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Badger
The American Badger (Taxidea taxus) is a stocky, medium-sized mammal.
How to Identify badgers
American Badgers are fairly easy to identify they have a triangular face with a distinctive black and white pattern and a stocky body covered with shaggy grizzled fur. They have short powerful legs with long sharp claws on the front paws and shorter claws on the back paws. They have a short, thick neck, short legs, and a short, bushy tail. Badgers front legs are stout and muscular, and their front claws are long. They are silver-gray, have long guard hairs, a black patch on each cheek, black feet, and a characteristic white stripe extending from their nose over the top of its head. The length of their stripe down the back varies. Badgers may weigh up to 30 pounds (13.5 kg), but average about 19 pounds (8.6 kg) for males and 14 pounds (6.3 kg) for females. Eyeshine at night is green. If you are unsure if you have a badger problem and need assistance to identify badgers, please contact a Critter Control badger removal specialist at your local Critter Control office.
Badger Range and Habitat
The badger is widely distributed in the contiguous United States. Its range extends southward from the Great Lakes states to the Ohio Valley and westward through the Great Plains to the Pacific Coast, though not west of the Cascade mountain range in the Northwest. Badgers are found at elevations of up to 12,000 feet (3,600 m).
Badgers prefer open country with light to moderate cover, such as pastures and rangelands inhabited by burrowing rodents. They are seldom found in areas that have many trees.
Fun Badger Facts
Badgers are members of the weasel family and have the musky odor characteristic of this family.
They are especially adapted for burrowing, with strong front legs equipped with long, well-developed claws.
Badgers are active at night, remaining in dens during daylight hours, but are often seen at dawn or dusk.
How to Identify Badger Damage
Most damage caused by badgers results from their digging in pursuit of prey. Open burrows create a hazard to livestock and horseback riders. Badger diggings in crop fields may slow harvesting or cause damage to machinery. Digging can also damage earthen dams or dikes and irrigation canals, resulting in flooding and the loss of irrigation water. Diggings on the shoulders of roads can lead to erosion and the collapse of road surfaces.
Badger Legal Status
In some states, badgers are classified as furbearers and protected by regulated trapping seasons, while in other states they receive no legal protection. Contact your state wildlife agency before conducting lethal control of badgers.
Badger Damage Prevention and Control Methods
Badger Exclusion
Generally not practical.
Badger Habitat Modification
Controlling rodent populations may make habitats less suitable for badgers.
Frightening Badgers
Bright lights.
Badger Repellents
None are registered.
Badger Toxicants
None are registered.
Badger Fumigants
None are registered.
Trapping Badgers
Steel leghold traps. Live traps.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The above information was adapted from PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF WILDLIFE DAMAGE with permission of the editors, Scott E. Hygnstrom, Robert M. Timm, and Gary E. Larson (Cooperative Extension Division, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources University of Nebraska-Lincoln, United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Animal Damage Control, Great Plains Agricultural Council Wildlife Committee).
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Not all products and methods mentioned within this site are applicable in the state of New York
