Special Sections You Will Find Below.
Wildlife Rescuers.
IF YOU FIND A CREATURE STUCK ON A GLUE TRAP, SCROLL DOWN FOR DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS before taking any action.
IF YOU FIND A BAT, SCROLL DOWN TO THE AUSTIN BAT REFUGE INFO.
What is that in my yard? Tips on local wildlife, including co-existing strategies and removal options.
COYOTES live in Lakeway, just like they do all over the Texas Hill Country. Info on living with coyotes is below.
Here is who to call for help with injured/orphaned wildlife.
We are lucky to have licensed experts who can offer advice and even take charge of an injured or orphaned creature.
— Leanne Dupay, permitted wildlife rehabilitator with Texas Parks & Wildlife 512-694-1811. (She lives in The Hills.) If you find injured or orphaned wildlife, she will treat the injuries and release the animal—or raise the orphaned animal and release it in a safe environment away from urban communities. Leanne let me know she can take in needy fawns, raccoons, squirrels, birds, owls, hawks, possums, armadillos, foxes, coyotes, bats, etc.
—Shandra Dettbarn, permitted wildlife rehabilitator with Texas Parks & Wildlife 512-660-3568. If you find injured or orphaned wildlife, she will treat the injuries and release the animal—or raise the orphaned animal and release it in a safe environment away from urban communities.
—City of Austin Animal Services (512-974-2000) serves Lakeway. An Animal Protection Officer will come out and likely take the animal to Austin Wildlife Rescue for care (see below).
—Austin Wildlife Rescue 512-472-9453 https://www.austinwildliferescue.org/ They are an intake center only and do not pick up animals. The facility is at 5401 E. MLK Jr. Blvd., Austin, TX 78721. Hours are Monday – Sunday 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
—All Things Wild is located just north of Georgetown. 512-897-0806 http://allthingswildrehab.org/ Their “Found an animal?” page has specific info on how to handle many species. http://allthingswildrehab.org/found-an-animal/ If appropriate, they may take charge of injured or orphaned wildlife. Their “Contact” page has a lot of helpful info. http://allthingswildrehab.org/contact-us/
NOTE—These animal care-takers are NOT pest control. They will not clean animals out of your attic or get rid of creatures rooting in your yard.
THE HORRORS OF GLUE TRAPS
GLUE TRAPS kill after prolonged suffering. Victims include many unintended creatures—birds, snakes, lizards and more. Nearly all of our local wildlife provides a benefit, and these pages offer strategies for living with them. But, if you decide certain creatures are pests to be gotten rid of, please do so humanely and NOT by using glue traps.
Lakeway is lucky to have an area resident who is both dedicated to our local wildlife AND permitted to rescue and rehabilitate wildlife in Texas. Leanne DuPay (512-694-1811, lives in The Hills, and is a permitted wildlife rehabilitator with Texas Parks & Wildlife) offers this advice about glue traps.
If you find an animal on a glue trap, here is what to do:
1. Drip vegetable oil or Goo Gone to the areas where the animal is stuck. It should come right off.
2. If it is a bird and there is a lot of oil on it, it needs to go to a rehabber because it won’t be able to fly.
3. DO NOT try to pull the animal off without oil. They die because you are ripping their skin.
4. If you have trapped a snake, do not kill it. Text me and I will help.
5. Most of all, STOP USING GLUE TRAPS!
Regarding BATS:
Austin Bat Refuge info@austinbatrefuge.org 512-695-4116, 512-799-8847, 832-275-3860
from the site: Bats are not the cause of COVID-19, nor do they spread the virus. You cannot get COVID-19 from a bat. There is more concern that we may give the virus to bats. Research is ongoing to determine if that is even a possibility. Until we know more, we are exercising an abundance of caution and using PPE to feed and care for bats.
Given all this, rescuing a bat is still pretty straightforward:
Maintain physical distance between you and the bat, and wear a mask (just as you would for any other neighbor). In other words, don’t get your uncovered face close enough to breathe or cough on the bat. Don’t handle the bat, just sweep it very gently into a shoe box with a broom or stick. Or wiggle the stick under the bat until it grabs on, and then lift it into a tree.
We’ll walk you safely through the process, but we may ask you to find, contain, and transport the bat to us. https://austinbatrefuge.org/found-a-bat/
What is THAT in my yard/attic?
Lakeway has many foxes living on the golf courses and in neighborhoods. The Humane Society has good info on dealing with foxes in urban settings. https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/what-do-about-foxes
Don’t confuse a fox (photo just above) with the larger and far more dangerous coyote. Coyotes are also present in Lakeway, and they DO kill pets allowed outside. (Much more on coyotes below.) Photos of coyotes in Texas are here–https://texashillcountry.com/coyotes-texas-dangerous/
Many residents feel wildlife is part of Lakeway’s charm and try to co-exist with our local creatures. After all, they were here first.
Please don’t rush to hire someone to trap and relocate the wild animal that is bothering you. First, most of the companies who tell you they are relocating actually just kill the animal. Second, relocation can be a death sentence; the animal is confused, doesn’t know where to find food and water, and is up against other creatures who already own that territory. Go here for All Things Wild’s take on relocating “nuisance animals.” http://allthingswildrehab.org/2018/08/04/nuisance-animals/
But, if you decide to remove wildlife (from the attic, for example), here are 2 companies reputed to humanely trap and relocate wildlife:
–Critter Control of Austin 512-842-4833 https://www.crittercontrol.com/office-finder/texas/austin
— Care Pest Control 512-792-9520 Kyle@CarePestPros.com www.CarePestPros.com
If the problem is an animal stuck in your chimney, here is a DIY trick to try (make sure that any work on the roof is done SAFELY): Tie knots into the length of a long rope. Lower the rope down into the chimney and secure it above. The animal should be able to climb up the rope and get out on its own. Then, be sure to have a secure chimney cap installed.
Skunks eat insects, rodents and snakes. Spraying is their only defense. They are very near-sighted and timid, so just stay out of their way.
City of Lakeway does NOT trap or remove wildlife from our yards. That includes the adorable armadillo shown above. Armadillos eat ants and the nastier insects (like scorpions) you do NOT want in your yard (or house), so having them around has its advantages.
City of Austin Animal Services (512-974-2000) serves Lakeway. (No, they don’t trap unwanted wildlife, either.) Their Animal Protection Officer for wildlife is Emery Sadkin cell 512-978-0514 emery.sadkin@austintexas.gov If you have raccoons, foxes, skunks, etc., on your property and are unhappy about that, she can offer humane suggestions to get them to move on. Also, she specializes in coyotes in an urban setting (an issue Lakeway is having more and more). If you have questions about wildlife, check with Emery.
Coyotes can be seen and heard in Lakeway, day and night.
Coyotes will kill cats and small dogs–and they can do it faster than you think is possible. Keep cats inside, and never let dogs run loose; even fenced back yards are not completely safe from coyotes. When walking your dog, use a short leash so that you and your dog appear to be one large adversary; coyotes ignore long or extendable leashes, instead registering two smaller adversaries as they decide whether to attack.
Noise scares off coyotes. Yelling might work, but carrying a security whistle on walks is a good idea. Experts recommend HAZING: Make eye contact. Don’t turn away or run. Make any loud noise you can. Try to appear larger than life by waving arms, a jacket or whatever else is handy. (More on hazing is below.)
Make sure your yard doesn’t attract coyotes. Eliminate access to trash and recycling, as well as compost. Never leave pet food in the yard or on the porch. Scrape the BBQ grill. Clean up fruit and nuts as they fall to the ground, and put birdseed in secure feeders. Minimize brush piles, which harbor prey like rodents.
Deter coyotes with motion sensors in your yard that produce light, sound and/or water when an animal passes. If you want to make your backyard safer, coyote rollers can be added to the top of a metal or wooden fence, to discourage coyotes from scaling the fence. (Rollers are aluminum cylinders. They deter coyotes–and large dogs–from jumping a fence. These animals jump upward and then pull themselves over the top of a fence; when grabbed, the cylinders spin, so the animal cannot get traction. Check these fence company sites for photos and info:
— https://www.alliedfence.com/coyote-rollers
— https://coloradocoyoterollers.com
*HAZING: Scare or intimidate coyotes so they leave. The goal is to share SPACE with coyotes but not TIME; they can be in the area when people are not around. That is mostly at night, so discourage them from coming into your area during the day via hazing:
- Maintain eye contact.
- Make NOISE—whistle, airhorn, yelling, clanging pots and pans, etc.
- Wave your arms, whip a jacket over your head, etc. (to seem larger than life).
- Spray a hose at the animal.
- Throw something (NOT food) toward the animal (don’t try to hit it, just unnerve it).
- Be erratic and unpredictable.
- Be aggressive.
- Be persistent. Doing this once won’t be enough; do it every time you see the coyote. Get the whole neighborhood involved.
- Do NOT haze pups, an adult who has pups along, animals around at night, or animals who are far away, cornered, or sick/injured.
- NEVER USE A GUN OF ANY KIND. NEVER USE FIREWORKS TO HAZE AN ANIMAL.
Travis County in late 2021 hosted a 1-hour webinar, Co-Existing with Coyotes, with helpful information and coping strategies from Danielle Gay, City of Austin’s Wildlife Protection Officer. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=611647003620525
The Travis County Wildlife Protection Officer is Officer Gay’s colleague, Emery Sadkin who may be reached by phone at 512-978-0514 or email: emery.sadkin@austintexas.gov. In addition to Lakeway PD, Lakeway residents may also reach out to her about coyotes.
*General coyote info:
- Most active at dusk and dawn. But, coyotes are commonly seen in our area during the daytime. This is NOT indicative of rabies. It means they have habituated to the urban environment and find daytime a good time to hunt for food here.
- Coyotes are NOT hunting people. There is a bigger risk of a person getting bitten by a dog than being attacked by a coyote.
- Coyotes eat rodents, rabbits, insects, snakes, fruit, nuts, plants, etc. They will kill unattended pets, as well as fawns and injured/sick deer.
- Size: 25-35 pounds (but their shaggy coats make them look bigger than they are). Roughly 2’ tall and 4’ long, they are about the size of a Collie or German Shepherd.
- Howling exaggerates their number. Their vocalizations make a few animals sound like a dozen or more.
- Coyotes are native to Texas. There is plenty of food in the Hill Country, in rural and urban areas, plus no predators; wolves used to prey on coyotes, but there are no wolves left here.
- Life cycle: Jan.-March–they mate. April-June—pups (usually 5-7) are born in dens. July-Sept.–pups mostly remain in dens. Oct.-Dec.—pups emerge from dens and soon are sent off on their own.
It is illegal in Texas to trap and relocate coyotes. State laws prohibits relocation, because coyotes are a rabies vector species.
Killing is not the answer. Killing 1 or a few coyotes gives humans a false sense of security; other coyotes will soon replace them. (Instead—change the situation that attracted coyotes to your area.) In a stable pack, ONLY the alpha pair mates and produces pups. When a pack loses a member, it destabilizes. Other coyotes join the pack. More adults mate, producing extra pups. As a result, there are more coyotes than ever. Traps are inhumane, grievously harming wild animals, pets, and even kids. Poisons kill indiscriminately. Guns may NOT be discharged within City of Lakeway; this includes high-powered BB guns and pellet guns.
*Indicates information obtained from the Travis County2021 webinar, Co-Existing with Coyotes outlined above.
Dead Animal Removal
And, when the worst happens, contact Lakeway’s Public Works Department (512-608-9000) for dead animal removal. Or, go here to fill out a form online–
https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/160/Deceased-Animal-Disposal-Service