Living With Wildlife

The mountains of western North Carolina provide a diverse and beautiful habitat for wildlife. The valleys, mountain peaks and everything in between offer preferred climates for a variety of animals. Our area is lush with deer, turkey, beaver, groundhogs, raccoons, skunks, ducks, geese, bear, bats, coyotes, and many other wildlife. Some of these animals are native to our area, some are not.

Our mountains are beautiful and appealing to people from all other areas of our country. Part of this appeal is the wildlife, flora and fauna of our area. This appeal has led to a population explosion in our area and an over abundance of development. Development encroaches on wildlife habitat and forces the wildlife to interact with people. Our developing pushes wildlife out and their survival instincts cause them to push back. Furthermore, the exotic plants and landscaping that many developments use are enticing to many wildlife animals.

Not only is developing a problem for wildlife, but the reduced amount of land for safe hunting has taken away some of the natural controls that hunting has provided in the past. Hunting helps keep wildlife in balance. The lack of hunting and trapping along with development all contribute to an imbalance in wildlife. We end up with occasional interaction between wildlife and humans. The state allows for three options when dealing with nuisance wildlife. You can learn to co-exist, get a permit to remove problem animals within the guidelines of the permit, or hire a professional to deal with the issues for you.

My job is to teach you how to live with the wildlife or if that is not possible, to create solutions to deter the wildlife from your area. If that is not possible then my job is to help remove the problem wildlife in the most humane and safe way possible as aloud by law.