Wildlife Pest Detection
Fortunately, all these pests are detectable by the trained eye. You might detect them by noticing:
- Feces or droppings
- Odors associated with these animals
- Damage to structures
- Odd behavior by pets (they often are more aware than we are)
Birds
Birds can be majestic and pretty, but they can also be pests. They and their droppings can carry disease. Furthermore, they often carry other pests such as fleas, mites, ticks and lice. For those reasons, you do not want a bird infestation in your home. We are very experienced in bird removal and exclusion from homes and commercial properties.
Squirrels
In most residential situations, squirrels are fairly harmless. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case. They can gnaw into attics to establish dwellings. They can find their way into buildings to nest or store food. Most dangerously, they can chew up electrical wiring, creating fire hazards. Long story short, squirrels occasionally go from being cute little neighbors to being home invading pests.
Raccoons
Raccoons are pretty well known as pests. They might be cute with the “Bandit mask” markings around their eyes, but they should be treated with caution on your property. Raccoons are often infested with ticks and fleas, can carry rabies, and can leave feces that aggravates respiratory problems. They can access attics, basements and crawlspaces by finding openings in damaged vents, trim or carpentry. They can also get into a dwelling through uncapped chimneys, nesting above the damper door. Outside, they can damage the lawn by digging for grubs.
Snakes
Some snakes in our service areas are fine and actually benefit us by eating other pests, but some snakes are not so beneficial. Black snakes are good, copperheads… not so much. If you have ever been bitten by a copperhead or know someone who has, it is a VERY painful experience. We have methods to keep snakes away from your property and if necessary, we can remove snakes that have already invaded your property.
Skunks
Skunks can exhibit behavior similar to raccoons. They share many of the same characteristics and can pose the same problems to humans. Skunks can carry disease, be infested with fleas and ticks, and dig for grubs. Additionally, they can do what we all fear with skunks – leave an AWFUL scent behind, perhaps on you or a pet. They might live and nest under porches and in crawl spaces that have damaged vents or other easy access points. You might never notice them until they have a run in with an unfortunate family pet. Needless to say, a skunk is not a houseguest you want to have.
Opossums
Opossums can also take up residence in crawl spaces, under porches, in outbuildings and in attics. They can carry ticks and fleas, serving as carriers of disease. They rarely but occasionally do carry rabies. They are known to get into garbage cans and even prey upon chickens and their eggs.
Solutions
Traps
Trapping and live removal is the most common method we use to rid your home and yard of wildlife, as this is considered to be the most humane approach. Some wildlife pests can be relocated unharmed back in the wild. With a bit of professional knowledge, trapping and live removal is generally the best way to eliminate wildlife pests. Whether you're trying to get rid of gophers or moles on an acreage, our trapping solutions are highly effective.
Exclusion
Exclusion requires knowledge of animal behavior and a bit of common sense, both of which we demand in our employees. Each animal might require a different approach, but the goal is the same- to eliminate avenues for wildlife pests to enter a dwelling or structure. One necessity with exclusion is to make sure they are all out of the structure before avenues are closed, something for which we train; you don’t want to strand wildlife inside your home and we know how to avoid that.
Poison
Using poisons or other chemical solutions to your wildlife problems is not recommended for the Do It Yourselfer and whenever possible we prefer not to use poisons in these situations. Furthermore, it isn’t always legal and it might pose a threat to outdoor pets as well as harmless wildlife.
Service Area
Champion Pest and Lawn offers wildlife removal and control services in Edmond, Lawton, Moore, Mustang, Noble, Norman, Piedmont, Purcell, Stillwater, Yukon, and in other surrounding areas. Give us a call today!