You’ve probably seen wildlife pests on your property off and on throughout the summer months. You may have noticed a chatterbox squirrel scolding you from the branches of the backyard oak tree, a stealthy skunk sneaking across your lawn under the cover of darkness, or maybe even a clever raccoon lumbering across the road and into the woods after doing a quick inspection of your garbage cans.
Now that fall is here, you may have noticed a slight increase in the activity of these furry animals as they prepare to hunker down for the winter. However, if you think that you’ll soon stop seeing them until spring returns, think again. You may be seeing these wildlife pests sooner than you expect and far more up-close and personal than your previous encounters!
During the autumn months, the once plentiful sources of food begin to diminish, causing the wildlife to become a bit bolder in their methods of searching for food. Pet food left outdoors, easily accessible trash bins, and bird feeders all become easy pickings for these animals. Once they get comfortable visiting your yard for food, they’ll keep searching closer and closer to your home, sometimes until they find a way inside. Your home makes the perfect place for these pests to invade during the fall as it provides these animals with the three things that wildlife need to survive the cold winter months: food, water, and shelter.
If you think having these pests in or near your home is not that big of a problem, consider what each of these animals are capable of.
Raccoons
Raccoons are crafty animals that can cause a lot of damage wherever they go. They love to dig through your garbage and can damage wiring, insulation, and other building materials inside homes and other buildings.
If a raccoon decides to move into your attic, garage, shed, or other structure, they’ll contaminate the area with their feces and urine. In addition, these animals can become aggressive when they feel threatened and can have rabies.
Skunks
Due to their digging habits, skunks can destroy your lawn while searching for food. If they choose to take up residence on your property, they will likely to build their burrows under your deck, porch, shed, patio, or even under the foundation of your home.
Skunks can carry rabies, but as we all know, the most common problem with them is the strong, foul-smelling odor that they emit when they feel threatened.
Squirrels
Squirrels can cause severe damage to your home if they take up residence in your walls or attic. These invasive pests will chew on your wood, stored items, and even your electrical wires. The will also leave harmful feces and urine behind and bring other pests such as fleas and ticks into your home when they invade.
How to Protect Your Home
In order to protect your home from the threat of a wildlife invasion this fall, take certain precautionary steps.
- Keep all your garbage stored in bins with tight-fitting covers. If the garbage cans are outdoors, keep them away from your house and empty them regularly.
- Consider removing bird feeders from your yard or keeping them a safe distance from your house.
- Do not leave pet food outside between feedings.
- Install a chimney cap on all your chimneys.
- Tightly cover your vents with mesh.
- Close garage and shed doors when not in use.
- Check the exterior of your home for any cracks, crevices, holes, or gaps, especially in your walls and foundation and around your doors and windows; seal or caulk any that you find.
Due to the fact that these animals are likely to bite or attack if they feel threatened, never approach these animals on your own. Instead, if you’ve discovered that these wildlife pests have already gotten too close for comfort, contact the experts at American Pest Solutions for help. At American Pest Solutions, we offer comprehensive wildlife treatment and employ the most humane removal methods possible to take care of your wildlife problems. Don’t wait until these pests have done considerable damage to your home. Give us a call today!