Pest or Pal? Keeping Pests as Pets

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure is never more true than when it comes to pets. Some people love animals; others have a hard time tolerating them. There are those who love dogs, or anything furry, while others tend to invest in the creepy crawly.

In the United States, there are about 142 million freshwater fish, 88.3 million cats, and 74.8 million dogs that are kept as pets. Even though these are the three most popular animals to have, not everybody is interested in these. Others prefer to keep what many would define as pests.

Big or small

We typically think of pests as being small bugs or rodents that infest our homes and make it more difficult to live our lives, but there are many good-sized mammals that can be considered pests as well.

Wild skunks are gross. They will attack our own pets, tear through garbage cans to find food, and worst of all, stink up everything. Even after knowing this, some people still get them as pets. Sure they have their scent glands removed, but skunks are still wild animals.

Even though skunks are very smart, and can even be housetrained, they are difficult to take care of. This pest requires a strict diet, and has a high possibility of getting rabies. It is better to just avoid this pest and stick with a pet that is more manageable.

Many people cringe and stomp on any spider or snake that they come across in their yard, seeing them as potentially dangerous pests, but not all feel this way. There are those who spend top dollar to own a pet tarantula, while their neighbor sprays twice a year to make sure they never have to see one in their yard.

Snakes are popular pest that are sometimes kept as pets. The ones that have been domesticated are different from those in the wild, but still carry with them some of the same characteristics.

If you are planning on getting one of these pets, it is important to purchase them from a reliable source, not just pick one out of your backyard. Talk with an expert in pest control before making any big decisions to ensure you know what your potential future pet is capable of doing.

By Cassie Costner