Critters cause trouble in Muncie neighborhood - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

Wild animals, including skunks, are invading neighborhood homes and some residents are being ticketed for their actions.

In one neighborhood the call of the wild got too wild.

"I've seen 'em in the yards," said Tyler Wood.

Between passes, Wood, a Muncie High School quarterback, has seen a number of problems he hasn't seen before in his northwest side neighborhood - and smelled them too.

"It's frequent. Everywhere. It smells. It's not good," he said. "It's a shocker when you approach a skunk in the morning. You never know if they're going to attack or not."

They've seen them here morning and night. At Jim Lowe's, the skunks, like it under their porch, right under their window. This year it's a real problem.

"The small it flows into the air and then up into your house. The smell wakes you very quickly," said Lowe.

It took them weeks of baths to get their cat clean.

Tim Dale with Critter Control has worked that neighborhood before and other areas in town, but close to the country.

"We've had as many as 13 skunks in the back of the truck," he said.

He blames people who leave out food for neighboring cats and other animals. The Department of Natural Resources says it has warned a woman who lives nearby about purposely keeping and feeding the skunks.

"Birds will come to bird feed, squirrels will come to squirrel feed and skunks will come to eat any feed," said Dale.

But it's against the law to keep wild animals without a state license. In the last five years, DNR has written 139 tickets around the state. Six were for keeping skunks, 115 for raccoons. The reset included possum, fox, raccoon, even mink.

All of those animals are rabies risks - especially skunks and raccoons.

"You've got to eliminate the food source and the place small animals like to live," Dale said.

That means closing up cracks around garage doors or windows and sealing off the skirting around patios and gazebos. Mostly, it means not leaving out food for critters.

DNR says the problem in one Muncie Neighborhood was resolved after a conservation officer talked with the woman. If you have a problem, call Animal Control or the Department of Natural Resources.