 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Perry 4,000...Skunks 0 AS THE FIRST MILD SPRING weather comes to Cape Cod, Raccoons and skunks begin moving into quiet, protected nesting sites to deliver their young. At about the same time , property owners venture out to see how their vacation house fared over the winter. It's up to Kevin Perry - and the three employees of Perry Le Pews Wildlife Service in Matstons Mills, Massachusetts - to sort out the inevitable conflicts. Raccoons, Perry says, love chimneys. To move them out, Perry first installs a patented live trap of his own design in the mouth if the chimney and directs a stream of air into the bottom of the flue to encourage the mother to climb into it. Then he dismantles the damper assembly and carefully places the babies in a boxlike "rehabilitation unit" (another original design), where they are reunited with their mother while the chimney is sealed with a wire-mesh cap (ditto). Skunks are actually easier, although they call for certain finesse. "They'll den under porches or in cellars," Perry says. :but you can take advantage of their curiosity. I'll put a box down and talk to her in a quiet voice. She'll usually go right in." The ones to watch , he says are the "junior squirters," young males from 14 to 20 weeks of age."They'll keep giving you the sign- stamping their feet and raising their tails." So far though, none has gone further than that. With 30 years in the business and an estimated 4,000 moved skunks to his credit, Perry has yet to be sprayed. "Not yet," he says. "Knock on wood." - Jon Vara |
CAPE COD LIFE
Tricky Business - Perry Le Pews Skunk and Raccoon Removal
Cousins from Toledo and old college roommate from Des Moines are not the
only unwelcome guests with whom Cape Codders must contend. Raccoons
who take up residence in chimneys, and skunks who seek shelter in cozy
crawl spaces can turn the most dedicated animal lover into hand-wringing,
hair-tearing inhospitable host. Kevin Perry of Marstons Mills has made it a
business to help solve the problem of these unwanted four-legged guest.
Thirty years ago he started his company, Perry Le Pews Wildlife Management
Company because " I saw a need that no one was filling." At the time, Perry
was working for the Animal Rescue League in Brewster. The League only
handles domestic animals but its office kept getting calls from frantic
homeowners who needed help with skunks and raccoons that were making
themselves at home. Perry Le Pews is the only Cape company that deals
strictly with skunks and raccoons, and that doesn't use chemicals. Perry has
designed a spray proof trap; through its use both he and the animal are
protected but it's the animal about which he is most concerned. He has gone
the extra distance to make sure frightened raccoons and skunks are removed
with a minimum of trauma. "I calm the animal - talk to it and let in know I'm
there ," he says. He spent an entire night at one home waiting to remove the
last baby raccoon from a chimney. "Chimney are a death trap for animals," he
says. Perry has a Patent on a chimney cap that is animal proof, safe and easy
to install and removable for chimney cleaning. He says an added benefit of
his invention is that the cap reduces creosote buildup by about 35 percent.
Animals protection and problem prevention are the biggest part of Perry's
business. Since the state law requires that any animal removed from private
property be put to sleep, Perry recommends that homeowners animal proof
their property. He gives estimates, advice and will do the work himself if a
client requests. He often tries to convince his clients to undertake on- the-
spot animal proofing and then let the animals go in their yard with
food,shelter and water. so he won't have to take the skunk and raccoon away
and destroy them. "that's the hardest part of the job for those that don't have
our system," he says.
"Cape Cod is being over-built," says Perry. "We're digging up the animals'
natural habitat, and they are moving into residential areas. We're trying to
learn to get along with them in a humane way."
-- Claudia Mahoney Cape Cod Life Magazine
Cousins from Toledo and old college roommate from Des Moines are not the
only unwelcome guests with whom Cape Codders must contend. Raccoons
who take up residence in chimneys, and skunks who seek shelter in cozy
crawl spaces can turn the most dedicated animal lover into hand-wringing,
hair-tearing inhospitable host. Kevin Perry of Marstons Mills has made it a
business to help solve the problem of these unwanted four-legged guest.
Thirty years ago he started his company, Perry Le Pews Wildlife Management
Company because " I saw a need that no one was filling." At the time, Perry
was working for the Animal Rescue League in Brewster. The League only
handles domestic animals but its office kept getting calls from frantic
homeowners who needed help with skunks and raccoons that were making
themselves at home. Perry Le Pews is the only Cape company that deals
strictly with skunks and raccoons, and that doesn't use chemicals. Perry has
designed a spray proof trap; through its use both he and the animal are
protected but it's the animal about which he is most concerned. He has gone
the extra distance to make sure frightened raccoons and skunks are removed
with a minimum of trauma. "I calm the animal - talk to it and let in know I'm
there ," he says. He spent an entire night at one home waiting to remove the
last baby raccoon from a chimney. "Chimney are a death trap for animals," he
says. Perry has a Patent on a chimney cap that is animal proof, safe and easy
to install and removable for chimney cleaning. He says an added benefit of
his invention is that the cap reduces creosote buildup by about 35 percent.
Animals protection and problem prevention are the biggest part of Perry's
business. Since the state law requires that any animal removed from private
property be put to sleep, Perry recommends that homeowners animal proof
their property. He gives estimates, advice and will do the work himself if a
client requests. He often tries to convince his clients to undertake on- the-
spot animal proofing and then let the animals go in their yard with
food,shelter and water. so he won't have to take the skunk and raccoon away
and destroy them. "that's the hardest part of the job for those that don't have
our system," he says.
"Cape Cod is being over-built," says Perry. "We're digging up the animals'
natural habitat, and they are moving into residential areas. We're trying to
learn to get along with them in a humane way."
-- Claudia Mahoney Cape Cod Life Magazine