Moose are herbivores and some of the least aggressive types of mammals, but they can be troublesome in your yard. When season changes, moose tend to migrate from different places to look for food. To do so, these animals may visit their neighboring areas and find enough food supplies.
To get a moose out of your yard, you can use deer sprays or repellants. Making noises can also help ward them off. For a harmless way, contact the nearest wildlife conservation department. You may also want to consider installing a fence surrounding the trees and your yard to keep them off.
If the mooses aren’t eating your plants and not causing any harm to you nor your property, you can just leave them alone.
In this article, we will tackle several ways to get moose out of your yard, what to do if you see them, why they might visit your place, the types of plants they eat, and how to handle an aggressive moose.
4 Ways to Get a Moose Out of Your Yard
There are several ways to get a moose out of your yard. For example, you can use moose-repellent, make noise, or contact the Wildlife Conservation Department.
Here are four efficient ways to get a moose out of your yard.
- Use a moose-repellent
If pests can be repelled with a specific spray, so can moose. Indeed, there exist deer repellents made of blood meal with a scent that will deter moose off of your yard. The spray also repels other animals like critters, deers, squirrels, voles, and chipmunks.
However, deer-repellent sprays may not be reliable when it comes to warding off the moose. Although they are part of the deer family, they react differently to certain smells, which makes this type of repellent spray ineffective.
You should be cautious when using these repellents as the substance can be blown off by air while you’re spraying. Although it may not smell good, it may work as expected.
- Make noise
Animals have a lot of defense mechanisms, and usually, when they get surprised, they run away, or worse, attack. Making sudden noises to ward off the animals may work. This can be also another effective deterrent in terms of dealing with moose in your yard.
You can either make noises shouting or pounding your cookware. The season can affect the effectiveness of this technique, but it works successfully best in the summertime.
On the other hand, the winter season makes the moose starving and exhausted. Thus, making noises to scare them off may not be effective then. Overall, be careful when trying to do this and keep a safe distance, so they can’t easily charge upon you.
Although making noises can help, this can also cause aggressive behavior, in which case moose might attack those trying to go near them. Therefore, try setting a barrier to prevent them from moving towards you.
- DIY repellent
Aside from using deer spray, you can make your own repellent using Vaseline and pepper. To do so, mix about 43g of red pepper with one Vaseline jar. Apply these onto the plants that can be possibly reached by a moose. The mixture will alter their taste and smell.
The downside of this procedure is that it can result in damages to your plants. If possible, avoid putting the mixture onto all of the leaves, but rather, apply it to a few of them. To proceed, pick a few leaves and apply the mix. What we only aim for here is to prevent them from eating all of your plants.
- Contact the Wildlife Conservation Department
If the moose stays in your yard for a long time, calling a local wildlife conservation department can help. Nothing beats the assistance of experts, who prevent you from getting harmed by the moose. Dealing with it alone is a possibility, but you may encounter unexpected hazards when doing so.
Call the nearest wildlife sectors to help you get a moose out of your yard.
4 Things You Can Do to Discourage a Moose from Coming Into Your Yard
There are several ways to discourage a moose from coming into your yard. For instance, avoid growing moose’s favorite plants, or install a fence that surrounds the yard and trees.
- Avoid moose’s favorite plants
One of the most effective ways to prevent a moose from trespassing into your yard is to avoid planting its favorite plants. You can still set your garden, however, we advise you put up plants that are unattractive to a moose’s senses. Check the several plants that we’ve listed above to make sure to avoid them.
According to the ADF&G, moose eat two categories of plants. Thus, try to build your yard according to this list, especially if your area is regularly visited by moose when the seasons change.
- Install tree fences and rubbing posts
Male moose tend to damage your trees when the mating season is approaching. During this time, they will rub their antlers against the trees. There are several reasons why they are doing this.
When male moose start rubbing, they are either trying to lose weight or remove the velvet that covers their antlers. Indeed, their antlers are covered with velvet fur that comprises the supply of blood. It is a factor that makes their antlers grow.
However, you can prevent moose from damaging your yard by putting up fences around your trees. This will prevent them from rubbing their antlers on the trunks, which can harm your trees. Make sure not to leave space between the middle of the fence and the tree as they can get in.
Your fence should also be put up at a good height since moose are tall. The ideal fence is about 7 feet tall. Strengthen your fence by placing about 3 or 4 posts, and reinforce wire fencing surrounding the wooden fence to prevent the moose from ruining it easily.
Rubbing posts should be placed on the exterior parts of your fences. We recommend an 8-foot pole to bury it about 2 feet into the ground. Ensure the strength by putting cement or anything that can help withstand the force if a moose will try to rub their antlers.
- Install fences surrounding your yard
Once you have put up fences around your trees, you should surround your yard or garden with another fence to protect your plants as well. Moose will enter your yard to eat the plants you have, so you should be vigilant.
Fences are used to deter various animals, not only moose. In this instance, the size of the fence matters to show the moose that they are not allowed to get in. This way of prevention can also avoid using force or getting harmed by them. The taller the fence, the fewer chances for them to enter your yard.
There are many types of fences, such as electric-powered ones, and fences made of woods and wires. Covering the sight of your yard will stop moose from seeing your plants. This way, they won’t penetrate inside your yard and will proceed to different places.
- Leave them alone
If you ever find a moose inside your yard, the next best thing to do is to leave them alone. Damages on your plants and trees will be unavoidable, but it’s better to keep you, your family, and the moose’s safety in mind.
If you notice a moose in your yard that doesn’t touch nor eat your plants, then the best thing to do is to leave them alone. Moose may have not found enough food supply in your yard yet, and will therefore probably stay for 2 or 3 days, before looking for a place with more adequate food.
Leaving moose alone can be a harmless option. However, it allows them to familiarize themselves with your place while staying in your yard. Therefore, expect them to return in the future as they located the food supply they can eat in your garden.
Understanding Why a Moose May Come into Your Yard
Moose are agile and immense mammals who feed on plants and trees. They will possibly visit their neighboring places where there is ample food supply, and chances are that your yard might be a good place for that. Thus, these animals might visit and stay in your yard for days, as it fulfills their food necessities.
Animal Type
Moose are the largest members of the deer species. They are strong and defensive when harassed by humans and other predators. Considering their body built, you probably won’t believe they are a fast type of mammal.
Food Requirements
Moose tend to feed on plants and shrubs. They like to eat almost all kinds of plants but their favorites are lettuce, trees, and cabbages. With such, they will probably stay in places where they can find these types of plants to eat.
These animals will likely visit nearby neighbors, particularly in areas where they can find food. One of the ideal places to do so may be your yard if you have trees, grasses, and plants, which are ideal for their stopover.
Moose will probably stay in your yard for days before transferring to another place. These are usual scenes for some people. However, their actions and intentions to eat can damage your plants or trees. Some may find it fun, but others look into it as a disadvantage.
Now, why do moose visit their neighboring areas for food?
You may think that they can rely on forests for food access. However, the change in season may limit the plants they can eat, especially in the winter, when plants and trees are covered with snow. During these times, these animals start looking for other areas where they can find food for themselves.
The moose’s body is naturally adapted to cold temperatures and climates. Their diet may not be available in the winter in a specific place but they can surely withstand the season. So, if you see one moose wandering in your yard, there is only one reason for that. It will feed on the plants.
Living Condition and Migration
This animal can be seen in the northern areas of the United States, including New York state, Alaska, and New England, as well as other notable countries, like Canada, Poland, and Russia. Most of them are found in forests, close to natural water resources like lakes.
They also migrate when another season comes. During the spring, moose are enticed to go to fields due to the abundant grasses they can eat there. While in the summer, they may move toward lakes, where they can eat aquatic plants.
What Plants do Moose Eat?
Moose are herbivores and eat a wide range of plants. For example, they love to feed on lettuce, cabbages, and trees. Moose mostly eat the bark, twigs, shoots, and roots of a tree plant, specifically aspens and willows.
Moose are found nearby lakes or ponds, where they can eat aquatic plants, like horsetails, lilies, and pondweed in the summer. In the winter, they prefer to eat conifers and balsam fir.
As this animal is an herbivore, it will specifically eat branches, leaves, grasses, and everything that they can spot in your garden. Although, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), moose do favor some plants, such as:
- Cottonwood
- Apples
- Highbush cranberry
- Birch
- Willow
- Quaking aspen
- Labrador tea
- Mountain ash
ADF&G also listed the following plants, which moose will sporadically damage:
- Dogwood
- Fir
- Roses
- Serviceberry
- Raspberry
- Maple
- Pea Shrub Norway spruce
- Pine
- Lilac
- Barberry
- Silverberry
- Juniper
- Amur chokecherry
- Viburnum
- Potentilla
- Cotoneaster
- Mayday
- Colorado spruce
- Currant
- Elderberry
- Lowbush cranberry
It’s worth noting that these are huge-sized animals which eat a lot. Indeed, moose can eat up to 40 to 60 pounds of plants daily, and thus, can potentially ruin your entire garden in a single day.
What to Do When You See a Moose in Your Yard?
If you see a moose wandering in your yard, the first thing you should do is leave them alone and not approach them. Give them enough space to move and ways to get out of your yard. As much as possible, avoid alarming them with your presence. Put up some barriers in between you and the moose.
- If you see moose wandering in your yard, leave them alone if they’re resting.
- Don’t ever go near them as they might perceive you as an enemy or predator.
- Provide them huge space to move but prevent them from heading toward your house.
- Avoid strolling nearby or between the moose and its calf.
- Be vigilant with their behavior as they may attack you in no time. Watch out for them when they are licking or smacking their lips, raising their back hair, showing relaxed ears, or staring at you.
- If you already noticed defensive signs, you should go away and put up barriers between you and the moose.
- Curl up into a ball and cover your head if a moose suddenly attacks you.
- Don’t give them food on your own as it can cause them to rely on you and become aggressive.
How to Handle an Aggressive Moose
Moose are not very aggressive compared to other animals. If you see them in your yard, give them freedom and leave them alone, as long as they don’t eat up your trees and plants. Make noise when trying to ward them off without getting too close to them.
Moose will be defensive under several circumstances. For instance, male moose are protective when the breeding season approaches, while female moose will do everything to defend their calves. Assess the situation first before identifying the preventative measure you are going to administer.
Moose will attack by charging, using their antlers, kicking those they will identify as their foe. Beware of their behavior during the winter season as they are hungry and exhausted during these days. Also, note that some of the suggested measures in this article may not work effectively, especially making noises.
Although these kinds of mammals are not easily annoyed, humans can cause them to become aggressive. In some cases, humans may harm moose, which can irk them and provoke them to fight. Don’t harass them to avoid getting charged by them.
Conclusion
Make sure that the measures you are going to choose to get a moose out of your ward do not put you in danger. This also goes for the moose, as they shouldn’t be harassed either. You should weigh in the situations before trying to ward them off.
Don’t carelessly approach them as they can become aggressive if they perceive you as a threat. As long as they don’t eat or damage your plants, let them stay in your yard.
