To the Rescue

By Ellen Wade Beals

A Life Newspaper

Thursday, Sept., 2, 1982

 Do you have bats in your belfry, squirrels in your attic, or birds in your chimney? Garon Fyffe can help.

 Responding to more unusual requests, Fyffe has safely removed bats from a Chicago bank and captured an escaped chimpanzee, leopard, and 18-foot snake. As he puts it, "No matter how bizarre the situation, I try to guide people to solutions... that are fair and humane to both sides."

 Forty-year-old Fyffe, a naturalist, is a man behind ABC Humane Wildlife Rescue and Relocation, which serves communities in Lake, DuPage and Cook counties.

 He has studied nature and the environment all over the country – in forests, swamps, mountains, and seashores. He started the rescue and relocation service about six years ago because people would ask him for advice. "People came to me and I responded to their needs," he says.

 As many suburbanites know from first-hand experience, the local denizen and the local citizens sometimes have difficulty co-existing peacefully.

 "The animals have lived here for thousands and thousands of years whereas people came here in only the past one or two hundred. Many animals have been wiped out," says Fyffe. Faring better in the face of development have been such animals as raccoons, opossums, skunks, squirrels and ground squirrels.

 It may seem these animals resent our intrusion but actually they've adapted to it, he explains. Hence, they use attics, sheds, woodpiles, stoops, and hollow trees for shelter, regardless of what property owners have to say about it. Animals seek such places because they resemble their former homes when the suburbs were the woods and prairies. For instance, skunks burrow under a stoop because it's cool there and squirrels choose an attic because it's accessible.

 Although English sparrows may decide rafters are a perfect nesting spot, many birds accidentally choose a house as a temporary residence. As Fyffe explains, birds may roost on a chimney top because it's warm, be overcome by carbon monoxide, and fall down the flue or cold intake valve into the basement.

 As anyone who has encountered an errant animal knows, the unexpected meeting can be frightening. Finding a solution to the problem may seem exasperating, but Fyffe admonishes, "Don't take the easy option." By that, he means caustic cures, such as the "ammonia rag cure," or lighting a fire beneath chimney-bound animals. In most cases, these seemingly simple solutions have deleterious – and somewhat disgusting – side effects.

 Homeowners also may have problems with nests of bees or wasps. They may use insect sprays or cover the access point. But if the nest is not vacated, the solution may be short-lived and intensify the problem, as Fyffe explains, "They'll come through every nook and cranny and some bees can eat through plasterboard."

 What can a homeowner do when confronted with animal problems? Well, Fyffe can't give a generalized answer. Solutions vary according to the situation. As he explains, "I'm still learning. Every time I run into a situation, it's a new situation and it calls for a new solution."

 Fyffe does have a suggestion for homeowners, the essence of which is prevention. "Keep your house in good repair to make it difficult for animals to come in," he advises. He suggest animal-proofing access points, such as chimneys, window wells, and dryer and fan vents.