How to make your yard critter-friendly, and your home critter-proof
With winter just around the corner, it's time to prepare again for critters like mice and squirrels.
There are things you can do to keep them in your yard, and out of your home.
"It's that time of year again, fall is in the air and you will see a change in the way the wild animals are behaving," says Hope Swinimer, of the Hope For Wildlife animal rehabilitation centre in Seaforth, N.S.
Swinimer says some of these animals might be trying to find a place to spend the winter and suggests a few things to look for.
"Do a really good walk about," Swinimer says. "Make sure there's no easy hiding places for wildlife, like ways to get into the attic or ways to get into your home." At this time of the year, there is a lot more wildlife to be seen and there's a good reason for that.
"They're very frantic to get the food supply they need to make it through the hard winter," Swinimer says. "So if you see a little bit more wildlife than normal, that's, That's OK. This year is a little bit different from other years, too. We're seeing a lot of baby wild animals still arriving here at Hope For Wildlife."
If you see baby animals around your house, Swinimer urges people to be careful.
"Don't ever try and trap out an animal, because you may be orphaning the babies," she said.
Another thing you can do to make your property more welcoming and safe for wild animals is to not rake up leaves or debris from trees.
"Keeping the leaves down on the ground and also providing branches and habitat is good for all of nature," Swinimer said. "It allows the place for insects and salamanders and different reptiles. It also provides a haven for squirrels and some of our smaller species to have a comfortable winter home."
Following these pointers will help you enjoy a little bit of nature in your yard, but keep it out of your home.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
Storage shed or shipping container? B.C. Supreme Court settles long-running bylaw dispute
A long-running dispute over whether a structure on a Surrey property violates a city bylaw that prohibits shipping containers on residential lots has been settled by the B.C. Supreme Court