By Mike Isbell
University of Georgia

“If you see beavers flying from the roof of your house….” Doug
Hall, a wildlife biologist with U.S. Department of Agriculture,
realized what he’d just said and laughed.

“Beavers?” he said. “I meant to say ‘bats.’ If you see beavers
flying from your roof, you’d better be running!”

Doug got his animals mixed up while teaching a class on wildlife
damage management to a group of University of Georgia Extension
Service agents. While his bats-and-beavers mixup was
funny, homeowner encounters with wildlife can be downright
hilarious.

Yeah, I know. Bats in your attic are not something you want,
unless you happen to be the Herman Munster family. If you have
bats or ‘possums or any of a number of other critters living in
your house, you probably want to get rid of them. That’s when you
call your county Extension Service agent to find out what you can
do.

Cornered ‘possum

Some time ago, my friend Donnie, or rather her husband Paul, had
a really close encounter with an opossum. Opossums like to take
shelter in burrows of other animals, tree cavities and brush
piles. But sometimes they den in attics and garages.

That’s where Donnie and Paul found it — in the attic above the
kitchen.

Now, getting it out was a problem, because the ‘possum wouldn’t
leave on its own. So they began to tear the ceiling down in the
kitchen. But every time Donnie and Paul would tear a piece of
ceiling down, the ‘possum would move.

Finally, they had it in the corner of the kitchen on the last
piece of ceiling. Donnie was bound and determined to get that
‘possum, so she pulled the last piece down.

And that old ‘possum fell right on Paul’s head. Donnie said she
laughed so hard that she nearly wet her — well, never mind.

Snake in a drawer

Snakes often find their way into homes. They can make for funny
situations, too.

A few years ago, when I was a boy — OK, so it was many years ago
— I went into the house to get a needle out of my mother’s
sewing machine drawer so I could remove a splinter from my
finger. My mother, who is terribly afraid of snakes, was reclined
in her La-Z-Boy chair, next to the sewing machine.

When I opened the drawer, I was shocked to find, coiled on top of
the spools of thread, a huge, black snake. I yelled “Mama!
There’s a snake in the drawer!” Well, she didn’t believe me. So I
opened the drawer again so she could see for herself.

Oh, you should have seen it — Mom trying to get out of the
La-Z-Boy recliner without putting the foot rest down. She just
couldn’t get the chair to cooperate with her. And I’m not sure if
Mom and the chair turned over backward or forward.

Wildlife conflicts

Skunks, squirrels, rats, birds and bats — they all can get into
our homes on occasion. And one thing is certain — as the human
population increases and we move out into habitat suitable for
wildlife, we will have humans-and-wildlife conflicts.

Yes, wildlife can be a nuisance, and they can cause damage. But
they may just be in the wrong place at the right time.

And wouldn’t we miss them if they weren’t here?

But if you ever see beavers flying….

(Mike Isbell is the Heard County Extension Coordinator with
the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences.)