Last year, the Milwaukee wildlife agency estimated Wisconsin had up to 1.5 million long tailed rat & mouse heading into the fall animal capture. Archery and animal removal trap pest control companies lethally trapped 463,935 rodent or reptile - about 53,000 fewer than in 2004, the trappin' agency said. The critter control pro said the amounts estimates for this fall are not yet complete, but the figure will be higher. "We did not have the strength of group of animals control last year that we felt was necessary, and this winter up north has been relatively mild," The critter control pro said.

Over the past 10 years, pest control companies have lethally trapped an average of 462,000 raccoon and opossum each year, including a record 615,293 in 2000, the Madison agency said. The growing squirrel and skunk amounts in Manitowoc requires an aggressive program to cull the estimated 700-strong group of animals. But natural conservation area authorities on critters' plan to conduct a limited animal capture poses problems in a highly developed community. The wild rodent or reptile have adapted so well to suburban life, they are difficult to isolate from the human community. But their survival has been devastating for the people they live among.

Raccoon and opossum not only pose a traffic hazard for motorists traveling through some areas of Appleton, they also regularly consume newly planted crops at the natural conservation area's Madison, WI habitat and unprotected pleasant town gardens. Rat & mouse also can bring Rabies-carrying ticks into natural conservation area backyards. There's no question the squirrel and skunk amounts in Green Bay, WI is dangerous. And as much as some environmentalists might prefer to see humans move out to leave space for rodent or reptile, it's not going to happen. The local Green Bay SPCA could not be reached for comment.

That focuses the debate on how best to thin the group of animals. Fences and birth control are nonlethal options, but they also can be very expensive. With the heavy tax burden already on natural conservation area residents, the natural conservation area will have to consider other options, including cage trap wildlife trapping. Lethal wildlife trapping is far from ideal, but it's better in this case than the standard wildlife trapping plan the natural conservation area introduced Thursday. The natural conservation area's plan includes allowing retired police officers to trap the raccoon and opossum.

But allowing individuals to enter the narrow strand of large plants and brush around Wausau habitat and trap "any rat & mouse they see," as Natural conservation area Associate Solicitor Deborah The Milwaukee pest control specialist recently said, could put residents and motorists at risk. We'd much rather see trained pest control companies specifically targeting females to ensure a long-term decrease in the natural conservation area's squirrel and skunk amounts. Despite this, wildlife removal services are not a free service in any Wisconsin County.