Got Nature? Blog

Salamanders are often mistaken for lizards, but the two groups are very different.

Though they both have similar body shapes, lizards are reptiles (along with turtles, snakes, crocodiles, dinosaurs, and yes, birds) while salamanders are amphibians (along with toads, frogs and a weird and rarely seen group called caecilians). This means lizards have dry scaly skin, while salamanders have moist, porous skin. Lizards all must breathe with lungs, just as humans do. Salamanders, on the other hand, can breathe through their skin, via gills, via lungs or in some cases via their skin and lungs!

Another major difference between lizards and salamanders is their reproduction. Lizards have leathery, partly calcified (shelled) eggs that are typically buried in sand or dirt, but a few species are hatched while still inside the mother before birth. Salamanders, as amphibians, mostly lay their eggs in water where the larvae hatch and after some time usually metamorphose and return to land. Lizards can be found most anywhere on land, while salamanders must stay where they won’t dry out: under logs or leaves, underground or directly in water. We have about six species of lizards and 23 species of salamanders here in Indiana.

Several of the salamander species are listed as Special Concern or State Endangered. Regardless of their legal status, all wildlife should be left where you find it unless it’s in immediate danger, such as on a road.

For more information on how to identify Indiana salamanders and lizards:
Salamanders of Indiana book
Snakes and Lizards of Indiana

Place keywords in the search field at the Purdue Extension resource center for more information: The Education Store.

View Help The Hellbender website for more information on salamanders.

Steve Kimble, Post Doctoral Research Associate
Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue

Rod Williams, Associate Professor of Wildlife Science
Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue

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While the weather may tell you otherwise, spring is upon us. With the changing weather comes greening grass, breaking buds and sprouting plants. This plethora of fresh growth can help cure the winter blues, but it also provides wildlife with a desirable food source. Recently you may have noticed deer and other wildlife’s increased utilization of winter wheat fields and other green areas like lawns – early spring is the time you see deer in Indiana feed extensively on grass.

For homeowners, this is the time you need to scout around your home for emerging plants in your lands​caping beds. Plants that are frequently browsed by deer such as tulips or hostas need special attention, but the limited amount of green plant material can leave any plant as a potential target. Most homeowners choose a type of taste repellent to protect plants. There are several tips on how to increase the efficacy of this approach.

1. Timing: It helps to have some foresight into when damage is likely to occur and/or the plant developmental stage(s). Unfortunately, this is usually based on past experience. Ideally, you want to time applications during these periods.  With tulips, for example, applying repellents early during sprouting, later during sprouting and during flower bud development will prevent damage during most years.
2. Type of repellent: There are many types of taste repellents labeled for deer and other wildlife species. Most have a combination of capsaicin, putrefied egg solids and/or fatty acids of ammonium soaps. There are, of course, others with different ingredients. So which do you choose? There have been many studies that have investigated the efficacy of repellents. The bottom line – they work, but control is not 100%.
3. Label: Failures can often result when not following the directions on the label. The label also provides safety information and what you can/can’t spray. Read and follow the label – it’s the law.
4. Expectations: You aren’t going to solve all of your wildlife problems by spraying a few plants or even everything. If you use repellents, reapply according to label directions (every three to four weeks is usually a good rule of thumb). To increase success, you may use them as part of an integrated approach that includes exclusion, cultural practices and other approaches.

Resources
Diagnosing and Controlling Wildlife Damage
Preventing Wildlife Damage – Do You Need a Permit?
Corn and Soybean Crop Depredation by Wildlife
Wildlife Conflicts

Brian MacGowan, Extension Wildlife Specialist
Department of Forestry and Natural Resources​

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Cold winter winds, alternating extreme temperatures, ice and snow can be damaging to trees and shrubs. However, this spring, we are seeing additional damage due to the harsh winter conditions that is of the furry kind: rabbits and rodents. Mice and rabbits often damage young trees in the winter by feeding on the juicy, green cambium layer just under the bark and girdling the tree. Damage from these furry creatures occurs most commonly in winters when there is prolonged, heavy snow cover and food is scarce. Sound familiar? Rabbits feed on the bark above the snow while mice tunnel under the snow and feed near the ground level. Mouse damage is usually more severe when the trees are surrounded by heavy grass, weed cover or heavy mulch.

On young trees and multi-stemmed ornamental trees, rabbits remove the bark completely around the trunks and stems, effectively girdling them. All growth above the girdled areas will eventually decline and die, and for most situations, replacing the girdled trees is the best course of action. There are no applications that will mitigate the effects of rabbit damage or save severely damaged trees. Wound dressings, pruning paints, latex paints, wrappings and other alleged protective barriers do not help.

Many deciduous shrubs have the ability to produce new shoots or suckers at their base. Because of this ability, many severely damaged deciduous shrubs can recover. However, patience is required as several years may be required for some shrubs to fully recover. In early spring as the greening begins, prune off girdled stems just below the damaged areas. This will help rejuvenate the plant in most circumstances and replace the damage growth.

The most effective deterrent to girdling by mice or rabbits is to wrap the trunk and low branches of young trees with screen wire or hardware cloth. Be certain the wire wrap is buried below the ground line and extends high enough above the possible snow line to prevent rabbits from reaching to the trunk or branches. To help control mouse damage, maintain an area free of grass or weeds for a 1- to 2-foot radius around the base of the tree. Additionally, maintain proper mulch levels, never more than 2-3”, to eliminate the habitat for mice. Various chemicals are available to repel mice and rabbits, but these do not afford the reliability of a well-made barrier.

Resources
Preventing Wildlife Damage, The Education Store, Purdue Extension
Vole Damage in Pumpkins (and other crops), Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR) Got Nature? Blog
Moles, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Adjuvants and the Power of the Spray Droplet: Improving the Performance of Pesticide Applications, The Education Store
Preventing Wildlife Damage – Do You Need a Permit?, The Education Store
Attract Hummingbirds to Your Yard, Video, Purdue Extension Youtube Channel
How to Stop Woodland Animals from Digging in Your Flower Pots, Video, Purdue Extension Youtube Channel

Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources

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Wildlife identification guides are useful tools that help you figure out what kind of animal you may be looking at. However, they don’t always tell the complete story. Some animals such as garter snakes can have varied appearances which makes identification difficult. Some mammals have varied pelage such as striped skunks with some being almost completely black, white or some combination in between. A very small percentage of animals within a species may look dramatically different due to differences in pigment.

Albinos lack the ability to produce color pigment in their skin, hair, feathers, scales or eyes. Animals with this condition have a white appearance with red or pink eyes. The latter is the result of tiny blood vessels that are now visible. They are typically hidden by the colored iris which is transparent in albinos.

In wildlife, albinism is a rare occurrence at birth caused by a recessive gene. The rate in wildlife is estimated from 1 in 20,000 to 1 in 1 million. Their solid white coat of fur makes them more susceptible to predation, or conversely, would make it difficult for an albino predator to stalk its prey. Albinos also have poor vision or may even be blind. The combination of these factors results in low survival of albinos, further decreasing their proportion in the population.

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