Great News!!! Though they may be cute from a distance, squirrels can be quite bothersome when they reside in your gutters. Oftentimes, squirrels will use tree branches as bridges to get to your home’s roof. They’ll then make nests in the gutters, soffits, eaves, fascia, chimney, or even chewing through part of the roof to […]
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Poison Risks & Consquences
Consider This: You purchase poison and put the bait out for rodents in your home or yard. Rat/mouse eats poison. Barred Owl swoops down to eat the mouse. Barred Owl dies in a neighborhood, close to your home but not in your yard for you to see. Raccoons find owl carcass and eat parts of […]
Humane Eviction of Raccoons in the Attic
If you have animals in your attic, 99% of the time it is spring time and the animal is a mother, preparing to give birth, or already nursing her young. Most Mothers choose a spot to rear young during January or February and approximately 60 days later they give birth. Typically they have a litter […]
Orphaned Infant Wildlife Do’s & Don’ts
What species of baby did you find? Wildlife baby season is officially upon us here in the Midwest, and while they are adorable to watch out of a window, they also can be quite a problem for many of us. Sometimes it is difficult to see the logic in Mom’s decision to have her babies […]
Mange Gallery
Welcome to our Mange by Mail Gallery page. Many of the foxes and coyotes you see here have been treated successfully using our program and the participants have allowed us to use their photos as examples to help you determine if you are seeing an animal with mange, or a perfectly healthy animal going through […]
Baby Squirrels
If you have found a wildlife baby of ANY kind, first assess the baby’s well being with the following questions: Does Baby feel cold and lethargic? Is Baby covered with parasites (fleas, fly strike or ticks)? Has Baby been in a dog or cat’s mouth? Does Baby have a broken limb or other obvious injury? […]
Baby Skunks
It’s that time of year again! Toward the end of April and throughout the month of May each year baby skunks are born. Normally, the public doesn’t see these babies until they are fully furred and capable of following Mom out of the den at night to go out foraging for bugs. There are a […]
Baby Raccoons
If you have found a wildlife baby of ANY kind, first assess the baby’s well being with the following questions: Does Baby feel cold and lethargic? Is Baby covered with parasites (fleas, fly strike or ticks)? Has Baby been in a dog or cat’s mouth? Does Baby have a broken limb or other obvious injury? […]
Baby Opossums
A lot of people who call the hotline have the wrong idea about opossums. No, they do not have rabies. In fact it is EXTREMELY rare if even POSSIBLE for opossums to get rabies because their body temperature is too low for rabies to survive and replicate well. The usual reason people think they have […]
Baby Groundhogs
Groundhogs and woodchucks are the same species. They are just called by both names. Groundhogs in Missouri and Illinois live just about everywhere. They often are in medians of highways, at highway exit ramps, in the grassy areas around shopping plazas, and people just don’t notice them. They live underground and eat mostly grasses, clover, […]
Baby Coyote or Fox
Many of the calls we receive regarding coyotes and foxes are not technically help calls. They are much more like general education calls more than anything else. When you live in a busy metro area, or a major city, you do not expect to see coyotes/foxes out your back window, but in reality our coyotes/foxes […]
Baby Bunnies
If you have found a wildlife baby of ANY kind, first assess the baby’s well being with the following questions: Does Baby feel cold and lethargic? Is Baby covered with parasites (fleas, fly strike or ticks)? Has Baby been in a dog or cat’s mouth? Does Baby have a broken limb or other obvious injury? […]
Baby Birds
If you have found a wildlife baby of ANY kind, first assess the baby’s well being with the following questions: Does Baby feel cold and lethargic? Is Baby covered with parasites (fleas, fly strike or ticks)? Has Baby been in a dog or cat’s mouth? Does Baby have a broken limb or other obvious injury? […]
Baby Beavers
While ‘baby’ season doesn’t officially start until Valentine’s Day in Missouri & Illinois, we do have one native species that gets the early bird award for their offspring. Beaver babies are born as early as January each year. If you come across a baby beaver with no parents around, give the hotline a call to […]
Turtles
The Wildlife Hotline doesn’t get many calls about turtles or frogs on an average day. No one is calling the hotline with “Help! There’s a turtle in my attic.” or “These frogs keep getting in my trash.” Normally, frogs and turtles don’t cause us much trouble. However, there is a time period in early summer […]
Snakes
A lot of people are absolutely terrified of snakes. Thankfully, we have some really great wildlife specialists at the Hotline that absolutely adore these critters, and are very good at talking the rest of us down from a tree when we see a snake. The Midwest is home to many snakes, but very few of […]
Raptors
Raptors are birds of prey that primarily hunt prey or scavenge for carrion. Raptors include diurnal (chiefly active in the daytime) birds as well as the nocturnal owl. Raptors have three physical characteristics that set them apart from other birds. These include strong grasping feet with sharp talons used to seize prey, a hooked or […]
Owls
Raptors are birds of prey that primarily hunt prey or scavenge for carrion. Raptors include diurnal (chiefly active in the daytime) birds as well as the nocturnal owl. Raptors have three physical characteristics that set them apart from other birds. These include strong grasping feet with sharp talons used to seize prey, a hooked or […]
Geese
From March through May this is our most common call into the hotline concerning waterfowl. Most callers say that the goose is injured, or sick, because why else would a goose sit there and let you approach it so closely? Why else would a goose sit in a traffic lane in a busy parking lot […]
Frogs
The Wildlife Hotline doesn’t get many calls about turtles or frogs on an average day. No one is calling the hotline with “Help! There’s a turtle in my attic.” or “These frogs keep getting in my trash.” Normally, frogs and turtles don’t cause us much trouble. However, there is a time period in early summer […]