Parts of the House that Attract Pests

Raccoons, squirrels, rodents and other animals will find ways to infest your home to make a den as long as it provides enough heat for cold months and easy access to food. Certain parts of your house are more likely to attract pests compared to others. Determine what these are to enable you to implement precautionary steps to prevent them from entering your property.

Where will a pest most likely enter your home?

Raccoons, rodents, squirrels, skunks, bats and other similar pests look for certain characteristics before they infest property. It has to provide them with warmth, a large enough space to make a den, a place to store food and easy access to food sources. With assistance from a humane animal removal Oakville expert, you can pinpoint the exact whereabouts of the pests in your house.

The attic is a prime location for pests because it has the characteristics they are looking for. It provides warmth, a place and access to materials for a den for their young and a hiding spot for storing food. They can stay in your attic and raise their young without you knowing it.

The bottom of a chimney is another option for raccoons, squirrels and other animals. It also provides similar conditions to the attic. They get the warmth they need and a secluded location for raising their young. They also get to hide from property owners easily when they live in this part of the home.

The spaces between walls and crawl spaces are also places where these animals can hide and live in. These locations provide pests with the warmth they need. When they infest these areas, they may also cause property damage. They might tear through air ducts, make holes in the wall, claw through roofing and damage insulation. These may affect the temperature of your home, especially in cold or warm months.

With help from humane wildlife control Oakville experts, you will determine the most efficient way to remove them.

Why get humane wildlife control Oakville?

When you trap or try to kill a raccoon or other pest in your house, you might get into a struggle, as these creatures will try to defend their young and den. The clawing and biting may injure you and lead to disease or rabies. The chances of hurting yourself and animal are high, if you try to do things on your own.

A humane wildlife control Oakville expert has the gear and proven techniques to remove the pests successfully without harming them. They also deodorize and clean up the mess that the animals left. This ensures that there are no bacteria, germs or insects left on your property.

Potential Property Damage Caused by Raccoons

A raccoon infestation creates possible health problems for property owners as they bring all sorts of insects, bacteria and waste wherever they go. Once they infest your home, your health is not the only problem you have to deal with. Raccoons also cause physical property damage when they try to and successfully enter your house.

Raccoon removal is the first thing that you must do when you see the signs of infestation. They leave behind a trail of damage because they are looking for an ideal den inside your house. These are some of the things they do when they break into your property:

Insulation Damage

Proper attic insulation is critical to maintaining a comfortable temperature inside your home and preventing mould growth. Raccoons damage insulation by compacting it under their weight, pushing it out of place and soaking it with urine and feces.

Roof Damage

Raccoons have the strength to tear through different kinds of roofing to enter the attic. Damaged shingles, soffit and siding expose your home to rain and snow that can cost you thousands.

Wiring, Drywall and Ductwork

Many different types of utilities and electrical are run inside attics. As part of their normal behaviour raccoons damage these important functions. Raccoons are naturally curious animals and will chew and tear at anything they find inside your attic.

Delaying raccoon removal leads to more property damage; hire an expert immediately once you see damage caused by these animals.

Dealing with a Raccoon Infestation

A typical reaction upon seeing this animal is to scare it away or even kill it. However, one of the best ways to get rid of them is to hire an animal remover that implements humane animal control Oakville. This approach keeps the animals safe while the expert lures them out.

With help from a raccoon removal expert, you remove these animals from your property quickly before they do more damage. A remover will get rid of the animals humanely and help you implement ways to prevent them from re-infesting. Animal removers will also deodorize and clean the den to prevent the spread of bacteria and waste left behind by the raccoons.

Why Humane Removal is the Most Effective Method

Did you find a raccoon in your attic? Chances are your initial reaction was of surprise then a sudden urge to kill or quickly remove the animal. This automatic reaction may solve the problem in the short-term; however, these animals may return or even injure you because of your actions. Humane wildlife control Oakville is an effective way to get rid of the raccoons, squirrels or others you discover in your property

What is the most effective animal removal method?

Aggression breeds aggression, especially when you are dealing with a wild animal such as a raccoon or squirrel. Their first reaction to a threat is to defend themselves and their babies. The attic may be the den where the mothers feed and care for their young. These animals may bite and attack you; they may transmit rabies or other diseases.

Trapping the animals may seem like good solution, however, it is still a short-term answer. As it may harm the animals and may lead to their death. They will also stay aggressive if you try to remove them from the traps you set.

Humane animal control Oakville is a proven solution that not only removes animals, but also keeps them out for a long time.

The Humane Solution

Humane wildlife control Oakville is an effective way because it not only removes the adult skunks, raccoons, squirrels and other animals it also reunites them with their babies outside your home or attic. If the mother is killed or relocated then the babies are left behind to die inside the attic.

Humane animal removal keeps wildlife found in your property unharmed and safe. The expert will lure the mother out of your house using the babies they find in the attic or chimney. The technician will assess your home and pinpoint the exact location of the den. Once they find the dwelling place, they remove the young carefully by hand.

The mother’s instinct is to find their young; they will rush out of your home. Once they leave your property, the remover will seal all possible entry and exit points to keep them out. They will also coach you on different techniques to prevent a re-infestation.

Choosing a Company

Several companies offer humane wildlife control Oakville, but few deliver the results you are looking for. When you select a company, check their experience and customer reviews. This provides you with a reference on how they do business and their level of customer service. Skedaddle Wildlife Oakville is an experienced company that implements humane methods to remove animals. Check out their services to determine if they are the company that meets your needs.

What You Need to Do When You See a Raccoon in Your Attic

Raccoons are troublesome creatures that may spread diseases, insects and bacteria in and around your property. They also inflict damage to walls, air ducts, roof and insulation as they search for an ideal den in your house.

When a homeowner sees a raccoon in their home, their initial reaction might be shock, which often turns into an automatic reaction to get rid of it by either trapping or killing it. These are not effective raccoon removal methods because they harm the animals and do not root out the main cause of the infestation.

If you see a raccoon in your attic, here are some of the things you need to keep in mind.

Stay Cool and Calm

Panicking will make things worse as you will startle the raccoon in your den. The mother will unleash her aggression at any sign of a threat to her young. You might get hurt when the animal bites or scratches to defends her children. When you see the raccoon stay calm and just leave the attic to get help from a humane wildlife control Oakville expert.

Avoid Trapping or Killing

The first thing that comes to most homeowners’ minds when they see a raccoon is to kill or trap it. Doing so will not solve your problem because you have to look for and get rid of any young raccoons that might be present. An attempt to kill the animal or remove it from the trap will make them aggressive. They might bite or scratch you; the wounds may get an infection that will lead to disease or rabies.

Determine the Exact Location of the Den

Once you see a raccoon in your attic, find the exact location of the den. When you find it do not do anything first. Seek help from a raccoon removal expert and let them handle and remove the animals properly. Determining the place of the den will help you know how many raccoons are in your attic. It also helps you find the young that still cannot move on their own. The remover will use them as bait to lure the mother out of your property.

Hire an Animal Remover

A raccoon removal expert will make sure that your property is raccoon-free. They execute proven and humane methods to remove the animals properly. They have the gear and skills to handle the creatures, even if they struggle, bite and scratch.

Experts will also deodorize the den to prevent other raccoons from re-infesting your attic. This is an important step as it removes the scent cues that animals use to communicate.

Know The Legal Status of Your Most Common Nuisance Wildlife

All across Canada, laws and regulations have been passed to ensure that wildlife is protected and treated humanely even when they cause nuisance to humans. The government has been promoting taking care of the balance of our ecosystem and enforcing these rules allows them to do so.

Many homeowners are not aware that these wildlife animals are legally protected by the government. But you know what they always say, “ignorance of the law is not an excuse.” So today, we help you to be more familiar with the legal status of the most common nuisance wildlife that you may encounter here in Oakville.

The city of Oakville has their own animal control by-laws seeking to regulate the keeping of animals and guiding citizens on what to do when they encounter wildlife. Let us go through them in detail.

1. Prohibited animals. Animals that are tagged as prohibited should not be kept, either on a temporary or permanent basis.
2. Restricted animals. Animals tagged under restricted can be kept in the household provided the following conditions: (a) no more than two animals per person within the town; (b) each restricted animal should be housed in a separate cage unless they are of the same gender and compatible; (c) the cage where they are kept is tamper-proof and escape-proof; (d) each cage is protected from the elements; and (e) each cage is clean and sanitary.

Knowing this will help you be aware of what to do when you encounter these nuisance wildlife in your property. Here are the most common household invaders and how they are classified based on Oakville’s laws:

• Raccoons. Tagged as PROHIBITED.
• Skunks. Tagged as PROHIBITED.
• Bats. Tagged as PROHIBITED.
• Mice. Tagged as RESTRICTED.
• Squirrels. Tagged as RESTRICTED.

When you encounter any of these wildlife creatures inside your home, the law explicitly says that you have to deal with them in the most humane way possible. If any animal is at-large trespassing on your property, you have to remove them safely and turn them over to animal control officers.

The problem with this is that many of us are not trained to handle these animals properly and this sometimes lead to more serious risks. For example, a homeowner may think that trapping a raccoon is the best way to remove it from the property. While this may be right, there are instances when these raccoons become aggressive as they may be protecting their young. When cornered, they might lunge and bite you and this is something that we should prevent.

When you do not know what to do and the thought of catching these wildlife invaders seem to be overwhelming, it is best to to contact humane wildlife control services like Skedaddle.

Skedaddle Oakville has been collaborating with Oakville’s Town Council in helping implement humane methods in handling wildlife for the whole city. At the same time, they also support the laws mentioned above promoted by Oakville and Milton Humane Society to ensure protection of wildlife in the neighborhood. Bring back these wildlife creatures to the wild where they belong and be an agent of change in preventing needless exterminations. Call Skedaddle Oakville today!

How to Prevent a Squirrel Infestation in Your Garden

You may be a gardener and own a fair space of healthy vegetation. Owning your own garden can be very rewarding but there are some forces that you need to reckon with such as the weather and yes, those little wildlife creatures that see your garden as a buffet.

Whether it be flowering plants, fruit-bearing trees or vines, your neighborhood squirrel can be a very destructive force to deal with. Squirrels have been known for invading gardens as they forage for food. They also have the habit of burying their finds. A squirrel in your garden can destroy your flowerbeds, steal your garden's harvest and leave you with nothing.

Squirrels do not only steal your harvest and dig up your flowerbeds; they can also leave damaged plants due to their overactive chewing activities. They can chew on tree bark or plants, which could leave you dead plants after their visit. Once your garden has been discovered and has received a visit from these little critters, they will come back. Your garden has become a good source of food and they may already have buried some nuts on the ground. They will certainly dig them up in the future and all the damage that has been done will be repeated every time they come.

As a gardener, this can get very frustrating. You may think of pesticides and other squirrel repellents to prevent these critters from coming back. However, always remember that some of these products can give unwanted side effects to your plants, too. There are a few ways you can employ squirrel deterrents in your garden without resorting to these harsh chemical substances.

1. Protect your garden with a wire mesh. Make sure the mesh goes down in the ground about a foot so they can't dig through. Make sure it forms a mesh cage, and not just some perimeter fencing, since squirrels can climb them easily.
2. Squirrels can leap a far distance, so make sure to clear the surroundings of tree limbs at least 10 feet.
3. If you have bird feeders in your garden, make sure they are squirrel deterrent by coating the stand with oil or any slippery substance everyday. There are also bird feeders specially designed to prevent squirrels from climbing up to them.

These methods can only go so far. If you want to properly get rid of these nuisance wildlife, it is best to call for professional animal control services from Skedaddle Oakville.

Skedaddle Oakville has been collaborating with Oakville’s Town Council in helping implement humane methods in handling wildlife for the whole town. At the same time, they also support Oakville and Milton Humane Society to ensure protection of wildlife in the neighborhood. Skedaddle Wildlife Technicians will know exactly what to do and will give you tips on how to keep the squirrels away after the service. They promote humane animal control, so you don't have to worry about useless exterminations.

Protect your garden while protecting the legal status of these wildlife creatures in your area. Call the animal control experts of Skedaddle Oakville today!

Where Do Squirrels Keep Their Food

Squirrels have been known to store food especially before the winter season. Their thriftiness allows them to last throughout the winter with enough supply of food.

Squirrel foraging includes, but is not limited to, nuts, seeds and cones. They can gather from many other food sources made available to them, even in human settlement.

Squirrels have different methods of storing food. The methods depend on the squirrel species. Red squirrels store food by larder-hoarding. Larder-hoarding means they keep their food in the middle of the territory, where there is usually a cavity on the ground. Gray squirrels bury their food in the ground.  Some stick nuts into branches and come back for them after a while.

While it was assumed that squirrels find their stored food by smell, they actually have different ways in finding them. The one that plays the biggest role is their spatial memory. Squirrels actually have a good memory when it comes to food storage; they remember where they hide the food, and what they have hidden. Research shows that squirrels come back to their common cache of storage and not in the food cache of other squirrels. Squirrels use their sense of smell partly in finding their buried food, but the one they rely the most on is their memory.

Human settlement has stretched far and wide and have taken over some parts of their once natural habitats. This is the reason why some squirrels may find your house an appropriate alternative for their lost territories, thus finding squirrels in your attics. They can get quite destructive, leaving open wires around the house because of their incessant chomping. They can also chew on structural wood in your attic, which can be very scary.

You can solve squirrel infestations in many ways and one of them is by getting yourself a hold of squirrel repellent. There are many available on the market, however, using squirrel repellents are but short-term solutions to your problem. It is best advised to seek professional help from experienced animal control companies like Skedaddle Oakville.

With more than two decades of humane animal control, Skedaddle Wildlife Technicians will humanely remove your little toothy connoisseur so you don’t have to worry about further property damage.

Skedaddle Oakville has an ongoing collaboration with Oakville’s Town Council to help implement humane methods in handling wildlife for the whole town. At the same time, they also support Oakville and Milton Humane Society to ensure protection of wildlife in the neighborhood.

The trained Wildlife Technicians of Skedaddle Oakville will help solve any nuisance wildlife encounter, from squirrels to skunks to raccoons that roam around your property. There are many proven animal control tricks that Skedaddle Wildlife Technicians employ when it comes to handling these different wildlife creatures. These methods are efficient and at the same time, humane so you know that you do not violate any laws that protect the legal status of your wildlife invader.

Squirrel Repellents and other DIY Measures That Don't Work

You may have been experiencing squirrel infestations for a while now, and the problem never goes away. You may be thinking there has to be something to be done to get rid of these little critters. Usually, residents think of do-it-yourself (DIY) pest control and assume they can handle these problems easily and safely.

How can one say if a method is effective? The only way to know is when the infestation never comes back, and no one is harmed in the process of removal.

Contrary to what people think, there are many squirrel repellents out there that are actually bogus and don't work. You may have heard of using fox urine or mothballs. You may even have tried putting them around the house yourself. This does not guarantee that the squirrels will leave your home for good and you can’t keep on applying these squirrel repellents as they may also be harmful to your pets around the house.

There are a couple of rodenticides sold on the market today, and people buy them believing they are the easiest and risk-free solution to pest control. But before you do, think twice. Squirrels are animals too, and they deserve their lives just as much as any living thing does and besides, it’s impossible to kill all the squirrels in your neighbourhood. It is still best to get rid of them the humane way and use exclusion to prevent their return.

Now, here's another common mindset people have: squirrels are easy and small, so there is minimal to no risk in capturing them yourself and getting the house rid of them. While it may be true that squirrels are small, they can actually get quite destructive and will be ready to lunge at anyone who threatens them. They also have teeth that they use a lot in chewing wires and structural wood and this secret weapon can be used against you if the animal sees you as an enemy.

Since squirrels are from the wild, you'll never know if they carry parasites or some infectious disease. Mishandling these little critters can lead to an encounter causing a scratch and open you to the possibility of infection.

While you may think that these DIY measures can save you money, they may actually expose you to more threats than you think. Without proper knowledge of how to handle these nuisance wildlife, you may be opening yourself to a wide array of misfortune.

The best way to handle these infestations is by asking for professional help to assist with proper removal and find ways to completely exclude not only these squirrels but also all other nuisance wildlife roaming in your area.  If you are in Mississauga, make sure you call on the help of humane wildlife control companies like Skedaddle. With more than two decades of helping people solve their wildlife situation, you can rest assure that Skedaddle Wildlife Technicians know how to remove these creatures from your home in the most effective yet humane way possible!

How Bats Help the Balance of The EcoSystem

Bats have been one of the misunderstood animals in our planet because of their appearance and behaviour. For centuries, bats have been perceived associated with vampires and other dark myths. Before you see a bat and run away in fear of being bitten (since people almost always think all bats are after human blood), let us share with you their actual role in the environment.

Although it is a common assumption that bats are dangerous and dark animals, they actually keep the ecosystem in balance. They play vital roles in pollination, insect control and plant dispersal.

About seventy percent of the bat population is composed of insectivorous bats. They feed on insects and consume millions of pests every year. They serve as nature's pesticides minus the harmful effects of chemical ones. Farmers appreciate bats for this role very much, since they keep the crops healthy and insect-free. Bats help farmers save of up to a billion dollars depending on the usual damage of crop eating pests like worms. They not only save the crops, but also minimize the need for chemical pesticides farmers use to keep their vegetations healthy and alive.

In some places where diseases are brought by insects such as mosquitoes, a bat is the easiest solution to getting rid of them. Nursing bats can consume insects at an amount equal to their body weight each night. This helps immensely in insect control and human health, since they eliminate disease carrying insects every time they forage at night.

In Canada, these are the some of the distinctive species preying on insects: the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus), the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus), the hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus), which is known to be the largest bat in the country, and the Eastern Pipistrelle or tricolored bat (Perimyotis subflavus), one of the smallest Canadian bats.

Other than their role as insectivores, bats are also very good pollinators. There are nectar-feeding bats that help in the distribution of pollen from one flower to another and this plays an important role in propagating a locality’s flora.

Aside from insectivorous and nectar-feeding bats, there are also fruit-eating bats. Fruit-eating bats can grow very large and travel miles as they search for their fruit. As they are eating or are foraging, they drop seeds from the fruit they consume, and therefore help in seed dispersal. Because of this, bats are also known as tropical farmers and help in maintaining the number of plants in our forests.

Bats play a very important role in the balance of our ecosystem. The next time you see a bat, think of the real good things they do and appreciate them as animals. Without bats, the world would be a more uncomfortable place.

When these creatures sometimes end up living inside your attic, don’t fret! It is important to immediately call animal control services like Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control. Skedaddle Wildlife Technicians are trained experts for bat removal. Their methods have been proven to be effective and humane. With more than twenty-six years of handling wildlife infestation in Canadian homes, you can be rest assured that your house remains bat-free while at the same time, helping bring these creatures back to the wild where they can play their role in maintaining the balance of our ecosystem.

Bats and Blood

Vampires and bats have been long associated with one another. They are portrayed in many films and the single characteristic that these bats usually inflict on humans is fear. They are hyped to suck on human blood and this is what makes us loathe them.

This couldn’t be farther from the truth. Bats are second largest in terms of mammal population next to rodents, and they can be found in every single corner of the planet except Antarctica. There are more than 1,000 species of bats and out of this number, there are only three bats that are known to consume blood as part of their diet. This trait is called hematophagy.

The three species of vampire bats are Desmodus rotundus, Diphylla ecaudata and Diaemus youngi. They are known to strike any warm-blooded animal (and yes, including humans) at night.

However, these vampire bats do not usually inhabit Canada. They are found mostly in Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Brazil. The ones that lurk the nights here in Mississauga are little brown bats and big brown bats.

Little brown and big brown bats are insectivores; so more than fearing these little flying critters, they actually help us remove millions of insects that can cause damage to our crops. However, this is not to say that we keep these bats as pets. In a domestic household, bats can still pose a health risk to you and  your children.

Little brown and big brown bats roosting in your property is still a problem. They carry diseases and infections that can be passed on to humans such as histoplasmosis and rabies. Histoplasmosis is an infection that you can acquire from bat and bird droppings resulting to some respiratory problems.  Rabies, on the other hand, can be acquired when you have been bitten by infected bats and can be fatal if left untreated.

It is best to assume that any wild animal inside your home needs to be removed for safety and health purposes. In this case, it is best to employ bat exclusion methods to keep them in the wild where they belong.

Bat exclusion is the process of sealing off your house from bat invaders to prevent them from roosting in your attic or any dark places of your house. Many homeowners do not have the experience in searching for bat entries so doing it yourself may not be a wise idea.

When you face a bat infestation in your household, it is best to call humane wildlife control services like Skedaddle Mississauga. Skedaddle Wildlife Technicians are trained to remove these flying critters humanely and do exclusion works to keep these bats from coming back.

The process of exclusion will not only keep these bats away from your home. It will also prevent other nuisance wildlife that may see your property as their alternative habitat from accessing your home. Exclusion is the most proactive and humane wildlife control solution because you prevent wildlife infestation before it even happens.

Mississauga: How to Prevent a Squirrel Infestation in your Garden

The city of Mississauga is becoming busier and busier being the sixth largest city in Canada. As the population expanded, we encroached on natural habitats that were once exclusive to wildlife animals. This is the reason why some wildlife creatures start to invade our property and cohabitate with us: they are looking for food and shelter.

It is not uncommon to see wildlife creatures roaming around our city. Most of the time, they are harmless but there are certain situations when these wildlife creatures become a nuisance and cause damage to our property, and worse, to the people in our household.

One of the more common sights are the squirrels of Mississauga. While they pose as seemingly harmless creatures, they can be quite destructive when they live inside our homes. Squirrels have large incisor teeth that they always need to sharpen, thus the incessant need to chomp on things. When inside your house, this could be dangerous as they may start nibbling on your electric wires, insulation materials and structural wood.

However, squirrels inside your home are not your only problem. If you own a garden, they can actually wreak damage to your crops as well. Squirrels can feed on your fruit-bearing plants and trees, the birdseed on your feeder and so on. Since squirrels also bury their food, you will also encounter shallow holes on your property

So how do you prevent this tooth invader from damaging your garden? We offer you some quick tips:

1. Install cages by using mesh or chicken wire in your plant beds. While this may not be the prettiest sight, this is the most effective way of keeping your plants and its fruits from being eaten by these rodents.
2. Get a dog. Most homeowners find it useful when their pets would scare away these long-tailed creatures.
3. Install motion-activated sprinklers. This can prove to be effective for a while but may not be that useful when the squirrels have gotten used to the squirting water.
4. If you have bird feeders in your garden, make sure they are squirrel deterrent by coating the stand with oil or any slippery substance everyday. There are also bird feeders specially designed to prevent squirrels from climbing up to them.

These are some quick fixes that you can implore. However, to permanently remove them (or any other wildlife, that is) from your property, it is best to call humane wildlife control services Mississauga like Skedaddle and talk about permanent exclusion.

Exclusion is the process of sealing your property from any nuisance wildlife that may pose as a risk to your family and your physical structures. Skedaddle Wildlife Technicians have a long proven history of removing any forms of wildlife from Canadian homes. Skedaddle employs safe, reliable and humane methods of removal and would recommend ways to homeowners on how to prevent future infestations.