# Neighbor placing food scraps in suburban yard to attract wildlife **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 7, 2022, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbor-placing-food-scraps-in-suburban-yard-to-attract-wildlife/962455 "2022-04-07T14:48:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbor-placing-food-scraps-in-suburban-yard-to-attract-wildlife/962455/21 "2022-04-07T18:51:55Z")
This is somewhat off topic (to say it mildly) but has anyone ever eaten a skunk? I have done mice, rats and various other vermin (no squirrels yet), and a variety of small mammals. Seems to me that your neighbours are providing access to easy picking protein. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbor-placing-food-scraps-in-suburban-yard-to-attract-wildlife/962455/22 "2022-04-07T19:21:14Z")
We regularly have moose, bear, coyote and fox where I live. Along with the little critters. It’s just a bad, bad idea to feed them. And while they think they are helping them, they are not. They will become dependent on you. If they can’t find their own natural sustenance, they are not where they should be. I welcome moose to come eat our ‘grass’ and willows. I don’t ever chase them away. I feel that if anything, I’m encroaching on their habitat. It’s very tempting to toss them an apple (or a dozen) but it’s just not right. Same with bear. But I will chase one away it appears to be scooping out our house. I’m very cautions when leaving the house. Especially in fall and spring for bear. Moose are cool, but I fear my dogs might chase one. The dogs would get their asses kicked. Moose aren’t afraid of anything here for good reason. Moose and bear look slow and lumbering. but they are not. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbor-placing-food-scraps-in-suburban-yard-to-attract-wildlife/962455/23 "2022-04-07T19:34:20Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Our biggest complaint is w/ skunks - which we consider vermin. I think they ought to be trapped and removed - I CERTAINLY believe they ought not be encouraged. Removed = killed. The wild animals were there before you. Although massive feeding- besides bird feeders, etc- is wrong. I think the resident wildlife should be left alone. We used to have skunks in the area, and they were cute. Our neighbor illegally trapped and killed them. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbor-placing-food-scraps-in-suburban-yard-to-attract-wildlife/962455/24 "2022-04-07T20:21:35Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Removed = killed. Yeah, that is IL law. It’s because they can carry rabies. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbor-placing-food-scraps-in-suburban-yard-to-attract-wildlife/962455/25 "2022-04-07T20:22:51Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The wild animals were there before you. On the contrary, suburban lifestyles have been a bonanza for various forms of wildlife who move in and multiply. In addition to well-intentioned folk feeding them, there are dog and cat bowls to eat and slurp from, and lots of lovely garbage to get into. Deer populations have boomed in the suburbs - there’s a mix of open space and woods (just what they like), no predators or hunting, and thoughtful homeowners have planted lots of tasty things for them to eat. The top nuisance critters on my list right now are squirrels, including the ones who dig holes in the garden and the fat-assed specimen who enjoys chewing the paint off the porch flooring. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbor-placing-food-scraps-in-suburban-yard-to-attract-wildlife/962455/26 "2022-04-07T20:45:02Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Same with bear. But I will chase one away it appears to be scooping out our house. Wow, you must have big bears if they can scoop your whole house out of the ground! 😀 There’s a lot of people who don’t get the difference between living with nature versus screwing up nature. In my experience it happens everywhere from urban to rural and code enforcement seems to vary quite a bit. Mostly lack of funding, I think. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbor-placing-food-scraps-in-suburban-yard-to-attract-wildlife/962455/27 "2022-04-07T22:03:31Z")
So can any mammal. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbor-placing-food-scraps-in-suburban-yard-to-attract-wildlife/962455/28 "2022-04-07T22:11:49Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The wild animals were there before you. Hmm. Interesting position. So, if a mouse makes its way into your house, just live and let live, right? Mice can be cute. Your cat gets fleas or your kid catches lice? Ants or termites move in? Just wondering where/if you personally draw the line and why. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbor-placing-food-scraps-in-suburban-yard-to-attract-wildlife/962455/29 "2022-04-07T22:43:14Z")
You house is one thing, your yard is another, and you know that. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbor-placing-food-scraps-in-suburban-yard-to-attract-wildlife/962455/30 "2022-04-07T22:47:16Z")
> [@chela](#): > > People need to understand they are not doing wildlife any favors by feeding them. They can find and forage for food well enough on their own. I haven’t read much farther than this post, but I’ll speak to this point. I doubt she’s doing it out of concern for the animals’ welfare. Foxes are clever creatures that can get plenty of food on their own, as you point out. But they’re very cute and photogenic, and that’s probably what she’s going for. They’re also territorial and potentially dangerous, as they can carry rabies, as someone else pointed out. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbor-placing-food-scraps-in-suburban-yard-to-attract-wildlife/962455/31 "2022-04-07T23:16:31Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > **carrps** - Yeah, there are coyotes - and deer - all over the place, tho mostly in parks, forest preserves, and along streams and expressways. But generally not terribly active IN the neighborhoods. Something to keep an eye on, though, especially if people are leaving “free food” out. We’ve had a number of pets eaten by coyotes in my neighborhood…and several attempted snatchings (including one of my dogs). It’s been a long educational process to impress on people that, no, you do not leave food out for the cute possoms. You’ll end up attracting much more dangerous critters. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbor-placing-food-scraps-in-suburban-yard-to-attract-wildlife/962455/32 "2022-04-08T00:29:06Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > You house is one thing, your yard is another, and you know that. No - I don’t. Appropriately, this is IMHO. > [@carrps](#): > > We’ve had a number of pets eaten by coyotes in my neighborhood Yeah - my sister lives about 1.5 miles E of me, and she sees coyotes far more frequently than I. A neighbor of hers was walking a little yap dog on a leash, and didn’t realize a coyote was almost w/in snatching distance of her dog. In our neighborhood, maybe a couple of times a year I’ll see one running down a street. Almost always my initial thought is, “Boy, that’s a mangy looking shepherd!” But they are all over the place - along expressways, on the golf courses… I think I read once along the lines of what **Jackmannii** posted, that some limited number such as raccoons, deer, and coyotes are actually doing BETTER with civilization, than before. Plenty of food, fewer predators… ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbor-placing-food-scraps-in-suburban-yard-to-attract-wildlife/962455/33 "2022-04-08T00:34:48Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Almost always my initial thought is, “Boy, that’s a mangy looking shepherd!” LOL. Exactly. ---
**Author:** ![dummygladhands71](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c0e974/32.png) [@dummygladhands71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dummygladhands71)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbor-placing-food-scraps-in-suburban-yard-to-attract-wildlife/962455/34 "2022-04-08T04:11:09Z")
It’s illegal here in Arizona. IDK about your state, but you might check. Do you have a Dept. of Fish and Game or the like? Offenders can be fined. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbor-placing-food-scraps-in-suburban-yard-to-attract-wildlife/962455.md?page=1)