The Top 10 Signs You Need Animal Control Or Wildlife Removal
There’s no shortage of reasons why animal control is needed and there’s enough evidence pointing to why wildlife removal is important to your safety. But how do you know if you have wild animals like squirrels, mice and raccoons living in your attic? How do you discover if you have a bat colony to contend with or a family of birds that need to be removed from your air vents?
These are the most common questions home owners like you have, and we’re going to answer your questions below. Remember, if you do discover that you are harbouring wild animals, the objective is to control the situation professionally and to have the animals removed safely, and as soon as possible. We don’t want any accidents happening and we want everyone involved to be safe. So let’s get started.
Here is a brief definition of both terms associated with the wildlife removal industry:
- animal control – controlling the animals ability to enter or re-enter a home
- wildlife removal – safely removing any discovered wildlife from a home and allowing it to move onto another den site.
These are the top 10 signs animal control and wildlife removal are needed by home owners:
1. You hear scratching in your walls or attic:
A lot of the animals that home owners find in their attic can be quite quiet at times and for the longest time can go undetected, especially when they’re babies. Adult animals tend to make more noise in general but they can be quiet too.
The awareness that you have wild animals in your attic generally comes from the sounds you begin to hear as the animals get older, start playing and making their way around your attic.
You’ll start hearing the sounds more and more and depending on the animal, usually mostly throughout the night. This is one of the surefire signs you’ve got a wild animal that needs to be removed and that getting the situation under control is in order.
2. You hear fluttering or chirping in your bathroom or roof vents
When birds decide to choose your roof or bathroom vents as nesting area, you’ll start hearing the sounds of the birds travelling in and out of your home and the noises they make when they’re feeding. You’ll also hear quiet chirping noises by the babies especially when they’re first born.
Other sounds you’ll hear are the fluttering and flapping of their wings as they jump and land on different external structures that they land on before they enter and exit your home.
It’s important to get birds removed and the problem under control quickly after you discover them to avoid damage, the spread of bacteria and to avoid contracting any diseases they may carry.
3. There’s damage and refuse scattered under and around my deck
A lot of out of control animals like raccoons, skunks and squirrels can leave their trace all around and under your backyard deck. You can find chewed up boards, holes in the external walls, other dead animals, piles of animal droppings and they’ll even and external wires.
If you leave garbage cans out in the open, these animals will tend to break into them by any means and leave most home owners cleaning up the mess in the morning.
If you have a lot of garbage under your deck you increase the chances of wildlife looking for and discovering it. Removing garbage and up-keeping your backyard is important so as to send the message to wildlife that they won’t be able to find food around your deck or in your back yard at all.
4. All if your fruits and vegetables are tossed up
Squirrels and raccoons in particular are quite known for their capacity to destroy a persons food garden. Sure we all have to eat and it would be nice if we could feed the wild animals from time to time, but when you wake up in the morning and all your fruits have been chewed and your vegetables have been turned upside down, there’s a chance these creatures are also harbouring in your home.
If the destruction of your garden is something you’re waking up to every morning either you or one of your close neighbours is harbouring a wild animal. At this point it’s wise to check out your home’s external and even the inside to see if there are signs that they’ve gotten in.
5. Your topsoil and sod is turned upside down
Most people aren’t aware that raccoons, squirrels and skunks will eat insects. These animals’ hearing capabilities are so acute that they can actually hear insects and warms moving just under topsoil and under freshly laid sod. Many home owners wake up or come home to see that all their garden soil or sod has been turned upside down.
This can be very frustrating and a sure sign these animals are in the area and have made someone’s home their den site. Just like finding your garden turned up side down in the morning, turned up sod and soil is a sign these animals live nearby so doing a quick inspection for the signs of their presence in your home is the responsible thing to do.
6. Damaged insulation, wood, aluminum, electrical wires and shingles
If you don’t hear any animals rummaging through your walls or attic, there can be quite a few external signs they’re living in your home. These signs are usually in the form of damages done to your property; attic insulation, wooden wall panels or frames within or without, all kinds of aluminum damage by chewing and the destruction of electrical wires.
When a wild animal has decided to get into your home, for food or for shelter it will stop at no ends to get in even if it means destroying your property to do so. A simple walk around your home and taking a look at your roof and attic will yield any signs of damage due to wildlife and signal whether animal control is something you should consider.
7. A wild animal has been found in your living quarters
The most common wild animals to be found within a home are rats, mice, bats, birds and snakes. Occasionally but rarely will a home owner find a raccoon, skunk or squirrel walking around it’s kitchen but in either case the encounter is a scary one and a sure sign there’s a nest somewhere near by. Mice, rats and snakes are usually found accidentally while bats and birds occasionally fly in and out of windows or out of their nest if it’s penetrated your living area.
Larger wildlife have been found in a home owner’s garage and in all cases if you do encounter a wild animal in your home, having it removed promptly is your only option. Although in most cases, it seems safe enough to remove the animal yourself, be advised that one mistake can cost you your life if the animal is carrying a disease that can be fatal to humans like rabies.
8. Finding feces in various places inside or outside of your home
All wild animals leave fecal matter near their nest or den area and they also leave it anywhere else they feel like relieving themselves. Bats will leave what’s called “guano” just outside their entry points, mice will leave droppings virtually anywhere they go. All in all any kind of fecal evidence you find in your home or excessively outside your home is a sign they are living in your home.
Remember most animal fecal matter can contain properties that can be fatal if they are breathed in or if you come into close contact with it so you don’t want to take a risk. Do you best to safely clean up the mess but remember to give your local pest removal company a call so they can get the problem under control. Your family will thank you.
9. Your lights are occasionally flickering or go out completely
When certain forms of wildlife harbour in an attic, they can get bored and start to gnaw at things. One strong but pliable substance they enjoy chewing is electrical wires. Sometimes they die, sometimes they don’t but most of the time the end result is an electrical connection malfunction and something in the house goes out like a lamp, socket, or any other appliance in the home.
Most people don’t think of the possibility that an animal could have caused the problem and end up searching fruitlessly for the problem to the point where they end up calling an electrician of whom usually finds the source of the problem for them. They also find many signs of wildlife living in the attic which alerts the home owner to the need of getting an inspection. Chewed out wires can also be anywhere in your home from the attic to your walls and into your basement.
10. You sense a lingering foul small throughout your home
Every living thing has to go to the bathroom and that includes the animals living in your home. Animal urine and feces that has built up over time in your attic or walls can eventually seep through and so can their odour. In some animals the odour can actually cause a serious illness in humans (i.e. bat guano) and as for other wild animals the build up can lead to terrible smells throughout the home and even damage. We’ve come across customers who have experienced a complete ceiling collapse due to the amount of urine that was gathering in the attic and other customers who have had to have their entire attic re-insulated.
The take home
If a wild animal lives in your attic it’s no laughing matter. You have a family to think about and their safety is paramount. Our advice is to schedule regular inspections especially if you live in an area where animals are prone to breaking into homes and make sure your home is properly protected. The right prevention plan will not only keep the animals from entering your home again, it will preserve the value of your home over time as well.
For those who are wondering what the removal and control problem consists of, just visit the following link to understand the process and if you think you have a wild animal issue, make sure to get in contact with your local animal control company as soon as possible.
Great article!!!!!!