Living With Wildlife: Tips for Co-Existing With Bears, Coyotes, Raccoons and Peacocks

From the city of Arcadia:

Part of Arcadia’s beauty comes from our close proximity to the foothills, an area that is abundant with wildlife. It is important to be aware of how to interact with animals such as bears, coyotes, raccoons, mountain lions, snakes and peacocks. We need to coexist with these animals:

• If you live in an area populated by wildlife, make sure your trash is secured. Do not leave pet food or small pets outside and always watch your children.
• Trash cans should not be placed on the curb until the day of pick-up.
• Eliminate odors by double-bagging smelly garbage and cleaning trash bins regularly with a deodorizer, such as ammonia, to reduce food odors that attract bears. A great way to keep wildlife out of your outside garbage bins is to soak sponges or rags in ammonia and place them inside your cans. Ammonia gives off a very strong smell that the animals do not like and it also masks the smell that attracts the animals in the first place. Frequently wash garbage cans and recycling containers and lids with a strong smelling disinfectant such as ammonia or bleach solutions, or use a heavy- duty pine-scented cleaner.
• Put meat scraps in the freezer until trash day.
• Do not get between a mother and her young.
• Do not touch or pet the animal.
• The crawl space under your house is appealing to wildlife. Secure all ground-level access points. Inspect the base of your home for ripped screens, holes or missing boards, and make any necessary repairs.
• Cover any window wells at the base of your home. Open space under a deck is perfect for a wild animal looking to set up a nursery. Building a boundary is the best way to exclude animals from getting under the deck.
• Raccoons are the most common culprits to tear up a roof to get into the attic. To minimize their access to your roof, trim branches away from the side of the house and remove ivy and trellises.
• Animals can get into your chimney both purposefully and accidentally. By installing a chimney cap you can prevent squirrels and raccoons from establishing residence and keep birds from falling down the chimney.

Most wildlife poses little threat to humans as they have a natural fear of people and are not comfortable in unnatural surroundings. However, with a significant water shortage and the destruction of food sources by fire, animals are getting braver about coming down into residential neighborhoods. If you are being threatened by a wild animal, call 911 or the Arcadia Police Department at 574-5151.

The California Department of Fish and Game has primary jurisdiction over wildlife. However, it has extremely large areas of responsibility with minimal resources and is not always able to respond promptly. The Arcadia Police Department works with the Department of Fish and Game in mutually supportive efforts to address local issues and problems.

What do I do if I see a coyote?

If you see a coyote wandering the streets that is not causing harm, there is nothing to do other than perhaps trying to scare it away if you are walking nearby. If you are walking with a small child or animal, you would certainly want to pick them up and remove yourself, the child and the animal from the situation.

If a coyote approaches you or comes in your yard...

...be as big, mean and loud as you can. Make loud noises, throw rocks in the animal’s direction, spray it with a hose, rapidly open an umbrella in its direction, shake a can filled with pennies, or use an air-horn to scare it away. If it continues to approach, do not run and instead retain eye contact, pick up small pets and children and move slowly away. Coyotes have been scared off properties by people waving brooms, making noise, throwing tennis balls or other objects and clapping their hands.

Coyote rollers have been effective in some situations. Installing these rolling metal tubes at the top of a fence denies coyotes the “foothold” to pull themselves up and over a fence, deterring them from repeating the effort.

A special note on peacocks – these birds are part of Arcadia and have acclimated themselves to our neighborhoods, particularly in the vicinity of the Arboretum. Although beautiful to view, peacocks can be a nuisance and should be treated as you would any other bird. Feeding peacocks on private property is strongly discouraged and feeding them on public property is not allowed.