Pennsylvania Badger

Identification

American Badgers have a triangular face with a distinctive black and white pattern and a stocky body covered with shaggy grizzled fur. They have short powerful legs with long sharp claws on the front paws and shorter claws on the back paws. They have a short, thick neck, short legs, and a short, bushy tail. Its front legs are stout and muscular, and its front claws are long. It is silver-gray, has long guard hairs, a black patch on each cheek, black feet, and a characteristic white stripe extending from its nose over the top of its head. The length of this stripe down the back varies. Badgers may weigh up to 30 pounds (13.5 kg), but average about 19 pounds (8.6 kg) for males and 14 pounds (6.3 kg) for females. Eyeshine at night is green.

 

Range and Habitat

The badger is widely distributed in the contiguous United States. Its range extends southward from the Great Lakes states to the Ohio Valley and westward through the Great Plains to the Pacific Coast, though not west of the Cascade mountain range in the Northwest. Badgers are found at elevations of up to 12,000 feet (3,600 m).

Badgers prefer open country with light to moderate cover, such as pastures and rangelands inhabited by burrowing rodents. They are seldom found in areas that have many trees.

 

Fun Facts

Badgers are members of the weasel family and have the musky odor characteristic of this family.

They are especially adapted for burrowing, with strong front legs equipped with long, well-developed claws.

Badgers are active at night, remaining in dens during daylight hours, but are often seen at dawn or dusk.

 

Damage Identification

Most damage caused by badgers results from their digging in pursuit of prey. Open burrows create a hazard to livestock and horseback riders. Badger diggings in crop fields may slow harvesting or cause damage to machinery. Digging can also damage earthen dams or dikes and irrigation canals, resulting in flooding and the loss of irrigation water. Diggings on the shoulders of roads can lead to erosion and the collapse of road surfaces.

 

Legal Status

In some states, badgers are classified as furbearers and protected by regulated trapping seasons, while in other states they receive no legal protection. Contact your state wildlife agency before conducting lethal control of badgers.

 

Damage Prevention and Control Methods

Exclusion
Generally not practical.

Habitat Modification
Controlling rodent populations may make habitats less suitable for badgers.

Frightening
Bright lights.

Repellents
None are registered.

Toxicants
None are registered.

Fumigants
None are registered.

Trapping
Steel leghold traps. Live traps.

 


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The above information was adapted from PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF WILDLIFE DAMAGE with permission of the editors, Scott E. Hygnstrom, Robert M. Timm, and Gary E. Larson (Cooperative Extension Division, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources University of Nebraska-Lincoln, United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Animal Damage Control, Great Plains Agricultural Council Wildlife Committee).

Pennsylvania Wildlife Services

Pennsylvania Critters

Our local Pennsylvania offices offer Badger services in the following cities:
Abbottstown, Abington, Ackermanville, Adamsburg, Adamstown, Akron, Alburtis, Aldan, Allenport, Allentown, Alquippa, Ambler, Apollo, Applewood, Ardmore, Arendtsville, Armagh, Arnold, Arona, Aspinwall, Atglen, Atwood, Audubon, Avalon, Avondale, Avonmore, Bala Cynwyd, Baldwin, Bally, Baltimore, Bangor, Bath, Beallsville, Beaver, Bechtelsville, Bell Acres, Bellevue, Ben Avon, Ben Avon Heights, Bendersville, Bensalem, Bentleyville, Bernville, Bethel Park, Bethel Park, Bethlehem, Big Run, Biglerville, Birdsboro, Blairsville, Blawnox, Blue Bell, Bolivar, Bonneauville, Boyertown, Brackenridge, Braddock, Braddock Hills, Bradford Woods, Brentwood, Bridgeport, Bridgeville, Bristol, Brockway, Brookhaven, Brookville, Bruin, Bryn Athyn, Bryn Mawr, Burgettstown, Butler, California, Callensburg, Callery, Callery, Canonsburg, Carlisle, Carnegie, Carroll Valley, Castle Shannon, Catasaqua, Center Valley, Center Valley, Centerport, Centerville, Chalfant, Chalfont, Chambersburg, Chapman, Charleroi, Cherry Tree, Cherry Valley, Chester, Chester Heights, Cheswick, Chicora, Christiana, Churchill, Clairton, Clarion, Claysville, Clifton Heights, Clymer, Coal Center, Coatesville, Cokeburg, Collegeville, Collingdale, Columbia, Colwyn, Connoquenessing, Conshohocken, Coopersburg, Coplay, Coraopolis, Corsica, Crafton, Creekside, Cross Roads, Daisytown, Dallastown, Darby, Dayton, Deemston, Delmont, Delta, Denver, Derry, Dillsburg, Donegal, Donora, Dormont, Douglassville, Dover, Downingtown, Doylestown, Dravosburg, Dublin, Dunlevy, Duquesne, East Bangor, East Berlin, East Brady, East Butler, East Greenville, East Lansdowne, East Mckeesport, East Petersburg, East Pittsburgh, East Prospect, East Vandergrift, East Washington, Easton, Eau Claire, Eddystone, Edgewood, Edgeworth, Edinburg, Elco, Elderton, Elizabeth, Elizabethtown, Elkins Park, Ellsworth, Elverson, Emmaus, Emsworth, Ephrata, Ernest, Etna, Evans City, Export, Fairfield, Fairplay, Fairview, Falls Creek, Fawn Grove, Felton, Finleyville, Finleyville, Fleetwood, Fogelsville, Folcroft, Ford City, Ford Cliff, Forest Hills, Fort Washington, Fountain Hill, Fox Chapel, Fox Chapel, Foxburg, Franklin Park, Franklintown, Freemansburg, Freeport, Gastonville, George G Meade, Gettysburg, Gilbertsville, Gladwyne, Glassport, Glen Campbell, Glen Rock, Glendon, Glenfield, Glenolden, Glenshaw, Glenside, Goldsboro, Green Hills, Green Lane, Green Tree, Greensburg, Greensburg, Greensburg, Hallam, Hamburg, Hanover, Harmony, Harmony, Harrisville, Hatboro, Hatfield, Hawthorn, Haysville, Heidelberg, Hellertown, Hellertown, Homer City, Homestead, Honey Brook, Horsham, Houston, Hulmeville, Hunker, Huntingdon Valley, Hyde Park, Ijamsville, Imperial, Indiana, Indiana Township, Ingram, Irwin, Ivyland, Jacobus, Jeannette, Jefferson, Jefferson, Jefferson Hills, Jenkintown, Jenkintown, Joffre, Karns City, Keedysville, Kenhorst, Kennett Square, King Of Prussia, Kittanning, Knox, Koppel, Kutztown, Kutztown, Ladiesburg, Lancaster, Langeloth, Langhorne, Langhorne Manor, Lansdale, Lansdowne, Latrobe, Laurel Mountain Park, Laureldale, Leechburg, Leesport, Leetsdale, Lenhartsville, Lewisberry, Liberty, Ligonier, Lincoln, Lititz, Littlestown, Loganville, Long Branch, Lower Burrell, Lower Makefield, Lower Merion, Lyons, Macungie, Madison, Malvern, Manchester, Manheim, Manor, Manorville, Marcus Hook, Marianna, Marianna, Marietta, Marion Center, Mars, Maugansville, Mcdonald, Mckees Rocks, Mckeesport, Mcsherrystown, Media, Midway, Millbourne, Millersville, Millersville, Millvale, Modena, Mohnton, Monessen, Monongahela, Monroeville, Monroeville, Morrisville, Morton, Mount Joy, Mount Oliver, Mount Penn, Mount Pleasant, Mount Wolf, Mountville, Mt. Lebanon, Munhall, Murrysville, Narberth, Nazareth, New Alexandria, New Bedford, New Bethlehem, New Britain, New Eagle, New Florence, New Freedom, New Holland, New Hope, New Kensington, New Market, New Morgan, New Oxford, New Salem, New Stanton, Newtown, Norristown, North Apollo, North Braddock, North Catasauqua, North Charleroi, North Irwin, North Wales, North York, Northampton, Norwood, Oakdale, Oakmont, Oklahoma, Osborne, Oxford, Parker, Parkesburg, Parkside, Pen Argyl, Penn, Penn Hills, Penndel, Pennsburg, Pennsbury Village, Perkasie, Petrolia, Phoenixville, Pitcairn, Pittsburgh, Pleasant Hills, Plum, Plumville, Plymouth Meeting, Port Vue, Portersville, Portland, Pottstown, Prospect, Prospect Park, Punxsutawney, Quakertown, Quarryville, Radnor, Railroad, Rankin, Reading, Red Hill, Red Lion, Renfrew, Reynoldsville, Richlandtown, Ridley Park, Riegelsville, Rimersburg, Robesonia, Rockledge, Roscoe, Rose Valley, Roseto, Rosslyn Farms, Royersford, Rural Valley, Rutledge, Sabillasville, Saint Lawrence, Saint Petersburg, Saltsburg, Saxonburg, Scenery Hill, Schwenksville, Scottdale, Scranton, Sellersville, Seven Fields, Seven Valleys, Seward, Sewickley, Sewickley Heights, Sewickley Hills, Sharon Hill, Sharpsburg, Sharpsburg, Shelocta, Shillington, Shippensburg, Shippenville, Shoemakersville, Shrewsbury, Silver Spring, Silverdale, Sinking Spring, Slatington, Sligo, Slippery Rock, Smicksburg, Smithton, Souderton, South Bethlehem, South Coatesville, South Greensburg, Southampton, Speers, Spring City, Spring Grove, Springdale, Stewartstown, Stockdale, Stockertown, Strasburg, Strattanville, Strausstown, Summerville, Sutersville, Swarthmore, Swissvale, Sykesville, Tarentum, Tatamy, Telford, Temple, Terre Hill, Thornburg, Timblin, Topton, Trafford, Trainer, Trappe, Tredyffrin, Trumbauersville, Tullytown, Turtle Creek, Twilight, Unionville, Upland, Upper Dublin, Upper St. Clair, Valencia, Valencia, Vandergrift, Vernon, Verona, Versailles, Villanova, Walkersville, Wall, Walnutport, Wampum, Washington, Wellsville, Wernersville, West Alexander, West Brownsville, West Chester, West Conshohocken, West Easton, West Elizabeth, West Grove, West Homestead, West Kittanning, West Leechburg, West Liberty, West Middletown, West Mifflin, West Newton, West Reading, West Sunbury, West View, West York, Whitaker, White Oak, Whitehall, Whitehall, Whitehall, Wilkes-Barre, Wilkinsburg, Willow Street, Wilmerding, Wilson, Wind Gap, Windsor, Winterstown, Womelsdorf, Worthington, Worthville, Wrightsville, Wyomissing, Yardley, Yeadon, Yoe, York, York Haven, York Springs, Yorkana, Youngstown, Youngwood, Zelienople