Vertebrate Pests
Vertebrate Pests - Birds, Mammals, and Reptiles
A vertebrate is an animal with a backbone. It’s a diverse group including warm-blooded animals like squirrels and rats, crows and hummingbirds, and cold-blooded types like snakes and lizards.
Birds
• Feed on insects and help control populations
• Pollinate plants
• Food source for larger beneficial predators
• Can damage or consume tender, ripening fruits from trees and beds
• May spread disease and pests like mites, lice, or fleas
> Birds on fruits and vines
> Wild Turkeys
Mammals
• Large diverse group of fur bearing animals
• Serve as predators for lower-level pests
• Damage or destroy by feeding on plants, burrowing underground, eating, or disturbing roots, consuming garbage, pet food, and building nests
• Can be very persistent, even if harassed
• May spread pests that are vectors for disease (e.g., rats with fleas, deer with ticks)
> Deer, More on Deer
> Deermouse
> Gophers, More on Gophers
> Ground Squirrel
> Moles
> Raccoons, More on Raccoons
> Rats, More on Rats
> Skunks, More on Skunks
> Squirrels
> Voles
Reptiles
• Include snakes, and lizards
• Scaly, impermeable skin that does not need to stay moist
• Most lay leathery-shelled eggs on dry land
• Predators of birds, mice, insects, and plants