Wild turkeys ruffle feathers in Pocatello

By Lisa Lete

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    POCATELLO (eastidahonews.com) — A booming population of wild turkeys is causing headaches for homeowners in Pocatello’s wildland-urban interface, where homes meet the foothills and canyons.

Wild turkeys, first introduced to Idaho in 1961, have become notorious for causing trouble in residential areas. They roost in inconvenient places, scratch up lawn furniture, peck at their reflections in windows, and frequently block driveways or roadways. Their noisy fluttering, gobbles, and squabbles disrupt the peace, especially at dawn—and they leave behind plenty of messy droppings. During mating season, some turkeys show aggression toward people and pets.

Recently, on a Pocatello social media page discussing the turkey problem, resident Kerry Clark said. “They destroyed my garden probably five times last year. Now they’ve taken a liking to trying to break my parents’ window to get to my mom’s plants. One was caught pecking and kicking the window to get to the cactus.”

According to Jennifer Jackson, regional communications manager of Idaho Department of Fish and Game (Southeast Region), the complaints are common from homeowners in areas like Johnny Creek, Mink Creek, Indian Hills, Buckskin and Pocatello Creek.

“We have trapped and removed turkeys — in fact, we did that already in Johnny Creek earlier this year,” Jackson said. “But the turkeys got trap-shy very quickly, so we stopped. Still, after removing only a dozen birds, we didn’t hear many complaints from residents. Trapping efforts haze the birds, break up flocks, and disperse them across an area, ultimately reducing conflicts between the birds and people.”

However, Jackson emphasized that wildlife officers can’t remove every turkey from residential neighborhoods, especially in areas that overlap with their natural habitat.

“What we can do is educate the public, provide tips for living with wildlife, and, when necessary, step in to assist when the conflict rises to a level that significantly impacts human safety or could cause extensive property damage,” she said.

For homeowners outside city limits, there are more direct options. Turkey season is open for male turkeys. Licensed hunters with landowner permission can harvest them through May 25.

Jackson encourages landowners to consider participating in Idaho Fish and Game’s Managed Hunt Program, which connects responsible hunters with private landowners looking to reduce turkey numbers without the hassle of managing the logistics themselves.

“It’s a free and completely customizable program,” said Jackson. “We handle the scheduling and enforcement of landowner rules so the burden isn’t on the property owner.”

Learn more about the managed-hunt-program here.

Jackson offers other tips for keeping the turkeys at bay:

Remove bird feeders or switch to styles that don’t spill seed onto the ground, which attracts turkeys. If neighbors in town are feeding turkeys on purpose, ask them to stop doing so, as it is against city ordinance. Use fencing or netting over gardens to keep turkeys out. Try motion-activated sprinklers or movable coyote decoys to scare birds off. “Ultimately, we remind people that they live in the wildland-urban interface. Jackson said. “Wildlife will always live there. There will be joys, and there will always be some conflicts and challenges. It’s part of the trade-off.”

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