What are Invasive Species & Does NC Have Any?
- Posted by AdminBW
- On September 29, 2017
- 0 Comments
The planet naturally develops separate eco-systems on different continents. Each of these reaches a state of balance, with no particular plant or animal able to dominate all the others. What happens though when a species that is evolved for a much harsher, more competitive environment arrives in a place that’s not ready for them? That is the problem of “invasive species.”
These species are from other parts of the world and find themselves in a place where they could thrive without the checks on their population that were in their natural habitats. That’s good news for them, but not for the native plants and animals.
You may be wondering if North Carolina has any invasive plant and animal species, and the answer to that is, yes, indeed we do. Because Critter Control deals with controlling animal pests, we’ll focus on a few of those rather than the plants.
- Fire ants – These ants may be associated with fire both for their red color and for their burning bites. Imported from South America, fire ants first grew in population in the southwest of the United States before moving east towards places like North Carolina.
- Nutria – Another species coming to us from South America, the nutria is a giant rodent sometimes called the swamp rat. After an invasion in Louisiana became uncontrollable, these pests have made their way to North Carolina. They can grow to be 20 pounds, and females will have up to four litters of a dozen young per year.
- Wild boars – Also called wild pigs, feral hogs, and other similar names, wild boars are farm pigs that escaped and adapted to the wild. The problem is, they are no longer the soft, pink animals people imagine. Feral hogs can be larger than the native black bears, have sharp tusks and teeth and are very aggressive. They cause millions in damage per year to farmland and should be considered dangerous.
- Coyotes – While coyotes are called an invasive species by some animal experts, others say their expansion from the western United States is natural and fills the void left by their close relative the red wolf. Either way, they are thriving and living in all 100 counties of North Carolina. In 2015, a Raleigh man was chased by three aggressive coyotes while walking his dog, suggesting some urban coyotes may be getting too comfortable around people.
These invasive critters are no more intimidating to us than the old, native ones though. Critter Control knows what to do when confronted by any of the above species, from the giant nutria rats to overgrown pigs, to coyotes.
Invasive species can cause a lot of damage when they enter an eco-system they are not meant to inhabit. Let us know if you have any problems with these or any other species that isn’t meant in our state, and we’ll quickly and professionally deal with the problem.
Call us at (919) 382-0651 with any critter questions or requests.