With Halloween just around the corner, you’re sure to see pumpkins, ghosts, cornstalks and more adorning homes and businesses in your neighborhood. If you’re planning to join the fun, take a moment before purchasing supplies or decorating outside to consider if your display could attract or harm wildlife.

Rachel Lincoln, a wildlife outreach coordinator with the DNR Wildlife Division, said it can be as simple as being aware that pumpkins, gourds, potted plants and flowers may bring deer, squirrels, birds and other animals to your property, or avoiding the use of paint, bleach or other chemicals on pumpkins because those substances can be harmful to wildlife that eat the pumpkins.

Beyond that, it’s about taking a few extra precautions.

“Be sure your decorations are clean and scent-free. Every October, we get reports of wildlife with Halloween candy buckets or decorations stuck on their heads or feet from trying to reach the sweets that were inside,” Lincoln said. “It’s easy to prevent this by cleaning up candy wrappers or spills around outdoor decorations and not placing food-related decor that might lure animals.”

Here are other tips for wildlife-safe decorations:

• Be cautious with fake cobwebs and string lights. Placing these decorations over bushes or between trees can accidentally entangle bats and birds flying through.
• Position these items away from natural flight paths or wildlife habitats to reduce the risk.
• After the holiday, check decorations for any small critters that may have used them as shelter, such as birds, squirrels or insects, to ensure you don’t accidentally trap or harm them.

Questions? Contact Rachel Lincoln at 517-243-5813.