How to Get Rid of an Otter

Otters are playful, energetic animals that spend much of their days gracefully swimming and hunting in the waters of rivers, ponds, and oceans. Fish is a staple of most otter's diets, so it is rare for them to seek nourishment outside their watery homes. However, these social creatures are also curious and may get a taste for your prize-winning tomatoes or discarded leftovers. If otters become pests on your property, there are non-lethal ways to get rid of them.

Lights

Radio

Rags

Predator urine

Soiled cat litter

Seek out the otter's den, which can usually be found in rivers, ponds and wetlands. Otters do not make their own dens, so they find shelter in the dens and lodges of beavers, muskrats, badgers, groundhogs and various other animals.

Place battery-operated flashing lights outside of the otter's den. Position the lights near the entrance so that it shines into the otter's sleeping area.

Place a portable radio near the entrance of the otter's den. Tune into a talk station and turn the sound up as loud as possible.

Leave the flashing lights and radio on 24 hours a day. This will disturb the animal's sleeping pattern.

Sprinkle rags with predator urine and place these rags as far inside the den as possible. This will frighten the otters and prompt them to leave. Foxes, vultures, and wolves are natural otter predators.

Collect soiled cat litter and dump the litter into the den. The unpleasant smell of the litter will permeate the den.

Follow these methods for a full week and the otters should vacate the den and leave your property in peace.

Predator urine can be found at farm supply stores and hunting shops.

Use a fluorescent flashing light to conserve energy.

Do not kill the otters as lethal action against these animals is illegal in many states.