It is food that attracts rodents, not the birds. If you have wild bird feeders in your back yard, you run the same risk. Keep all feed in metal garbage cans, with secure lids. Feed birds in small doses, so as not to have a large amount of food left over. If you feed your birds scraps/ protein, make sure it is eaten and not left in the bedding.

Bluebirds are really grassland birds. It is difficult to attract them to urban or heavily wooded property. Most bluebirds prefer open fields with one or two large oak trees, pastures, vineyards, old orchards or large mowed yards with selected medium-sized trees for nest guarding. Nest boxes should be placed out in the open on fence posts or metal poles not nestled into groves of trees. Bluebirds are primarily insect eaters.

The Northern Cardinal is likely the "most wanted" bird by homeowners. But, while it comes to many backyards, some people never seem to seethem. Cardinals are often nervous about going into the open, so if your yard is quite open, try planting shrubs and small trees. Not only will they provide perches and cover in the winter, they provide fruit and nesting sites in the summer months. Try species such as dogwoods, ninebark and nannyberry.

They will eat just about anything! There are commercial poultry foods available at local feed stores, or you can make your own mix. People feed chickens corn, oats, wheat, rye, soy, fresh greens from the garden (weeds as well), table scraps (they love spaghetti!), worms and other bugs. The local grocery stores and markets often have vegetable scraps available. Variety is the key to good health, just like us!

The combined distributions of the New World rats and mice cover all of North, Central, and South America. Therefore, HPS is not just a problem in the Southwestern U.S. Since the discovery of Sin Nombre virus, HPS cases have been recognized in 30 states of the U.S., in Canada, and six countries in Latin America.

This is very difficult, if not impossible to achieve. As ticks are very susceptible to desiccation, removing trees and shrubs will increase the amount of light to the ground, thereby decreasing the humidity levels and making conditions unfavourable for tick survival. Often this involves considerable environmental destruction and is not advisable.

That will depend on the caretaker. Just like any other pet or animal, they need care--cleaning out the dirty bedding in the coop, keeping it dry and having a clean/dry area of sand or dirt for the birds to take dust bathes in. These practices will all help to keep your birds happy, healthy and odor free.

The key to safe chickens is a sturdy, impenetrable coop. Raccoons should be more of a concern, they are such clever, determined critters. .Make sure the structure is secure (enclosed top, fencing buried below ground under the sides, secure latches on doors or other entryways), keep all birds locked in at night, letting them out into the run or "tractor" only during the day.

These "vectors" have been shown to carry a variety of disease-causing organisms. Some of these organisms are the cause of Salmonellosis, Shigellosis, Leptrospirosis, and a variety of other food-borne illnesses. The problem with rodent bait in a food facility is that rodents may carry the poisonous bait in their mouths and drop the bait throughout the facility, contaminating food, food contact surfaces, and food related items.

The straw bale walls will be covered with about 1.5 inches of hard, earthen plaster on both the inside and outside, creating a very strong deterrent to critters. And unlike hay, the straw itself has no nutritional value -- it is the stalk that remains after the seed heads, such as wheat or hemp, are removed.

No. Bats are actually more closely related to humans than mice. Most people are surprised at this mainly because of their wings, but all the wings are is the forearm and fingers, which have been elongated with a thin skin membrane between them.

Simple Solution pads are uniquely treated with a safe proprietary formula to attract pets. Based on studies preformed at Texas A & M University, the combination of pheromones and scent attractants has been proven to be a safe and effective luring technique to housetrain canines. This special blend of components increases the likelihood puppies will eliminate on the pad. Best of all, they are odorless to humans.

In 2004, scientists completed a study on the permanent de-facto marine reserve around the Cape Canaveral rocket launch site. They tagged fish inside and outside the reserve and followed their movements. To everyone's surprise, fish inside stayed inside but those outside migrated into the reserve, never to leave. Inside the reserve, the tagged fish were lost, presumably due to predation. The scientists concluded that the marine reserve acted as a sink (like a bottomless pit) to fish.

The quick answer is No. The real answer is that we have several years worth of projects that we would like to do, and your project, even if it is the greatest place on Earth, would have to wait. Also not every park or school or Boy Scout reservation is suitable. And it costs money. We do have GAOC members who contract their services to make maps. If you're interested, contact the VP of Maps, Kevin Haywood.

No, the Jersey-Atlantic Wind Farm located in Atlantic County, NJ will generate the emission-free wind electricity delivered to the local electric grid. You can find information about the Jersey-Atlantic Wind Farm by clicking here.

Vermicomposting is usually done indoors, so rodents are not an issue. A properly managed worm bin will not create odours that attract rodents. Return to top of page

No. Ferrets are members of the weasel family (as are otters, polecats, etc.). Ferrets were actually domesticated centuries ago, in part to rid barns and homes from rodents.

When buying and handling live chickens, try not to touch them or their droppings. Do not blow at their bottoms. Egg shells may have been contaminated with bird faeces. Wash the outside of eggs and wipe them dry before putting into the refrigerator for storage. Observe food hygiene when cooking chickens and eggs. Always wash your hands thoroughly with liquid soap and water after handling chickens and eggs.

This does not present a risk. At the present time, the H5N1 strain of bird flu that has spread through poultry farms in southeast Asia and into eastern Europe is not present in the U.S. Even if the H5N1 strain were to appear in the U.S., transmission from birds to people would require close contact with birds, such as handling, butchering or exposure to bird droppings.

There are wild chickens. But what Ted means here is, why haven't chickens living in the wild evolved better flight in 5000 years. And the answer is simple: 5000 years is too short a time to do so, not to mention that Ted has demonstrated no selection pressure in that direction, and the gene pool of "escaped chickens" Ted refers to is constantly being "pumped" with fresh escapees.