Animals in Distress

Animals in Distress Founded in 1977 as a sanctuary for abused and homeless animals, the shelter houses 400 cats and dogs at any one time. Donations make all this happen.

06/03/2026

The bat zigzagging across the yard at dusk looks erratic. She's not. She's locked onto an insect with sound, reading a map that runs at frequencies you can't hear.

Little brown bats can live thirty years. They return to the same roost — the same attic, the same barn, the same hollow tree — year after year. The bat you saw last summer is almost certainly the same one this summer 🦇

🌿 She's not blind. She has small but sensitive eyes and sees well in low light, with echolocation layered on top. Her wing is her hand — a thumb plus four elongated fingers with skin stretched between them. A nursing mother eats thousands of insects in a single night.

🐾 Three details that matter this month:

- Don't seal the attic entrance between May and August — pups can't fly until late summer. Wait until fall.
- A grounded bat needs a box and gloves, not bare hands. Call your local wildlife agency for guidance.
- She returns to the same yard every May because the roost works and the insects are there. That's not chance. It's hers.

The bat over the yard at dusk has been doing this longer than most of the neighborhood has lived there 🦇

06/03/2026

That dragonfly hovering over your yard?

It's the deadliest mosquito hunter on the planet.

A single dragonfly eats 30 to hundreds of mosquitoes
per day. It catches them mid-flight. At speeds up to
30 mph. With a 95% success rate.

For context: a lion's kill rate is about 25%.
A great white shark's is about 50%.

The dragonfly makes them look amateur.

And it's been doing this for 300 million years.
Dragonflies predate dinosaurs. They've been perfecting
mosquito murder since before trees existed.

Their larvae — which live underwater for 1-3 years
before becoming adults — eat mosquito larvae. So they
kill mosquitoes in BOTH life stages. In the water as
babies. In the air as adults.

A backyard with a healthy dragonfly population has
virtually no mosquito problem.

But here's what kills dragonflies:

Mosquito foggers and yard spray services. The same
products you pay $100/month for to kill mosquitoes?
They kill dragonflies too. And the dragonfly was
doing the job better. For free.

Pesticides kill the solution along with the problem.
Then the mosquitoes come back first. The dragonflies
take years to recover. You spray again. Repeat.

How to attract dragonflies:
A small pond or water feature — even a whiskey barrel
pond. Dragonflies need standing water to breed.
Native plants around the water's edge — tall grasses
and reeds for perching.
Don't use mosquito dunks in your dragonfly pond —
they kill the dragonfly larvae too.
Stop the mosquito spray service. Let nature handle it.
Flat rocks in sunny spots near water — dragonflies
bask to regulate body temperature.

You're paying $1,200/year for mosquito spray.

The dragonfly does it better. For the cost of a
$40 whiskey barrel.

Stop spraying. Start attracting.


06/03/2026

Hello. I'm the skunk. Yes, I sprayed your dog. I know.
Let me explain what happened.

Your dog ran at me in the dark. I turned around. I
lifted my tail. I gave him TWO warning stamps with my
front feet. He kept coming. So I sprayed.

I can spray accurately up to 15 feet. I have 5-6 shots
before I need 10 days to reload. I don't WANT to spray.
It's my only defense. I can't fight. I can't run fast.
I can't climb. Spray is all I have.

Your dog ignored two warnings and a raised tail. I used
my last resort. I'd argue that's on him.

But let's talk about what I was doing in your yard
BEFORE the incident.

I was digging small holes in your lawn. Those holes?
That's me pulling grubs out of the soil. Japanese beetle
larvae. June bug larvae. The grubs that are destroying
your lawn from underneath.

I eat 400+ grubs per season. Plus beetle larvae.
Crickets. Grasshoppers. Mice. Voles. And yellowjacket
nests.

YELLOWJACKET NESTS. I dig them up and eat every single
one. Larvae, pupae, adults. The entire colony. I'm
immune to their stings. My thick fur and skin protect
me. I am the #1 natural predator of ground-nesting
yellowjackets.

You spent $150 to have a yellowjacket nest removed last
August. I would have done it for free. In one night.

"But the smell."
Tomato juice doesn't work. Use this: 1 quart hydrogen
peroxide (3%), 1/4 cup baking soda, 1 teaspoon dish
soap. Apply to dry fur. Let sit 5 minutes. Rinse.
Gone.

What to do:
Don't let your dog outside unleashed at night during
skunk season (Feb-April = mating season — they're
extra active right now).
If you see a skunk — back away slowly. They give
multiple warnings. If the tail goes up and front feet
stamp, you have 3 seconds.
Don't block their path. Don't corner them. Let them
leave.
Appreciate the grub control. Those small lawn holes?
That's free pest removal.

I'm sorry about the dog.
But he had 2 warnings and a raised tail.

And your lawn has never looked better because of me.




06/03/2026

The large green mantis on your tomato stake isn't the helpful garden predator most people assume it is.

If it's longer than your finger, it's almost certainly a Chinese mantis — an introduced species, not a native one. And the difference matters more than most gardeners realize 🌿

Chinese mantises are indiscriminate hunters. They don't target pest insects specifically — they ambush whatever lands nearby, including the pollinators your garden depends on. At full size, they're large enough to catch swallowtail butterflies, honeybees, and monarchs. They've been documented catching hummingbirds at feeders.

Your native mantis — the Carolina mantis — is much smaller, grayish-brown, and camouflaged. She provides genuine pest control at a scale that doesn't threaten pollinators or birds.

🌱 How to tell them apart:

- Size is the fastest indicator. If the mantis is large and bright green, it's likely Chinese. If it's small and mottled gray-brown, it's likely native Carolina

- The egg cases are different too. Chinese mantis egg cases are round and puffy — they look like a toasted marshmallow stuck to a branch or fence post. Carolina mantis egg cases are long, flat, and teardrop-shaped. If you find the puffy ones, removing them in winter prevents a new generation of the larger species from hatching in your garden

- If a large mantis is perched near a hummingbird feeder, relocate it to a distant part of the yard. She's not guarding the feeder — she's hunting from it

🌿 Why this matters for your garden:

- A garden that loses pollinators to an oversized predator produces less fruit. Tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, and peppers all depend on the bees and butterflies the Chinese mantis catches
- The native Carolina mantis is small enough that she targets pest-sized insects without threatening the pollinators. Protecting the native and managing the invasive keeps the balance working
- Egg-case removal in winter is the simplest, most effective intervention — one case removed prevents hundreds of hatchlings

The mantis on the tomato stake looks like it's helping. Whether it actually is depends on which species it is 🌱

06/03/2026

Two tall white wildflowers grow in the same roadside ditches and field edges. From ten feet away they look identical. One is harmless. One is seriously toxic.

Queen Anne's lace — the wild ancestor of the carrot. Poison hemlock — toxic in every part of the plant.

🌿 Three differences, three seconds:

The stem — Queen Anne's lace has a hairy green stem. Poison hemlock has a smooth stem with purple blotches. Purple spots on the stem is the primary field mark.

The smell — crush a Queen Anne's lace leaf and it smells like carrot. Poison hemlock smells musty and unpleasant. Wash hands after handling.

The flower — Queen Anne's lace often has a single dark purple floret in the center of the white cluster. Poison hemlock doesn't.

🐾 Poison hemlock is spreading across the eastern US and can grow several feet tall. If you find it on your property, don't pull it with bare hands — wear gloves and bag the plant. Contact your county extension office for large stands.

Check the stem first. Purple blotches, smooth surface — leave it alone 🌿

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06/03/2026

Build a Butterfly & Pollinator Garden 🦋

A healthy pollinator garden supports more than just butterflies. It provides food, shelter, and breeding space for many beneficial insects throughout the season.

To create a balanced habitat, include:

1️⃣ Host plants for caterpillars
2️⃣ Nectar flowers for adult butterflies and pollinators

Here are some reliable butterfly-friendly plant pairings:

- Monarchs — Milkweed for caterpillars and Joe Pye W**d for nectar
- Zebra Swallowtails — Pawpaw trees paired with nectar-rich Lantana
- Gulf Fritillaries — Passion Vine for larvae and Coneflowers for adults
- Spicebush Swallowtails — Spicebush or Sassafras with Cardinal Flower nearby
- Painted Ladies — Thistles as host plants and Asters for nectar
- Tiger Swallowtails — Ash, Wild Cherry, or Tulip Tree with Gaillardia blooms
- Red Admirals — Nettles for caterpillars and flowering herbs for nectar
- Question Mark Butterflies — Hackberry or Elm trees supported by nearby flowering plants
- Sulphurs — Clover and legumes for larvae, with Garden Phlox for nectar
- Viceroys — Willow trees combined with diverse nectar flowers

🌿 Native plants are especially valuable because they naturally support local pollinators and require less maintenance over time.

A few thoughtful plant choices can turn any outdoor space into a vibrant refuge filled with butterflies, bees, and seasonal color.

05/26/2026

The pollinator roster changes between May and June. The species visiting the garden now are different from the ones that were here a month ago.

In April, the early-season pollinators — mining bees, bumblebee queens, mourning cloaks, eastern commas — dominated. They emerged from hibernation and fueled up on dandelions, willows, and red maples. Most have now nested or laid eggs.

The May shift: 🌿

ARRIVING:
- Sweat bees — metallic green, tiny, ground-nesting. Peak activity May through August.
- Carpenter bees — drilling into deck rails and fence posts. Active pollinators of vegetables and wildflowers.
- Syrphid flies — hoverflies that mimic bees. Larvae eat aphids. Adults pollinate.
- Skipper butterflies — small, fast, orange-brown. Active on clover, lantana, coneflower.
- Hummingbird moths — day-flying sphinx moths. Hovering at tubular flowers.

STILL PRESENT:
- Bumblebee workers — the queen started the colony. Workers now forage.
- Mason bees — finishing their nesting season. Sealing tubes with mud.

DECLINING:
- Mining bees — nesting complete. Adults dying off. Next generation underground.
- Spring butterflies — mourning cloaks entering summer dormancy (aestivation).

🐾 What this means:

- The flowers that were sufficient in April may not serve the May pollinators — different species, different preferences
- Sweat bees and syrphid flies need open-faced flowers. Carpenter bees and hummingbird moths need tubular ones.
- A garden with three bloom types covers most of the roster

The garden that was buzzing in April may be quiet in May — not because the pollinators are gone, but because the roster changed and the flowers didn't.

05/26/2026

The mouse in the garage with enormous eyes and white feet isn't a house mouse. She's a deer mouse — native, and the most common wild mammal in North America.

The house mouse is uniformly gray-brown with small eyes and a naked tail the same color on both sides. She's introduced, lives permanently in human structures, and chews wiring. She's the one that colonizes kitchens.

🌿 The deer mouse has large dark eyes, white belly, white feet, and a sharply bicolored tail — dark on top, white below. She lives outdoors in woodlands and fields. She enters garages and sheds in fall for warmth but doesn't move into the house.

She eats seeds, berries, insects, and fungi. She's a primary food source for owls, foxes, and snakes.

🐾 The one-second diagnostic:

- Large eyes + white feet + bicolored tail = deer mouse. Native.
- Small eyes + uniform gray + scaly uniform tail = house mouse. Introduced.

One safety note: in some regions, deer mice can carry hantavirus. Don't sweep or vacuum droppings — wet-clean with disinfectant and ventilate the space first.

Two mice. One native visitor, one permanent resident. The eyes tell you which 🌿

05/26/2026

You walked out to the woodpile and I was coiled near the base. I flattened my head into a triangle. I hissed loud enough to sound like a blown tire. I vibrated my tail against the dry leaves until it buzzed like a rattlesnake.

You backed away and grabbed a hoe.

I'm a bullsnake. I'm not venomous. I'm not a rattlesnake. And everything you just saw was a bluff.

🐍 The triangular head is an illusion — I flatten my neck muscles to mimic the venom glands I don't have. The hiss comes from a structure in my throat that vibrates when I force air out. The tail rattle sounds perfect, but if you look closely, there's no rattle on the end — just scales hitting dry leaves. I do all of this because I'm slow, I'm visible, and looking terrifying is my only option against coyotes, hawks, and you.

If you'd cornered me, I would have lunged. But my mouth is full of tiny, backward-facing teeth built for holding field mice — not fangs.

I'm a constrictor. I track the rodents that chew your garden roots, gnaw your irrigation lines, and try to nest in your garage. An adult bullsnake eats a significant number of mice, voles, and pocket gophers every summer.

Females lay eggs in loose soil or abandoned burrows in early summer. When the hatchlings emerge, they already know the full performance — the head flattening, the hiss, the tail vibration. No one teaches them. They're born knowing how to bluff.

🌿 If you see me:

- Step back and let me leave — the hissing and coiling stop as soon as I feel safe
- Check the tail — if it's pointed and has no physical rattle segments, I'm a mimic. A real rattlesnake has a visible, segmented rattle you can see even from a distance
- Don't use rat poison near your property — it contaminates my food supply and I move on. The rodents come back. I don't
- I'm harmless to you, your children, and your pets. The performance is the defense. There's nothing behind it

I've been under your woodpile for three years eating the mice that would have chewed through your wires. You didn't know I was there.

That's how it's supposed to work 🌱

05/26/2026

The wasp building a small open nest under your eave isn't the one that stings at picnics. That's a different species entirely.

Paper wasps build small, visible nests with open hexagonal cells — usually a dozen adults, not aggressive away from the nest, and they hunt garden caterpillars to feed their young.

Yellowjackets build hidden nests underground or inside walls. Colonies reach thousands by late summer. They're the ones at the soda can, the hamburger, the trash can. They sting repeatedly.

The quick read: open nest under the eave with visible cells = paper wasp, leave it. Wasp at your plate interested in your food = yellowjacket, different animal entirely.

The nest most people spray is the species that rarely stings and eats garden pests. The species that actually causes problems nests where you can't see it.

Address

P. O. Box 609, 5075 Limeport Pike
Coopersburg, PA
18036

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Thursday 1pm - 4pm
Saturday 1pm - 4pm
Sunday 1pm - 4pm

Telephone

+16109669383

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