Janet, it sounds like you have issues with different critters in some areas of the UK too. We have lots of animals here, some that can cause damage to our gardens and our homes if they gain access. Florida is a haven for all sorts of animals.
We have lots of Squirrels that raid our bird feeders. One year they were even stealing the sunflower heads from my plants and carrying them up onto a tree branch to eat the seeds. We've been fortunate that Squirrels have never gained access to our attic but a neighbor once had a lot of damage when they chewed through the eaves and got into her attic.
Folks who live near the water here in Florida, often see Alligators and have to be very careful if they have small children and pets! This Alligator decided to go into a neighbors yard one day and a trapper had to be called ... the gator took off back into the water but the trapper caught it.
We have lots of little lizards where I live too and I like having them around because they eat bugs! Very large Iguanas and other lizards are found in the southern part of Florida but I hope they don't end up moving farther north in the state!
We have frogs and toads around too ... not usually a problem but we now have the invasive Cuban Tree Frog that is said to eat anything it can fit into it's mouth and it's eating all of our little native tree frogs:
We have lots of Raccoons who are nocturnal critters and they are opportunists ... if any seed remains in the feeders they will clean them out ... they are known to destroy feeders to get to the seed. This first photo is a raccoon in a pine tree in my yard and the second was a young one beneath a feeder at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge office. Cute critters but a nuisance sometimes:
We have many different types of turtles here too and thankfully they don't do damage to the garden. Some turtles are found in the water while others are strictly land tortoises. The Gopher Tortoise is a threatened species here and laws forbid human contact with them or their burrows but we humans do stop our vehicles in the road to help them get to the other side. These first two photos are of small Gopher tortoises in my yard and my sisters yard and the last one is a Florida Box Turtle in my backyard. I'd read that they like bananas so I went and got it a banana to eat.
The Armadillo is one many in the southern part of the U.S. knows of. They eat grubs and worms beneath the soil and they can really do some damage digging up your lawn! We have a young couple whose property backs up to ours and they have Armadillos living beneath their porch. We don't use chemicals on our lawn because we have dogs that like to eat the grass so we do have the occasional visit from an Armadillo:
Eeek, we have lots of Snakes too, both venomous and non-venomous. I do not like snakes at all, they really scare me but I know they are all a part of nature. This is a non-venomous Black Racer Snake and a non-venemous Banded Water Snake:
Thank goodness I've never had Wild Pigs on my property but many people in the southern part of the U.S. (and possibly other areas too) have these things around and they really can destroy a garden as they root for grubs and whatever else it is they eat. This photo was taken a few years ago at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge:
~ I'm an old gal who still loves playing in the dirt!
~ Playing in the dirt is my therapy ... and I'm in therapy a lot!
