What do you carry in your truck, or grab from the bookshelf in the office?
On animals or Repairs

Kurt Temple

Kurt, funny as it may seem, when I have a question, I nearly always get the answer here on T-man either in a post or in a PM. I

wonder what size book it would take to answer just the questions that have been asked in the last six months. I caught my first

muskrat in 1955 and I've been asking questions ever since. You would think that 60 years of catching animals would give me all the

answers; not so. Dealing with birds and animals that were nowhere to be found in 1955, I've got more questions now than I did back

then. ( I'm also having as much fun as I did back then, which really makes growing old worthwhile )

Tough question. I carry the nuisance wildlife manual for my state. I can't say I've referenced it, but I have my log in the same folder. I keep printouts of the labels of all pesticides that I carry on the truck. I do reference those from time to time to make sure the pest can be treated with my product or the location is approved. I recently read my label to make sure I could use the product in a fogger.

I think the most important thing you need to do is be able to improvise. Experience and knowledge in how houses are constructed and the behaviors of what you're trapping/excluding help.

I could see where a bird I'D book could be helpful to make sure you don't run up against migratory bird laws.

Having a smartphone helps an awful lot. I can usually get a signal strong enough to google needed info.

You know, Eaten really makes a great point there. Whenever there is a question concerning wildlife habits like breeding period, birth

periods, hibernation, etc. I just consult the Wisconsin DNR on my computer and they pretty much cover my questions. A lot of input

from college students doing research for their different courses. They're even recording trapping on campus now.