Skunks love grubs

Skunk on the prowl, Dec. 2014.

In addition to the visits we get from wild turkeys, possums, woodchucks and the occasional deer here at the Manors, we are also visited by skunks.  However, since they are nocturnal animals, we only occasionally see them out and about.

What we do see is the damage they inflict on our lawns each fall when they feast on the grubs that are beneath the sod.  The Association does pay for an annual application of grub killer, but many grubs still survive at the perimeter of the lawns near the sidewalk and driveways.

The Association's landscaper is attempting to repair the more heavily damaged areas by removing the damaged lawn, applying an insecticide to kill the remaining grubs and then installing new sod a few days later while we still have our lawn sprinkling system available.   Smaller damaged areas are being repaired by tamping the loose tufts of grass back into place and adding grass seed.  However, once the irrigation system is winterized, we will have to wait until spring to repair any more lawn damage.

Lawn damaged by a skunk feeding on grubs.

Damaged lawn after tamping.

Our wildlife control contractor does not recommend setting traps for skunks.  More often than not, the traps end up catching other types of wildlife instead of the skunks, unless the trap is placed adjacent to the skunk burrow.  Since we have not identified any skunk burrows on our premises, they are probably living in the fields to our north and west and venturing onto our property at night to fatten up for the coming winter.  Also, if a trap was placed on the lawns where they have been feeding, you could find an angry possum or skunk snarling or spraying at you in the morning!

The Board of Directors believes that grub control is the most appropriate solution to our skunk problem and we are working with our lawn fertilizing contractor to achieve better results in 2016.

Wild Turkeys

A "rafter" of wild turkeys were spotted yesterday on the west side of the Manors property. There were at least 13 of them, about half of them being young poults.

Road Closure Announcement

 

(click to enlarge)

Announcement from the Charter Township of Shelby:

Following the finalization of an independent structural engineer’s inspection of a bridge on Shelby Road just north of 22 Mile Road, the Macomb County Department of Roads decided to close the bridge Sept. 11 and facilitate a full fill of the span underneath the bridge with full reconstruction of a new roadway.

The bridge runs above an old railroad line that led into the former Ford Motor Co./Visteon plant near 23 Mile and Mound roads. After reaching an agreement with that property’s current owner, the MCDR finalized a plan to remove the railroad line and fill the area to facilitate the new road.

“Last week the Macomb County Department of Roads completed an independent engineering inspection of the bridge on Shelby Road over the abandoned railroad spur into the old Visteon complex north of 22 Mile Road,” MCDR Director Bob Hoepfner sad. “The inspection revealed significant deterioration, and it was determined that the structure must be closed to traffic.

“We have received permission from the owner of the old Visteon complex to remove the deck and fill the structure with earth and repave the roadway and hope to have this work completed in the next few months,” Hoepfner added. “Since this structure is located on a County Primary Road, the Macomb County Department of Roads will cover 100 percent of the project cost.”

Like all bridge replacement and reconstruction projects on primary roads in Macomb County, the Shelby Road bridge replacement falls under the MCDR policy in which the MCDR absorbs all construction costs associated with the project.

The closure on Shelby Road comes on the heels of the finalization of an agreement between the township and the MCDR to reconstruct roughly one mile of 22 Mile Road beginning 500 feet east of Shelby Road traveling west to Ryan Road.

The 22 mile Road project is independent of the Shelby Road bridge replacement, and, because 22 Mile Road is designated a local road, the costs associated with the reconstruction of the road and a box culvert over the Clinton-Kalamazoo Canal must be split between the county and Shelby Township.