlesnakes live in dry grasslands. They coil when threatened.
- To avoid getting bit, do not pick up snakes.
- Male mockingbirds sing all night to attract a mate.
- As soon as a female takes an interest the bird will stop singing.
- Mockingbirds are a fully protected species. They eat insects.
- They are highly territorial, so chasing the bird away is not likely to be successful.
- Wait a few days, and the noise should stop.
