Bobcat (Lynx rufus)

The Definitive Guide to Bobcat Control and Where to Find a
Wildlife Control Professional!

Are you frustrated and tired of dealing with the Damage caused by WILDLIFE. This site deals with WILDLIFE DAMAGE and steps the "Do it yourselfer" can take to protecting your property from the damage caused by Wildlife in your area.

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Identification

The Bobcat (Lynx rufus), alias “wildcat,” is a medium-sized member of the North American cat family. It can be distinguished at a distance by its graceful catlike movements, short (4-to 6-inches “bobbed” tail, and round face and pointed ears. Visible at close distances are black hair at the tip of the tail and prominent white dots on the upper side of the ears.

Body hair color varies, but the animal’s sides and flanks are usually brownish black or reddish brown with either distinct or faint black spots. The back is commonly brownish yellow with a dark line down the middle. The chest and outside of the legs are covered with brownish to light gray fur with black spots or bars. Bobcats living at high elevations and in northern states and Canada have relatively long hair. In southern states, bobcats may have a yellowish or reddish cast on their backs and necks

Range

The Bobcat occurs in a wide variety of habitats from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean and from Mexico to northern British Columbia. It occurs in the 48 contiguous states.

The Bobcat is as adapted to subtropical forests as it is to dense shrub and hardwood cover in temperate climates. Other habitats include chaparral, wooded streams, river bottoms, canyon lands, and coniferous forests to 9,000 feet. Bobcats prefer areas where these native habitat types are interspersed with agriculture and escape cover (rocky outcrops) close by. The bobcat has thrived where agriculture is interspersed through the above native habitat types, as in southern Canada.

Damage Caused by Bobcats

Bobcats are not typically the cause of property damage. However, it occasionally happens.

Control Methods

Use woven-wire enclosures to discourage bobcats from entering poultry and small animal pens at night. Bobcats can climb, so wooden fence posts or structures that give the bobcat footing may not be effective. Bobcats also have the ability to jump fences 6 feet (1.8 m) or more in height. Use woven wire overhead if necessary. Fences are seldom totally effective except in very small enclosures.

Bobcats prefer areas with sufficient brush, timber, rocks, and other cover, and normally do not move far from these areas. Keep brush cut or sprayed around ranches and farmsteads to eliminate routes of connecting vegetation from bobcat habitat to potential predation sites.

No chemical repellents, fumigants, or toxicants are currently registered for bobcats. A hindrance to development of toxicants is the bobcat’s preference to feed on fresh kills.

Bobcats are more easily trapped than are coyotes or foxes, but the bobcat’s reclusive nature makes set locations difficult to find. When hunting, bobcats use their sense of smell less than coyotes do, so lures and baits are usually not effective. The bobcat’s acute vision, hearing, and inquisitiveness however, can be capitalized upon. Even with the best sets, bobcats cannot be lured from their course of travel more than a few yards. The bobcat’s use of dense cover for capturing rodents and rabbits can be used in capture techniques to guide the animal or even its footsteps.

For best results contact a Wildlife Control Professional. For more information on Control methods and equipment, click here.