CRITTER CONTROL

Please Keep Willow Creek Clean!! Or please pick up the doggie do!
DOG BAG DISPENSERS
Due to the annual costs of replacing the bags in the dog poop bag dispensers (nearly $1,200/year) the Grounds Committee has decided to remove the dispensers and rely solely on dog owners to bring their own bags and/or voluntarily refill the black round bag dispensers with recycled grocery or newspaper bags. The five locations with recycled bag dispensers and waste receptacles will remain on the posts and be dumped weekly by JBK. It has been difficult to keep these bag dispensers refilled due to the continued theft of large quantities of bags from the dispensers.

The COYOTE PROBLEM
Advice on COYOTE Encounters: August 2011
This is the time of year when coyote pups leave their dens and are taught how to hunt for food. Centennial residents may see more coyotes and their pups out and about in backyards, neighborhoods, and in open spaces.

Coyotes are attracted to neighborhoods due to the availability of their natural food sources, pet food, birdfeeders, compost piles and garbage. Please keep these attractants away and securely fastened. In addition, pets may be easy prey for coyotes. To ensure pet safety cats should stay indoors and small dogs should be accompanied outdoors. Pets should be on a leash at all times. Stay in well-lit areas and keep a whistle handy. If small dogs must be kept outdoors daily or at night, the City strongly recommends a fully enclosed dog run secured to the house.

The following measures have been reported to work well in hazing and in actively co-existing with wildlife in our urban areas. If approached by a coyote practice the following hazing techniques:
* Wave arms and yell in an authoritative voice
* Bang pots and pans
* Spray with garden hose
* Throw rocks, sticks, tennis balls and any non-edible items toward the coyote
* Use air horns or whistles
* Motion detection yard lights
* Coyote Can Shaker - soda can with pennies wrapped in aluminum foil sealed with duct tape. Shake to make noise or throw toward the coyote

* Do NOT feed coyotes- it is illegal to feed coyotes in the state of Colorado. Please report individuals feeding coyotes to the Colorado Department of Wildlife at (303) 291-7227.
When using hazing techniques it is very important to change the hazing method used each time. It is important to continue hazing until the coyote leaves the area.

THE RABBIT PROBLEM
Just Laugh, Don’t Eat Rabbits & Please Keep Your Gun Locked Up
What did the bunny say when he only had thistles to eat? Thistle have to do!...
How do you know when you're eating rabbit stew? When it has hares in it....
Why are rabbits like calculators? They both multiply a lot.
How do you make a rabbit stew? Keep it waiting.

Having lived in Willow Creek for many years, I miss the natural predators that used to keep the rabbit population in check – Great Horned Owls & the foxes. It seems to me now the rabbits are so out of control that sometimes all you can do is laugh about it

It is UNLAWFUL to discharge a firearm within city limits. Furthermore, it is illegal in Centennial to fire a bow or cross bow. The Colorado Department of Wildlife requires a permit and hunter education. There are other restrictions on slingshots, snares and traps, which basically results in manual capture only. In addition, rabbits carry and spread disease: plague, tularemia, leptospirosis, Colorado tick fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and Lyme’s disease.

Department of Wildlife recommends:
Some garden centers carry different ‘rabbit’ repellent sprays for your plants and advise gardeners to plant flowers & bushes that give off a strong smell – lavender, Russian sage, as rabbits do not like the smell. Another suggestion is to place mothballs around your plants.