Help.. Badgers!!

angelfire9

Following on from roadworks at the back of my parents house their garden has become a new home for a family of badgers, they have already damaged quite an amount of the vegetables growing in the garden and my mother is going mad, can anyone suggest how to deal with this?
While i am not a big fan of badgers i am not exactly overjoyed with the idea of setting traps and or shooting them, its not their fault their setts have been disturbed but i would like to move them on if possible.
Badgers in an urban environment where there are young kids around is a cause for concern. They appear to be living in the wooded area at the base of the garden where there are apple trees and climbing trees for the kids and i don't want anyone to get hurt by accidently disturbing them, to say nothing of the damage they might do to the trees, any help would be appreciated!

lightening

Wow... lucky kids. Do you get to see them at night? They are very nocturnal and dig very very deep. There is little chance of the kids every seeing them. They will however clear the snails and slugs from your mothers veg...

angelfire9

lightening wrote: »

Wow... lucky kids. Do you get to see them at night? They are very nocturnal and dig very very deep. There is little chance of the kids every seeing them. They will however clear the snails and slugs from your mothers veg...

They seem to be too busy clearing the veg for that, besides that's what the hedgehogs are for!:)

The Artist

angelfire9 wrote: »

Following on from roadworks at the back of my parents house their garden has become a new home for a family of badgers, they have already damaged quite an amount of the vegetables growing in the garden and my mother is going mad, can anyone suggest how to deal with this?
While i am not a big fan of badgers i am not exactly overjoyed with the idea of setting traps and or shooting them, its not their fault their setts have been disturbed but i would like to move them on if possible.
Badgers in an urban environment where there are young kids around is a cause for concern. They appear to be living in the wooded area at the base of the garden where there are apple trees and climbing trees for the kids and i don't want anyone to get hurt by accidently disturbing them, to say nothing of the damage they might do to the trees, any help would be appreciated!

i dont think there anything you can do to move them on.Has your garden have fencing by any chance.
i know its terrible about the veg as they love anything.Ive seen loads of programs of badgers and its a thrill to see them up close.
imo i doubt they can be moved as its there home spot.
Fencing may be the solution?

lightening

angelfire9 wrote: »

They seem to be too busy clearing the veg for that, besides that's what the hedgehogs are for!:)

Well, its up to you, which is more important, Irish wildlife or your ma's veg.

angelfire9

davey180 wrote: »

i dont think there anything you can do to move them on.Has your garden have fencing by any chance.
i know its terrible about the veg as they love anything.Ive seen loads of programs of badgers and its a thrill to see them up close.
imo i doubt they can be moved as its there home spot.
Fencing may be the solution?

The garden is enclosed by a 6ft wall they got in under it, they only arrived over the weekend so it's not their home yet, they don't even have a proper sett yet which is why i was hoping to shift them asap

lightening wrote: »

Well, its up to you, which is more important, Irish wildlife or your ma's veg.

In this case my mother's veg, the middle of the town is not the safest place for badgers anyway!

The Artist

angelfire9 wrote: »

The garden is enclosed by a 6ft wall they got in under it, they only arrived over the weekend so it's not their home yet, they don't even have a proper sett yet which is why i was hoping to shift them asap


In this case my mother's veg, the middle of the town is not the safest place for badgers anyway!

im not much of a builder.
So they are getting underneath,burying their way through? or you have gaps under the wall?
usually a wall has surely got foundation?(cemented)
IS your house private or council house.

Nevyn

I suggest you ring the ISPCA or animal control in your area to see about getting them moved.

angelfire9

davey180 wrote: »

im not much of a builder.
So they are getting underneath,burying their way through? or you have gaps under the wall?
usually a wall has surely got foundation?(cemented)
IS your house private or council house.

It's a private house now but was built by OPW so god knows what kind of foundation the wall has

Thaedydal wrote: »

I suggest you ring the ISPCA or animal control in your area to see about getting them moved.

I tried, was my first port of call but the Dog warden won't get involved and there is no one else in a 40 mile radius!

The Artist

angelfire9 wrote: »

It's a private house now but was built by OPW so god knows what kind of foundation the wall has


I tried, was my first port of call but the Dog warden won't get involved and there is no one else in a 40 mile radius!

my only sudjestion is to cover where they are comming in for time being and ring the council in the morning or as what

Originally Posted by Thaedydal
I suggest you ring the ISPCA or animal control in your area to see about getting them moved

As for covering,somthing like a bin cover(No veg on it!),cover the hole and weigh it down with something heavy.

meathstevie

As far as I know the only people allowed to interfere with badgers and their setts are employees of the NPWS and the Dept. of Agriculture or their licenced agents.

Bit of stupid question, is there a dog in the garden ?

angelfire9

meathstevie wrote: »

As far as I know the only people allowed to interfere with badgers and their setts are employees of the NPWS and the Dept. of Agriculture or their licenced agents.

Bit of stupid question, is there a dog in the garden ?

No dog, why?
And there is no sett as such.. yet!

The Artist

meathstevie wrote: »

As far as I know the only people allowed to interfere with badgers and their setts are employees of the NPWS and the Dept. of Agriculture or their licenced agents.

Bit of stupid question, is there a dog in the garden ?

if there was a dog in the garden the badgers wouldnt be there imo.

gerky

Badgers are a protected species so contact the National Parks & Wildlife Service, heres their contact info LINK they will be able to help you.
Also make sure to tell them about the roadworks as if the workers disturbed the sett they committed an illegal act.

angelfire9

gerky wrote: »

Badgers are a protected species so contact the National Parks & Wildlife Service, heres their contact info LINK they will be able to help you.
Also make sure to tell them about the roadworks as if the workers disturbed the sett they committed an illegal act.

If the workers disturbed the sett i don't think they had much choice in the matter they knocked down a wall and a big chunk of railway line and i think probably the sett was on the railway bank?

Grizzly 45

Badgers are protected under the Wildlife Act 1976.It is an offence to disturb them or their sett.Soo I would say a call to Coilte or the dept of the Enviroment,to get a ranger out to move them if at all possible.Maybe try Badgerwatch as well for advice on shifting them legally.

gerky

angelfire9 wrote: »

If the workers disturbed the sett i don't think they had much choice in the matter they knocked down a wall and a big chunk of railway line and i think probably the sett was on the railway bank?

What I mean is that if they knew the sett was there and went ahead with the work without contacting NPWS then they committed an illegal act, and even if they didn't realize it was there until they disturbed it, which is possible they would still be supposed to let the proper authorities know.

Either ways contacting the NPWS is your best bet as they will probably send out the local ranger or something.
Don't under any circumstances let anyone harm the animals as this is highly illegal and there's absolutely no need for it.


I hope this helps.

The Artist

Originally Posted by angelfire9
If the workers disturbed the sett i don't think they had much choice in the matter they knocked down a wall and a big chunk of railway line and i think probably the sett was on the railway bank?

:mad:
im shocked to hear that the workers doing this.Surely they should have known the regulations on the wildlife laws.
obivously they didnt imo.
whoever in charge of the job or workers will be in trouble if the law stated by gerky is genuine.
As i know some stories you cant cut down hedges at a certain time of year as the bird breeding season i think?

seandugg

~Mod edit~ Hunting and eating badgers is illegal. Poster banned and infraction issued.

angelfire9

gerky wrote: »

What I mean is that if they knew the sett was there and went ahead with the work without contacting NPWS then they committed an illegal act, and even if they didn't realize it was there until they disturbed it, which is possible they would still be supposed to let the proper authorities know.

Either ways contacting the NPWS is your best bet as they will probably send out the local ranger or something.
Don't under any circumstances let anyone harm the animals as this is highly illegal and there's absolutely no need for it.
I hope this helps.

Cheers Gerky, i wouldn't have actually thought of the NPWS at all, dept. of agriculture and ISPCA were top of my list, will ring them today and see what they say.
As for the builders i genuinely doubt they had any idea they had disturbed a sett, the side of the railway where they are working is very steep and covered in masses of foliage and bushes and things and they were working from the top down so they would have done the damage without realising it (i am making an assumption that the sudden arrival of badgers in the neighbourhood is related to the roadworks i don't know that for a fact), sure we'll see what happens i'll keep ye posted!

Morganna

Wow i would be thrilled to have badgers on my land .They love honey nuts and raisins .Have you tried badgr watching i would say you re priveleged to have them

BryanL

try and borrow an , electric fence, for a few days and fence your garden, quickly.
Bryan

Vegeta

I know a fox hates the smell of human pee but I am not sure if badgers are the same. You could get a male friend to pee in the corners of the garden for a short term solution and see if it works.

Yeah the Ennis bypass in Clare is a joke. Straight through the habitat of a load of animals, maybe all the legal requirements were followed but still, its annoying.

stevoman

OP, call your local Dept of agriculture district vetinary office. they should be able to help you with that. there is one in each county. an agricultural officer should be able to help. what county are you in i can get you a number?

ps - its highly illegal to tamper with a badger set so make sure to let the dept know!

Sigma Force

Poor badgers, there should be a way of cementing in the base of the wall.
NPWS is the way to go though.

For more general info on badgers there's this site
http://www.badgerwatch.ie/

Interesting to see how you get on, in the mean time a temporary fence mabey around the veggie patch unless it's strong though they will be able to get through it.

The Artist

Guineapigrescue wrote: »

Poor badgers, there should be a way of cementing in the base of the wall.

yes i thought that too as i replied on one of my posts
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=55981657&postcount=7
angelfire9 has already got a wall and yes cementing the under the wall would be best solution imo.
As that wont be cheap to get done by a builder,im sure the council would be able to if angelfire9 called them?

angelfire9

Alan Ford wrote: »

yes i thought that too as i replied on one of my posts
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=55981657&postcount=7
angelfire9 has already got a wall and yes cementing the under the wall would be best solution imo.
As that wont be cheap to get done by a builder,im sure the council would be able to if angelfire9 called them?

Council won't do it, even though it's their fault the problem exists IMHO, rang NPWS today they are coming out tommorrow, in the meantime they advised that a trench be dug around the vegetable patch and a fence laid the base of which goes at least 2ft under ground level so that the badgers will be discouraged from trying to get in, was advised NOT TO bring in a dog as the badgers could break it's neck and/or legs if threatened (this being the time of year that mammy / daddy badger would be seeking food for cubs!

meathstevie

Sounds plausible that the sett was in the railway embankment. Badgers love that sort of thing. It's nice and dry and it allows them to dig quite deep.

I wouldn't say that the lads doing the roadworks were doing anything illegal. You can't open up the public road without authorisation from the local council or the state body under who's jurisdiction the road falls so there shouldn't be any problem with public works taking priority over a badger sett from a legal point of view.