Bozeman, Montana is a unique American city in that it is a large urban area bordered by vast, barren wilderness. This has the unique effect of forcing many types of nuisance animals into the city of Bozeman to look for food, shelter, and warmth. Since this city in the American West is so unique, there might be some surprising pests located there. Continue reading to find out more about what the most common pests found in Bozeman are.

Ticks
Obviously, ticks were going to make the list. These arachnids are found in many locations in the United States. Ticks are capable of spreading a wide variety of diseases to humans. Some of these diseases include Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Rats and Mice
Rats and mice are found throughout the urban areas of America and Bozeman is no different. These rodents spread many diseases through direct bites, their droppings, and food contamination. Some of the diseases they spread can potentially kill humans. In addition to their health risks, rats and mice also cause a lot of damage within buildings. They will chew on wires, creating fire hazards, chew up insulation which causes decreased energy efficiency, and they will even chew through wood, weakening structures.

Raccoons
No city would be complete without having a raccoon population running around. Bozeman has many raccoons around town, due to the wide variety of easy food sources commonly found by restaurants and homes. Raccoons have the potential to cause a real mess and serious damage to your property, due to their nature of getting into virtually anywhere to find food. In addition, raccoons carry several different diseases including rabies and raccoon roundworm.

Opossums
The opossum is best-known for its ability to “play dead”, but there is actually far more to understand about this creature. They often wander around urban areas in search of some kind of food they can scavenge. In addition, they may be looking for a warm place to stay during the cold months. Opossums carry diseases that can be harmful to humans and their pets, so people should definitely be cautious around these critters.

Birds
There are all kinds of pest birds that can be found in Bozeman. These birds primarily spread diseases through the droppings that they leave everywhere. In fact, birds have been found to carry roughly 70 different viruses and bacteria in their droppings, most of them very dangerous to human health. In addition to the diseases they carry, their droppings can cause corrosion of metals and potentially cause the catastrophic failure of any weight-bearing metal structures.

Fox
Since Bozeman is located in Montana, it is no surprise that foxes are often seen in town. Foxes generally stay close to humans so that they are not pursued by larger predators, such as coyotes and mountain lions. Foxes generally do not present harm to humans, although they could be aggressive if they have rabies or if you have small children or pets.

Coyotes
The coyote is seen less often than the fox, but it happens once in a while in Bozeman. Coyotes often come near urban areas in the search of food. If you have any chickens or small livestock, they may present a direct threat to them. In addition, any small children or pets should also be kept away from coyotes. Coyotes can sometimes have rabies, making them more aggressive, which can be serious to humans.

Snakes
Snakes commonly make their way into Bozeman, due to the abundance of prey for them to eat. While rare, the prairie rattlesnake is Montana’s only venomous snake, so there should be great caution exercised around any snakes that look remotely close to the rattlesnake. Every other snake presents little harm, as even if they bite a human, the worst thing that could happen would be an infection that should be easily treatable with antibiotics.