Effective Ways to Keep Wildlife Out of Property

Are you dealing with a skunk, bat, rodent, squirrel or raccoon infestation? All these animals damage property once they build a den and may transmit all sorts of diseases. They are not only a nuisance but may also increase health risks because of their urine and droppings, and the insects they bring.

Problems Caused by Animal Infestation

Animal control experts cite that raccoons and squirrels tear through walls and may damage insulation or ducts. This will affect the temperature of your home, it will be difficult to keep warm or cool because of the damage caused by these animals. You will spend more on repairs and replacements to be able to control the temperature inside your home again.

The damage may also weaken the structure of your property. Ceilings or roofs may become damaged because of animal activity and allow water and snow to get into places it shouldn’t. Animals that infest your home may also damage electrical wires because of their search for nesting materials.

Animal control specialists help you get rid of the pests that infest, however, you must also take precautions to prevent a re-infestation.

Repairs and Renovations

Squirrels, rats, raccoons and other pests may enter your property through rotten wood and holes. To keep these pests out renovate and repair certain parts of your house. Making these repairs will deter animals from invading your home. Wildlife control experts can help you determine which parts of your house, which animals can claw their way in.

Block Potential Entry Points

Animals have several options when they invade your home; they can enter through gaps between building materials, holes or cracks in the exterior wall and the roof just to name a few. To prevent wildlife from entering your property, make sure to lock or block these areas. Add locks or an extra wall to deter them from invading.

Keep Food Out of Sight

Your property will attract animals, if they know they have access to food. A garden or food you are about to throw away will catch the attention of raccoons, squirrels and rodents. To keep them out, lock garbage bins with food or store them indoors and only bring them out once the collector arrives the next day. Put a fence around your garden or use natural deterrents to prevent wildlife from stealing fruits and vegetables.

Professional Services

Animal control experts help prevent an infestation by providing tips and assisting you determine weak spots around your house. Some companies also use humane methods to remove animals found in your home. They remove the nesting material and deodorize the area to make sure that no other animals re-infest your home.

These tips will prevent animals from infesting your property. Precautionary measures are better than discovering that your house already has raccoons, squirrels or other animals.

Simple things such as keeping food out of sight and repairing certain parts of your home will prevent an infestation.

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Can Skunks Carry Rabies?

Skunks are recognizable animals because of their black and white coat and their distinct scent. One of the misconceptions about spotting this animal in your property is that you might not think they have rabies.

These animals actually are carriers of this deadly illness. You cannot contract the disease directly from a rabid skunk however they can transmit the disease to your pets which then can be passed on to humans. If you find any animals in your property, the best thing to do is seek help from an animal control expert.

What is rabies?

Rabies is an infectious ailment that affects your central nervous system. A rabid animal transmits the virus through their saliva a couple of days before they die. A person cannot get the disease through the urine, feces or blood of an infected host, it does not become airborne either.

The virus travels from the brain to the salivary glands of a rabid animal during its final stages. This is the time when a host can transmit the disease through their bite. Rabies cannot go through unbroken skin; you can get the illness via a bite or through abrasions, scratches, open wounds and mucous membranes that come in contact with brain tissue or saliva of an infected animal.

The virus will not live long when exposed to open air, it will only live in saliva and will eventually die when the saliva dries. If you have a pet who you think had a fight with a rabid animal, wear gloves to prevent saliva from getting into an open wound or broken skin you may currently have.

When you see wild animals wandering near your property, get help from a wildlife control expert to make sure they do not invade your home.

Are skunks dangerous carriers of rabies?

A rabid skunk may present rabies in two different ways; one is the animal will become more aggressive than usual known as the “furious” form, or it will display a complete lack of fear known as the “dumb” form.

A skunk that displays the furious type grows aggressive and foams at the mouth, and is likely to transmit the disease through its bite. If you find a skunk wandering around your yard without any fear or seems disoriented, it may have the dumb form of the illness.

A healthy skunk will normally run away when they see people or pets,if cornered they release a bad smell as a defense mechanism.

What are the signs of a rabid animal?

A rabid animal will display certain behaviors that indicate the type of rabies they have. The signs of the furious form of the disease include:

1. Agitation
2. Bite at real and imaginary objects
3. Excessive drooling

Animals that contracted the dumb form display behaviors such as:

1. No fear of pets or people
2. Appears tame
3. Looks disoriented or drunk

Other symptoms of an infection include; walking around in circles, partial paralysis or self-mutilation.

When you see any of these signs, contact an animal control expert to get rid of these potentially dangerous animals.

How do you get rid of skunks in your property?

Simply killing or trapping skunks you find in your property is a short-term solution. With the help of an animal control expert, you can remove these animals and prevent a re-infestation on your property. They apply humane and proven methods to not only remove the animals, but also deodorize their den and get rid of nesting materials properly.

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Top Ideas to Prevent Bats from Infesting a Home

Bats are nocturnal animals and they can sneak into your home when you least expect it. If your house has many entryways, it is indeed an open invitation for bat infestation.

There are more than fifteen species of bats that are native to Canada. The most common ones that live and roose in Canadian homes are the little brown and the big brown bats. These bats can roost in your attic and walls and can pose health risks to you and your family.

We always tell homeowners about one serious tip in wildlife control: prevention is always better than a cure. Whenever possible, homeowners should try to enforce their houses to prevent bat infestations. There are many ways you can seal your house so you don't get bothered by bats (or any other nuisance wildlife, for that matter) which come and go whenever they like.

Here are some tips you can do yourselves to prevent bats from infesting your home:
 

1. Make sure your chimneys are capped and are secured so bats don't go in through them. The chimney cap you should choose should have wire mesh on it, so it can block away the bats but still let out the smoke from your fireplace. Other areas to look at are your attic vents, eaves and soffit. 
2. Keep windows and doors shut at night. If kept open, a bat or two could fly in easily. You will have to resort to bat removal if this happens. In most, if not all, provinces in Canada, bats enjoy a legal status which protects them from being exterminated because of their important role in the environment.  
3. Seal all possible entryways to your house through exclusion. Look up, down and around your house for holes and cracks which could lead bats inside your home. Seal them away securely with steel wire mesh with holes no bigger than half a square inch. You can caulk loose building parts such as fascia trims and other gaps between building materials so they don't let in bats.
   

If you find any of these prevention techniques burdensome and you do not have the time to pore over these sealing details, you can call for professional wildlife control services like Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control. Skedaddle Wildlife Technicians have proven and effective methods for bat exclusion. They are keen on finding all possible entryways and have secure sealing equipment that will seal off all possible entry points, not only for bats but for your other nuisance wildlife neighbors.

Also, in case your home is already infested, Skedaddle Wildlife Technicians will remove bat colonies from your home before sealing off the access points. They do this by installing one-way doors that allow bats to leave the premises for food but prevent re-entry.
By relying on trained professionals from Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control, you do not only save yourself from health risks you might have faced by ineffective DIY procedures, you also save the time and effort. Benefit from our years of experience and practice.

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When Does Bat Mating Begin

Bats are very interesting mammals and are known for their nocturnal ways and their ability to fly. They roost in large numbers in caves, abandoned mines and houses, and forage at night with the aid of their unique ability: echolocation. This ability makes use of the sound waves which bats release to familiarize themselves with the environment by bouncing of waves through objects. They interpret these messages and get a clear image of their surroundings.

One more thing unique to bats is their mating behaviour. Bats which live in warm tropical areas do not hibernate and mate according to seasonal food supply. Bats which hibernate, on the other hand, participate in a somewhat social event in their hibernation sites every mating season.

Although mating season and behaviour may vary from every bat specie, the most common mating season for bats occurs in the late summer and early autumn. Bats meet in hibernation sites also known as hibernacula. These sites are where female and male bats choose their mates. Bats swarm these sites during the mating season and exhibit their flying skills and aerobatics. After female and male bats have picked their mates, they then proceed to more secluded areas to mate.

Some species are more private compared to other ones. These species, like the horseshoe bats, do not pick their mates in swarms. Instead, females visit male roosts individually.

Another differing mating behaviour for bats is demonstrated by arboreal bats. They attract female bats by honking at them as they line up in trees along the riverbank. This behavior is encouraged by their enlarged larynx and nasal cavity. The males sing to the females and flap their wings in rhythm. The females then hover around their preferred male for the duration of the male's singing and flapping performance.

During mating season, many bats are more prone to infest people's houses to find shelter during their gestation period. As a homeowner, one may be worried about the hazards brought by these flying mammals.

While DIY animal control may be an option, it is still the wise decision to call professional wildlife control companies like Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control to take care of your bat situation. This way, animal control procedures do not harm the bats and you will not be exposed to certain risks that are involved when doing the removal on your own.

Skedaddle’s Wildlife Technicians are trained to ensure proper bat exclusion. They use a series of one-way doors to allow the bats to exit your home. When this is done, your house is sealed to prevent possible re-entry. 

Animals are living things and we should choose to remove them from our homes the humane way. Through efficient and effective methods of experts from Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control, you do not only get rid of the infestation, you also protect your home from future wildlife infestations via exclusion.

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The Home Safety Risks Caused by Squirrels

Squirrels are medium-sized rodents that belong to the family Sciuridae. They belong to the genus Sciurus, which was derived from two Greek words skia and oura: meaning shadow tail. Squirrels are best identified for these bushy tails, and their sizes vary anywhere from 5 to 36 inches depending on the species. Squirrels are omnivorous mammals who live in the wild.

There are over 200 species of squirrels scattered all over the world and this furry creature is known to almost everybody. What everybody does not know is the real nature of squirrels and how they bring about certain risks in spite of their seemingly harmless appearance and demeanor.

First off, squirrels have four front teeth which never cease growing as they age. This leads to their excessive gnawing activities. In the wild, squirrels chew on tree bark usually, but in your home, everything is a possible chew toy for these rodents. Imagine your electrical wires cut open in many areas of the house: a very likely cause for electrocution or the start of a house fire. They will chew structural wood, plumbing stacks and even insulation materials. If left for long, a family of squirrels can cause thousands of dollars of damage to an attic.

Prior to arriving at their newly found "home" (which is actually yours), it is inevitable that these furry creatures carry with them parasites that could easily find their way to you and your family or pets. Squirrel droppings, which will be everywhere the squirrels go once your home is infested, expose you to diseases such leptospirosis and salmonellosis. Both of these diseases could be life threatening. Squirrel urine has a distinct and strong odour that over time can make it’s way from the attic into your home.

Squirrels may be harmless on the outside, but what belongs in the wild should stay in the wild. Don't let squirrel infestations get the upper hand and make your home uninhabitable.

Wildlife control professionals like the ones from Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control can efficiently remove these little critters from your home and eliminate the risks that come with them. Skedaddle has been on the wildlife control business for many years and have proven methods to execute the job humanely, safely and efficiently.

Animal control should not be taken lightly. Let the professionals do their work and sit back safely as these nuisance wildlife get moved out of your house and back into the wild where they belong.

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The Danger Caused by a Rabid Animal

Rabies is a viral disease transmitted from the saliva of the rabid animal. There are several ways the virus can be transmitted from the infected animal to a human. One way is by direct contact such as through a bite. Another is by indirect contact such as exposure of the saliva to open wounds or by touching the mucous itself.

Rabies is usually carried by animals from the wild but in some cases, it is transferred to domesticated pets or to humans. In Canada, most common carriers of the virus are the common wildlife inhabitants that roam your neighbourhood like skunks, raccoons and bats.

How does the rabies virus endanger its carrier?
The virus infects the brain and damages it over time, which leads to physiological imbalance in the infected animals. These result to erratic behaviour and restlessness. Wild animals infected with the virus become aggressive and are no longer scared of human presence. This only means one thing: if you encounter a rabid animal, it may not it won't back away. It might even chase and attack you.
 
What can rabies do to humans?
A person who is infected by rabies will experience weakness, headache and fever at the onset. The victim will then feel unusual sensations at the site of the bite, excessive salivating and hydrophobia or fear of water. If left untreated, the virus becomes fatal as it attacks the central nervous system and can eventually lead to coma and death.

What measures can I do to remove the dangers caused by rabies?
According to the World Health Organization, rabies is vaccine-preventable disease. If you have pets at home, make sure that you have them vaccinated on a regular basis.

Also, avoid attracting wild animals to your home. Seal your garbage cans to prevent skunks and raccoons from foraging at night. Close off possible entrances in your house that bats may gain access to. These measures will minimize your exposure to the carriers of the rabies virus.

If you see wild animals lurking around your house especially in daytime and they are acting unusual, lock your doors and any entry points they may use to enter your house. Call wildlife control professionals immediately. Do not engage the animal as you will only make yourself a very vulnerable target for a possibly rabid animal. Wildlife control professionals are more than capable of executing safe removal of these rabid animals. These animal control experts are well equipped, with both knowledge and equipment to do the removal job efficiently and safely for homeowners.
 
Rabies is completely preventable and you can limit the risk it poses by making your home wildlife-free. Wildlife control services like Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control are experts in removing these nuisance wildlife from your property. Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control has been in the business for more than two decades and has helped safeguard homes from the dangers caused by rabid wildlife.

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How Fast Do Bats Multiply

Bats are nocturnal animals that may infest your home, if they think your property is suitable for a den. Understanding their mating and reproduction habits will prevent them from breeding in your attic, roof or the spaces between walls.

Animal control experts agree that bats may multiply quickly, if they infest your home in pairs. Once you see a couple flying out or around your property at night, chances are they already have offspring and may grow their colony.

Brown Bat Mating Season and Reproduction

In most of Canada, brown bats mate in two phases, passive and active. In the latter phase, both partners are alert and fully awake. In their passive phase, active males will try to mate with drowsy bats regardless of gender. The active mating phase is more common because these are times when testosterone are at peak levels. Active mating reaches its highest in August, while passive mating lasts until winter.

When mating, males mount the female from the rear and sometimes use a copulation call to calm her so that there is no struggle. Bats will mate promiscuously, neither male or female bats are selective of their potential mate, and males cannot monopolize females even when they are in torpid.

In spring, females live in nursery colonies which may likely be the same place where they were born. These comprise mainly of adult female bats with their babies; they may also roost in attics of warm homes or buildings because of their humidity. These colonies may reach thousands per forest or cave. Gestation may last 50 to 60 days; females have one baby per year or twins, from late May to early June.

The young enter an altricial state when born, they keep their eyes closed and will hang in their nursery while their mothers look for food at night. They only open their eyes on the second day and cling to a nipple until they reach two weeks old. After three weeks, they start flying and by the fourth week, they reach adult size.

Females mature sexually in the fall after their birth, while males may take a year; most male bats and approximately half of females start breeding during their first autumn.

Problems Caused

When you fail to get bat exclusion services after you discover an infestation, you will have to deal with the foul smell of urine and guano. Bats are also carriers of the rabies virus, which it can transmit to you through its bite. These animals also bring all sorts of bacteria and insects that may cause harmful diseases.

Bats may also damage drywall, insulation and electrical wiring. The damage may affect the energy consumption of your home, leading to a higher energy and repair bill. With the help of an animal control expert, you can prevent infestation or remove the bats already in your attic or other parts of your house.

Removers will use humane and proven techniques to remove bats in various parts of your house. Some will also remove the guano and urine left behind by these animals. They will deodorize the area and clean up the mess to prevent a re-infestation.

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