Otters will usually stay out of your way; they are more likely to be in the water hunting for fish as that is the staple of their diet rather than on a person’s property foraging for dinner. However these curious creatures will also get close to your home for a quick meal. That means that the vegetable garden that you have worked so hard to grow can be the otter’s meal of the day. That curiosity is what makes them pests but it is nothing that cannot be gotten under control. Keep in mind that otters are necessary for the ecosystem and if you are planning to get rid of them it should be done by trapping and releasing. They are not likely to become a pest so when you release you can do so away from people, but you do not need to go far to do it. It is also critical that you check with the local laws and regulations regarding this animal as in some areas it is protected.
Prevention
The otter will be attracted to your vegetable garden so you should make the garden difficult for the otter to get to. Fencing it will keep otters and other types of wildlife away. You can also try repellents, such as mothballs or commercial products, which can be effective in keeping the otters away. If you do not want to spend the money on a commercial repellent you can use some of the things you may already have in your home. Some people suggest that Listerine works as an otter repellent. There are other types of repellents that you can make in your own home; a little research will get you far. Predator urine can also be effective and can be obtained at hunting stores everywhere, the idea is to simply scare the animal away from making living quarters on your property but to do so without hurting the otter.
Catching Otters
Catching otters may take more than a few hours, but that does not mean that they are that difficult to trap. You want to make sure that you disturb their sleeping patterns, which will make it a lot easier to trap them. Try noise and a battery operated flashing lights. If you think the noise and the lights would keep you up they will have the same effect on an otter. You can also try using some sort of smell in the den, if you have a cat you are in luck. Placing some of the used cat litter in the otter’s den will get it to vacate it. That means that catching it may not even be necessary.
Traps
Otter traps are available in many hunting stores, and most of them are thankfully non-lethal. In addition to that, many of the staff at these stores is more than capable of helping you select what items you’re most interested in. The reason for that is that killing otters may be illegal in your area; in fact it is illegal in most of the areas. If you do not feel like waiting to trap the otters you can hire someone else to do it. A company which specializes in catch and release would be the most appropriate for an otter problem. This way they will have a solid understanding of the best habitat to release the lost otter into. They will come to the area, and make sure that the otters are captured and they will relocate them to a more suitable habitat. In addition, they will generally assist with the damage the otters caused. Otters are most of the time not pests, so when they do become one it is our responsibility to get them to an area where they will not cause any damage.
Other otter information: