Black vultures can be beautiful in the air and a nuisance on the ground

If you have been to the McDonald’s or other locations along Richland Avenue, you may have seen large black birds perched on Dumpsters and rooftops or soaring up above.

Some Messenger readers have recently reported black vultures near The Summit at Coates Run and University Courtyard Apartments going through trash bags left in the designated garbage areas.

According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the state is home to two types of vultures: turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) and black vultures (Coragyps atratus). Both are scavengers and feed on a variety of dead animals.

Black vultures, smaller and more aggressive than turkey vultures, have expanded their range and population since the 1980s, resulting in increased property damage, livestock depredation, and aircraft collisions.

Black vultures, like all wildlife, have value. They play an important role in the ecosystem, feeding on carrion and reducing disease. While vultures can cause significant economic losses for livestock producers, these losses can be minimized or prevented through proper wildlife management and animal husbandry techniques.

Identifying a Black Vulture

Large groups of black vultures may roost or occupy woodlots near human habitats and can be destructive. Black vultures often damage homes and commercial buildings by tearing window caulking, roof shingles, vent seals, rubber roof liners, and pool covers. They can damage vehicles by scratching paint, removing rubber seals and wipers, and ripping vinyl seat covers from boats and tractors. Black vultures also affect quality of life for people. The birds smelly feces and vomit can accumulate, especially on roofs, communication towers, and electrical transmission structures. On electrical transmission towers, arcing and power outages may occur, at great expense to utility companies.

Agricultural Damage

Black vultures normally feed on animal carcasses. However, they also may attack and kill calves, lambs, piglets and other weak animals. This predatory behavior often results in serious injury to livestock, because vultures target the eyes and soft tissues. In most cases due to the extent of their injuries, affected domestic animals must be euthanized.

Preventing Black Vulture Damage

The recommendations below are designed to make your property less attractive to vultures. Integrated wildlife damage management efforts should be implemented as soon as vultures are observed. Harassment and husbandry practices can prevent damages before they occur. The goal is to discourage the birds until they move to another area.

Visual and noise harassment are the primary means of dispersing vultures. Noise harassment can include propane exploders or pyrotechnics, which have sound-and-light projectiles similar to firecrackers.

To harass vultures from a nighttime roost, shine a low-powered red or green laser toward the birds approximately 30 minutes before and after sunset to discourage their presence. Lasers, safe and quiet, can be effective over distances of several hundred yards. Special caution should be exercised if nearby an airport or low-flying aircraft when using lasers.

A vulture effigy suspended near livestock could disrupt daily vulture activity and persuade vultures to leave the area. Effigies may be a carcass, a taxidermist-preserved mount, or a replica.

Immediate removal of livestock carcasses and/or afterbirth reduces vultures’ attraction to an area. These materials should be buried deep underground or composted.

Rotational grazing, moving livestock closer to human activity, and/or using guard animals may be helpful in making the property less inviting.

Consider moving calving and lambing from pastures into barns. Barn calving and lambing is especially effective for heifers or ewes giving birth for the first time.

Healthy animals are less susceptible to predation than unhealthy ones. Practices such as vaccination programs, adequate nutrition, and a clean pasture environment not only improve overall herd health but also decrease predation.

For information on minimizing and mitigating damage caused by black vultures, pcall the Ohio Wildlife Services state office at (614) 993-3444 or 1-866-4USDAWS (1-866-487-3297) and see the Wildlife Services’ Fact Sheet on Vulture Damage Management.