Badgers

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Wisconsin is known as the Badger State and one would assume that we have badgers all over the place, but that is not the case. We’ve had a few badger sightings in southeastern Wisconsin, but overall it is pretty rare to find them in this part of the state.

Badgers are mostly nocturnal animals that spend the daytime underground in their den. They are excellent diggers and quite fierce animals. They prey on small animals and rodents by even digging them out of their dens. Badgers also love to eat insects, especially earthworms, and berries.

Signs of Badgers

The most obvious sign of a badger is the presence of their burrows and tunnels in open areas and fields. Badgers kick up a lot of dirt when creating their burrows which cause large mounds of dirt to form.

Tracks are another sign of badgers. Their tracks are often mistaken for coyote tracks but can be distinguished by their front feet with five toes and claw marks.

How Do I Get Rid of Badgers?

Here at Advanced Wildlife Control, we believe in humane animal removal. So in most cases, we will set live traps to humanely catch and relocate the badger.

We advise customers to not try and catch badgers on their own because it is very difficult and will make it almost impossible for us to do. Badgers are also very fierce animals and we do not want you to possibly get injured from trying to trap one.

DID YOU KNOW? – Wisconsin’s nickname is “The Badger State” not because we have a lot of badgers, but because miners dug tunnels into hillsides searching for lead ore in the 1800s which reminded people of badgers.

Are Badgers Dangerous?

Badgers are very fierce and powerful animals. Badgers won’t attack unless provoked which we certainly recommend not to anger a badger, because you will lose. The only issue a badger creates is the damage to pastures or hayfields from their vast array of burrows they make. Badgers can also contract diseases at times, but they typically can’t survive them, especially with Wisconsin harsh winters.

Breeding

Badgers breed in late July through September. The litter size of a badger ranges from 1 to 5 cubs that are born sometime from March to June in the den. The cubs will typically stay with the female until fall when they head out on their own.

Habitat

Badgers are common in Wisconsin, especially in prairie regions. They are very rare to see in the southeastern part of the state but are more common in the central grasslands of Wisconsin. With their great digging ability, badgers dig elaborate dens with tunnels reaching 6 to even 30 feet deep. Badgers are also very clean-living creatures that will even create a separate toilet chamber in their den.