Updated November 11, 2018
Nuisance Wildlife a Growing Problem
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Are you dealing with raccoons messing in your trash cans, opossums nesting in your garage, squirrels or bats scurrying in your attic, deer eating in your garden, or coyotes howling and prowling in your backyard? If yes, it’s time to take measures to discourage the pests before the situation gets out of control.
Common wildlife pests include raccoons, opossums, squirrels, deer, coyotes, foxes, and bats, among others. Some of these animals are protected by state or federal regulations, such as bats, deer, and coyotes, and a permit may be required to control some animal species.
These critters have adapted to our habitat and can easily sustain themselves on the food tossed in our trashcans, or on pet food left outside at night. Usually we perceive these critters as “cute” until they become destructive. A squirrel in the yard munching on a nut can be captivating and adorable, while a squirrel scurrying around in your attic is an annoyance and possibly a safety concern if it gnaws on cables or wires.
Some nuisance wildlife, like coyotes and foxes, can be dangerous. They have been known to feast on small pets and can even attack young children.
Tips for Getting Rid of Nuisance Wildlife
The most commonly used methods for controlling nuisance wildlife around homes and gardens include:
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Exclusion – physically excluding the offending animal
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Installing an electric fence around the garden or netting on shrubbery can keep animals away
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Altering the habitat to make the area less attractive to wild animals
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Don’t leave pet food outside after dark
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Use a control method appropriate to the location and time of year
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Repellents, traps and frightening are a few options
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Monitor the site for re-infestation in order to determine if additional control is necessary.
Exclusion tactics can be very effective but can also be expensive. Modifying an animal’s habitat can be effective because it limits access to what the animal is looking for – food, water or shelter. However, modifying the habitat may also limit desirable species such as songbirds as well. Rodent- or bat-proofing buildings by sealing cracks and holes prevents these animals from gaining access where they are not welcome. Storing seed and pet food in tightly closed containers, controlling weeds around homes and buildings, and storing firewood and building supplies above ground level are also practices that can limit or remove the animals’ sources of food, water or shelter.
If the situation has gotten out of control – such as bats invading your attic - it is advisable to contact a professional. The experts know how and when to trap the critters. Remedying an infestation can be expensive, but a homeowner’s insurance policy should pick up a good portion of the tab. Before attempting to trap a wild animal yourself, check if a permit is required. Other control methods, such as repellents (bad-tasting/smelling sprays) and frightening with sounds, motion lights, or scarecrows can be tried, but they don’t always work.
Photo credit: Carsten Volkwein
Dealing with the Pesky Masked Bandit!
In Grand Dell, racoons can be especially troublesome. They are probably one of the most tenacious and clever suburban pests. They can climb, swim, jump, run, and their ability to break into trash cans is unrivaled in the animal kingdom. Raccoons are nocturnal, wandering out at night to feed. They are omnivores, meaning they will pretty much eat anything.
Raccoons are persistent and difficult to deter from your yard or garden. They look for warm, dark, safe places to nest and raise their babies. If you find one living in your garage sometime between January and September, you can assume it is a mother with babies nearby. You can attempt to deter it from staying in the garage with lights, motions or smells, but you don’t want to get rid of the mother and leave the babies behind. Mother raccoons often move their babies from den to den and will usually use a garage for only a short time. It may be best to do nothing and wait for them to leave on their own.
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Signs that raccoons may be visiting your yard:
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Opened garbage cans and trash is tossed about
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Holes in the lawn and mulch
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Finding birdfeeders empty, mangled or destroyed in the morning
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Fish missing from a fountain or water garden
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Half-eaten produce in the garden
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Tubular droppings on logs, wood piles, or near the bottom of trees
Ways to help keep raccoons away:
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Protect your trash. Secure a non-locking trash can lid with bungee cords or cinder blocks. Double-bag waste meat items to help reduce the odor.
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Clean up. Like many animals, raccoons love yards with places to hide as they scurry along. Remove brush, keep grass mowed, and prune overgrown shrubs. Seal entry points to chimneys, eaves, and attics.
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Scare ‘em. If raccoons are raiding your garden or nesting in your garage, try scaring them off with motion-detecting sprinklers or strobe lights. Radios and other noise-makers can also deter raccoons. Switch up your scare strategies to keep raccoons from becoming accustomed to one method.
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Fence the garden. Since raccoons are good climbers, the most effective fence to exclude raccoons is electric. Set the fence on a timer, running it only after dark.
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Repel ‘em. Though raccoon repellents tend to have mixed results simply because this pest is so persistent, they’re worth a try. Lacing bird seed with cayenne doesn’t bother birds but tends to deter the masked bandit. Soaking a rag in apple cider vinegar or ammonia, putting the rag in a plastic bag and poking holes in it to emit the smell may deter the raccoon that has made its den in your garage. Bagged used kitty litter may also deter the critter.
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Remove food. If you toss food scraps in a compost bin, make sure it has a locking cover. Bring bird feeders in at night or hang them in a spot that isn’t accessible to raccoons.
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Tend to your pets. Raccoons love pet food of all kinds, so never leave food out overnight. Seal pet entry doors at night, especially if you know a raccoon has been visiting your yard. Make sure pets have all necessary shots just in case they interact with a raccoon (which are known to carry rabies and distemper).
New Building? Contact Us
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Cooler weather seems to encourage building projects - such as fences, storage sheds, and playhouses. Remember to send the Board your plans prior to commencement of building. This is to ensure that your plans are in compliance with the Grand Dell Restrictions and to allow the Board to confirm that you have built in compliance with those plans. Legally, the Board can require that you remove any structure that does not comply with the Restrictions. Please be a good neighbor when making improvements to your property.
Remember:
The Restrictions are intended to maintain high property values for everyone in the neighborhood.
Photo courtesy of A to Z Contracting
Stay Safe!
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Unwanted Solicitations: As gusty winds head our way, they tend to blow in people offering to cut down trees, or install new roofs, siding, windows or gutters. Some of these solicitors are extremely aggressive, including pounding on the door and even trying to open doors if the homeowner is not in sight. Oldham County Police are monitoring Grand Dell, and if you are made to feel pressured or uncomfortable in any way by a door- to-door sales person, please contact the police immediately.
Firearm Safety: A few years ago a bullet landed on a resident’s windowsill. Although we live in a “rural” area, we are also a residential community. Please be careful when discharging a weapon to scare off an annoying wildlife visitor or for target practice. Bullets can travel much farther than you might expect.
Speed limit – 25 mph: This is important with people out walking the neighborhood and children on bikes or scooters. In 2015, the number of pedestrian fatalities increased from 2014 by 9.5% and the number of pedalcyclist fatalities increased by 12.2%. Do not add to that increase by driving too fast in the neighborhood.
Stay on your side of the road when driving! At 25 mph, it should be possible to stay on your side of the road when making the left at the entrance Y and going around curves throughout the subdivision. Please be cautious.
Walk against traffic, bike with traffic: With curves, hills, and landscaping, it can be difficult for drivers to see walkers and bikers, particularly at dusk. Help them by obeying safety rules.
Pet Safety: Dogs must be under your control at all times. Coyotes are known to wander through Grand Dell. Keeping your dog close keeps him safe. Also, pick up your dog’s waste – that property belongs to someone!
Facebook Page for Grand Dell Neighborhood Residents Only ​
Grand Dell has a Facebook page exclusively for neighborhood residents. This is a great social outlet for neighbors to stay informed on recent events, to post or find local services like yard work, babysitting, and petsitting; to locate missing pets; and talk online with other residents in the Grand Dell Neighborhood. Permission must be granted to join since this is a closed group. Contact any board member to get information on signing up.
Nextdoor: A Social Network ​
Join other neighbors who find local community services like tree or yard work, home services, babysitting, and petsitting; locate missing pets; purchase used items; and talk online with other residents by signing up at Nextdoor, Grand Dell's local community social media site. Check it out at https://granddell.nextdoor.com/login/
Annual Dues Payments​
The annual Homeowner Association Fees are due each year in early Spring. Invoices for the annual dues/garbage fees are typically sent out in the mail during the first week of February. Discounts are provided for early payments.
Dues cover garbage collection (about half of total fee), maintenance of common areas (mowing, weeding, irrigation service and general landscape maintenance of front entrance), utilities (lighting, water used in the common areas), insurance and taxes (for commonly-owned property), other routine expenses (neighborhood events, website, newsletter printing, office supplies, professional service fees - e.g. auditing), and a reserve (used for exceptional services for the common property, such as replacement of the fence, replacement of the lighting fixtures, replacement of the dead trees, maintenance of the stone walls, legal expenses, etc.).
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We thank all the lot owners who pay their dues/garbage fees so promptly.
History of Oldham County
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Oldham County was established by an Act of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky on Dec. 15, 1823 which took effect on Feb. 1, 1824. Formed from parts of Henry, Jefferson and Shelby Counties, Oldham County was the 74th Kentucky County. It was named for Colonel William Oldham (1753-1791), a distinguished Revolutionary War officer from Jefferson County. The county’s first sheriff was appointed that year, James Stapleton Crutchfield, who served for eight years. Some of the original Justices’ of the Peace for Oldham County included Richard Barbour, Thomas T. Barbour and Edward M. Taylor.
The county seat was first established along the Ohio River in Westport, which became a bustling river city in the early 1800s. Elijah Craig received the area as a land grant on May 22, 1780. He sold the 300 acre grant on April 25, 1796 to Joseph Dupuy and Harman Bowman. As the town continued to grow, warehouses were built along the Ohio River to accommodate hemp, flour, tobacco and pork, items that were shipped to New Orleans. The town was chosen as the county seat in 1823 and a courthouse established in what is now the Westport Methodist Church. The first Fiscal Court met at George Varble’s home in 1824. Westport was known at one time as Liberty.
La Grange was known at first as “the Cross Roads”, a point in which the Louisville-New Castle and Westport-Shelbyville roads crossed; this location would become the spot where a permanent county courthouse was built. Major William Berry Taylor (1765-1836), who came to the area in December 1796 with his parents, is credited with donating 50 acres for the establishment of La Grange and a county courthouse in 1827. An election was held in April 1827 to select a “permanent seat of justice” and a majority of voters chose “the Cross Roads near Edward M. Taylor’s on the lands of William Taylor.” Many felt this spot afforded a more centralized location to conduct county business.
La Grange became an incorporated city in 1840. The town’s name was originally chosen to honor the French estate of Revolutionary War hero, General Marquis de LaFayette. General LaFayette had visited America in 1824 as a guest of the nation and was entertained by his friends, Major William Berry Taylor and Taylor’s uncle, Commodore Richard Taylor.
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Known as one of the wealthiest counties in the state today, Oldham County began as a mainly rural county. Areas such as Anchorage and Pewee Valley developed into bedroom communities of Louisville. This was during the turn of the century when Annie Fellows Johnston immortalized Pewee Valley in her Little Colonel books. She captured the feel of the Old South which remains along the quaint streets of Pewee Valley today. Many other communities retain their historic feel such as Floydsburg and Brownsboro. Westport, now a much quieter town than the rowdy center of things in the early 1800s, still lies along the Ohio River, a witness to centuries of change.
The Louisville and Frankfort Railroad Company may have brought about the biggest change when it introduced rail lines in the area in the 1850s. This forced many new towns and communities to spring up. Eventually the railroad ceased operating as a form of public transportation, but trains still rumble along Main Street through the downtown area daily. The interurban railway played a major part in transportation and the growth of the county as well as the railroad. A working model of the interurban exists in the museum for visitors to enjoy.
Communities & Their Name Origins:
Anchorage: was part of Isaac Hite’s 1773 land grant; origin of name thought to be The Anchorage, the home of riverboat captain James W. Goslee and chosen to honor him when the city was incorporated in 1878
Ballardsville: named for the many members of the Ballard family in the area; the community developed because of wagon traffic traveling from Shelbyville to Westport, and New Castle to Floydsburg
Brownsboro: known as Brownsville, prior to 1837 Brownsboro began along the old wagon trail road known as the Jefferson & Brownsboro Turnpike. An early fort, Ft. Kuyendall was the early beginning of this village community.
Buckner: first known as La Fayetteville, an agricultural settlement; when railroad went into operation around 1850, area known as Buckner Station and by 1880, known as Buckner
Centerfield (known as Worth until around 1850): name may have been derived from the fact that it was four miles to Ballardsville, four miles to Buckner and four miles to Crestwood, thus the community was in the ‘center of the field’
Crestwood: originally called Beards Station
Floydsburg: named for Col. John Floyd who built his third and final fort at a big spring one mile east of this area
Goshen: named by Rev. John Todd, Jr. of Louisa Co., Virginia; was a huge promoter of education
La Grange: named in honor of Marquis de Lafayette’s home in France
Pewee Valley: known as Smith’s Depot until late 1860’s; named for a native bird, the Eastern Wood Pewee, which resided in the area
Prospect: originally called Sand Hill
Skylight: originally named Tippecanoe, in honor of William Henry Harrison and the campaign of 1840; also called Oldhamburg for a while
Westport: once known as Liberty; known as town of Westport by 1797; town was a logical stopping point for settlers heading northwest.