Snapping Turtle (Lutra canadensis)

The Definitive Guide to Turtle 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.

Don't want to do it yourself? No Problem, we have Wildlife Professionals to help you solve all your wildlife control needs.

Identification

Box Turtles are the most common terrestrial turtle in the eastern United States. They are small to medium sized turtles, attaining a maximum length of about 8 inches and having a highly domed carapace.

Pond turtles have an olive brown shell with some faded yellow markings. The face has yellow markings with one red stripe beyond the eye.

The common snapping turtle has a large head with a strong beak instead of teeth. The edges of the jaws have sharp edges to rip apart food.

Range

Turtles occur on all continents except Antarctica. Over 240 species occur worldwide but turtles are most abundant in eastern North America.

Damage Caused by Turtles

Turtles are seldom a pest to people.

Turtles are very beneficial and of economic importance, except in certain areas such as waterfowl sanctuaries, aquaculture facilities, and rice fields in the south. Indiscriminate destruction of turtles is strongly discouraged, and every effort should be made to ensure that local populations are not exterminated unless it can be clearly demonstrated that they are undesirable. Some species of pond and marsh turtles are occasional economic pests in rice fields in the south. Their feeding activity on young rice often results in significant yield reductions in local areas. In farm ponds, turtles undoubtedly compete with fish for natural food sources such as crayfish and insects. Turtles, however, are valuable because they kill diseased and weakened fish, and clean up dead or decaying animal matter.

Control Methods

Three groups of turtles are of economic importance in North America. They include the snapping turtles; the box, pond, and marsh turtles; and the soft-shelled turtles. Snapping turtles are trapped for human consumption and are being considered for aqua-culture. Red-eared turtles are cultured for the foreign pet trade. Soft-shell turtles are also trapped for human consumption.

If you have a problem with turtles contact a Wildlife Control Professional. For more information on Turtles click here.