Durban - For residents of KwaZulu-Natal, having a run-in with a Vervet Monkey is a daily affair that often ends in shouting and yelling at a creature that cannot understand your language.
Toppling over bins, entering your home and stealing food from your cupboard or counter-tops are just some of the things you have to deal with when it comes to Vervet monkeys.
But before we can solve the problem, we need to understand one important thing: our planet is a wild one made to suit the needs of man, not the other way around.
Therefore, people should educate themselves on how to deal with Vervet monkeys without harming them or ourselves in the process.
Food left in plain sight is one of the biggest attractions for troops of monkeys passing through your area, which is what they do on a daily basis.
Monkeys, like all animals, need food to survive.
Prior to our province’s development into the modern world, KZN was bush (mostly bananas and sugar cane) for as far as the eye could see. This was a time when monkeys got to roam freely.
But as buildings and residential areas sprung up, the wild was slowly taken away from these creatures, forcing them to enter our ‘residential areas’ to find food.
It is here that the conflict begins.
(Before I go on, I must add that the reason I am writing this is because two monkeys entered my house on Monday evening and stole a packet of fresh roti’s, leaving with me a stale loaf of bread for dinner.)
According to Steve Smit, from Monkey Helpline, water is the most effective way to get rid of unwanted Monkey presence in your yard.
Having a toy squirt gun can help you immensely.
“Monkeys are naturally wary of snakes, so realistic rubber snakes placed around your home or garden can discourage them. Don’t leave a rubber snake in the same spot too long. Otherwise, the Vervets will get used to its immobility and ignore it.
“Insect-proof screens on windows and doors serve an additional function of keeping Vervets out of homes. Plastic mesh on windows and security doors/gates is also easily fitted and very effective.
“Prevent foraging in refuse bins by securing the lids with a convenient but Vervet-proof clip or strap. Sprinkle diluted Jeyes Fluid (diluted with water, equal parts), inside on the outside or around refuse bins and bags,” it said on the Monkey Helpline website.
More information on how to get rid of monkeys safely can be found here.
Smit said it is important to remember that “you are always in charge, not them” and that “monkeys are non-invasive”.
“It is important for people to know that monkeys live in a territory originally established by their ancestors. Sometimes they move around because of disruptions in their home or territory.
“Also with monkeys, each individual troop is bonded to a territory. So if you see monkeys where you haven’t before, it could be because they are using a part of their territory they haven’t used in a while. Maybe someone chopped down their bush and built a complex.
“It is important for people to know that those monkeys have historically lived there and will continue to live there,” Smit said.
IOL