Animal Control Services For When Wildlife Becomes Destructive to Your Home or Property
Animals in the wild are fascinating and fun to watch, but when they invade
your home they bring disease and destruction with them. Animal pests can destroy
lawns and gardens. If they take up residence in your home, they can cause structural
damage, chew wires and create possible hazards, and bring parasites and bacteria
that pose a serious health risk to your family. Find out more about the following
animal pests: bats; birds
such as pigeons, house sparrows, and woodpeckers; garden
pest such as chipmunk, moles, voles, and opossums; groundhogs; raccoons; rodents; skunk; snakes;
and
squirrels.
What Types of Animals Are a Problem in the New Jersey and New York City Area?
Bat Information and Bat Control Services
The Little Brown bat and Big Brown bat species are common to the New Jersey and New York City area. These small, nocturnal animals have 2-inch long gray to brown furred bodies with large, leathery wings. They use a sonar-like sound to navigate in the dark, and you may hear their high-pitched squeals as they fly past.
Prodigious insect eaters, bats are often seen feeding on insects attracted to outdoor lights. Tree dwellers in the wild, bats can squeeze through small openings and often roost in attics, crawl spaces, wall voids, patio beams and over doorways. Bats can transmit rabies through a bite or scratch and their droppings, called guano, are a breeding ground for disease. Dried guano releases fungal spores into the air which can cause Histoplasmosis, a potentially fatal respiratory disease, in humans. Find out more about our animal control services.
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Bird Control or Bird Exclusion Information and Bird Control Services
The Pigeon is the number one urban pest bird, followed by the House Sparrow. Pigeons commonly roost in man-made structures, causing millions of dollars in damage each year. In one year, a single pigeon produces an average 26 pounds of waste. The uric acid in bird droppings can corrode stone, metal and masonry. Their droppings are a breeding ground for bacteria, fungal agents and parasites. When breathed in by humans, fungal spores from bird droppings can case Histoplasmosis, an acute respiratory disease that can be fatal. When sparrows build their nests in gutters, clogs can cause water damage to buildings. Woodpeckers are another common nuisance birds, drilling into trees, siding and soffits with their powerful beaks as they search for insects, leaving unsightly damage in their wake.
ChemTec Pest Control animal control professionals use a variety of effective exclusion and deterrent techniques to combat common bird pests, including trapping, baiting, netting and structural modification.Find out more about our bat control services.
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Garden Animals Pest Information
In addition to other listed pests, groundhogs, skunks, opossums, moles, voles, and chipmunks can wreak havoc to gardens, lawns and landscaped areas. Some can even undermine structures with their burrowing behavior.
- The Eastern Chipmunk is a small, 5- to 6-inch long, brownish, ground-dwelling squirrel with a short pointy head, two white stripes down its back and a narrow tail. It feeds primarily on grains, nuts, berries, seeds and insects but will also dig up and eat flower bulbs and seedlings. A prodigious burrower, in large numbers chipmunks can undermine the foundations of porch steps, patios, retention walls and the foundations of structures.
- The Eastern Mole digs for grubs and worms, disfiguring gardens and lawns with its tunnels. Small underground creatures less than 3 inches long with no visible eyes or ears, moles have short velvety gray or brown fur, a long pink flexible snout, short legs, and a nearly hairless short tail.
- Opossums are the only marsupial in North America, meaning that their young develop in a pouch in the mother's abdomen. Known to "play dead" when frightened, opossums may attack and bite if threatened. Gray-furred with a pointed head and long nose, they have a white face with long whiskers and a long, naked pink tail. They can use their prehensile tail to hang upside down from tree branches. Opossums are about 30 inches long, including their foot-long tail. Active at night, their digging can cause considerable destruction to gardens. Opossums live in underground dens and may burrow under sheds, decks, house or garage slabs, woodpiles, sidewalks or stone walls, sometimes causing structural collapse. They may also build their dens in garages or attics.
- Voles, sometimes mistakenly called meadow or field mice, are small, less than 3 inches long, but with stouter bodies than mice and shorter, hairy tails. They are brown with round heads and small ears and eyes. They eat green vegetation and can damage ornamental plants, eating the bark in winter.
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Groundhog Information and Groundhog Control Services
Also called Woodchucks, are members of the squirrel family. Brown with short bushy tails, groundhogs weigh 4 to 10 pounds, are excellent burrowers and hibernate during the winter. They usually live at the edge of woodlands, but may dig their dens, which they will viciously defend, in sheltered landscape areas in yards. Feasting primarily on green vegetation, groundhogs can decimate a garden but may also damage lawns digging for grubs. Find out more about our groundhog control services.
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Raccoon Information and Raccoon Control Services
Recognizable by their distinctive black and white face mask, these "masked bandits" are dark brown to black with a ringed tail and can grow to 15 pounds. Nocturnal, raccoons cause considerable destruction to lawns and gardens, digging up large swaths of turf in their search for grubs. They can contaminate spas, pools and fountains, feast on ornamental fish, and damage the exterior of homes.
When they invade homes in search of shelter to birth and raise their young, raccoons contaminate attics, crawl spaces and chimneys with urine, feces, mites, fleas, ticks and other parasites. Their droppings are infested with roundworms, the dried eggs of which pose a serious respiratory health threat to humans. Raccoons are a known carrier of rabies. They can be a considerable nuisance foraging in garbage cans and dumpsters and may enter homes through pet doors to feast on dog kibble. They can be dangerous when threatened. Find out more about our raccoon control services.
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Rodents Such as Mice and Rats
Mice and rats are the number one animal pest in the U.S. They are prolific home invaders and vectors for dangerous diseases. For
more information, see our special section on rodents.
Skunk Information and Skunk Control
The noxious odor released by defensive spraying makes skunks a particularly unpleasant nuisance pest. Black with short legs, skunks are recognizable by the wide white stripe that runs down their back and along top of their plumed tail. Skunks may dig dens under foundations, porches, sheds or decks or move into crawl spaces, sheds or garages. Their digging is destructive to lawns and gardens. Find out more about our skunk control services.
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Snake Information and Snake Removal
The New Jersey and New York City area is home to more than 24 species of snakes,
only two of them venomous, the Northern Copperhead and the Timber Rattlesnake.
Most snakes are beneficial, eating rats and mice. They can become a nuisance
however, when they enter your home or business.
Although we do not provide outdoor snake eradication, if a snake does find
its way inside your home or business, we can trap and remove it promptly. If
you do have a snake problem, an experienced ChemTec Pest Control snake professional
can quickly eliminate the problem. Find
out more about our snake control services.
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Squirrel Information and Squirrel Control Services
The New Jersey and New York City area is home to the Eastern Gray Squirrel and Southern Flying Squirrel. These destructive pests frequently nest in buildings. They bring nesting materials into attics and crawl spaces, fouling the area with urine and fecal droppings. They gnaw on wood to keep their constantly-growing teeth sharp and at the proper length and will chew through wooden siding, soffits and roofs to get inside. They can create fire hazards when they chew through electrical wires in attics. They feed on seeds, bark, fungi, bulbs and insects and can destroy flowerbeds digging up bulbs. Find out more about our squirrel control services.
- Eastern Gray Squirrels are six to eight inches long and usually gray in color with white underbellies and long, bushy tails. They are active during the day.
- Southern Flying Squirrels are smaller, only 4 inches long, and do not have tails. They have folds of skin between their front limbs and bodies which allow them to glide between trees. They are active at night.
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What Kind of Damage Do Animals Cause?
Burrowing animals can undermine foundations, causing structures to collapse. Gnawing animals can chew sizeable holes in roofs, soffits, fascia and siding. They can cause electrical shorts and fire hazards by chewing through electrical wires. Animal pests can destroy lawns digging for grubs and decimate gardens eating plants and digging up bulbs. They can seriously damage ornamental trees by feeding on new growth in the spring and stripping off bark as a winter food source.
Do These Animals Pose a Health Risk?
When they come into contact with humans, animal pests can pose a significant health risk. Animals bring fleas, ticks, mites, worms and other harmful parasites into homes. They foul attics and crawl spaces with their urine and feces which are a vector for harmful, sometimes fatal diseases. If threatened or protecting their young, animal pests may attack humans and some can transmit rabies.
How Do Animals Enter Your Home?
Animals can invade your home at any time, but they usually come inside during the fall when they are looking for a cozy den or new food source. Small animals can squeeze through tiny holes or openings. Some animals like squirrels will gnaw through wood or shingles to enlarge small openings so they can enter. Animal pests can enter through roof or crawl space vents, chimney stacks and pest doors. They may sneak under garage or shed doors to build their nests. Many burrow under manmade structures like porches, decks and sheds. Animal pests may harbor in wood piles, brush or compost piles, stacks of construction lumber or anywhere that provides undisturbed shelter.
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How Can I Protect My Home From Invading Animals?
While you can't protect your home or yard from every invading animal pest, there are a number of things you can do to discourage them from entering your home.
- Inspect the perimeter, soffit, fascia and roof you your home regularly.
- Seal any potential entry holes.
- Screen crawl space and attic vents and put a cap on your chimney to prevent raccoon entrance.
- Be on the lookout for signs of animal burrowing or activity when you mow the lawn or garden.
- Locate wood piles and compost heaps well away from your home.
- Treat lawns with a grub-killing insecticide in the summer.
- Don't allow yard debris or leaves to pile up.
- Install animal-proof lids on outdoor trash receptacles.
- Call the ChemTec Pest Control animal pest professionals at the first sign of trouble before animal pests have a chance to become well established.
Although we do not provide services for every animal that may invade your property we do provide control, exclusion, and removal services for most. Contact
an animal pest professional at ChemTec Pest Control today to find out if we can help with your animal pest.
What Should I Do If Animals Invade My Home?
You should not try to remove a wild animal from your home. They can be vicious when threatened or cornered, particularly if they are protecting their young, and may carry rabies. Call
the ChemTec Pest Control office immediately. We can usually have one of our expert ChemTec Pest Control animal pest professionals onsite the same day or schedule a visit at your convenience. Our pest exclusion services include trapping and removing pests, sealing entry sites, and habitat modification. Find out more about our animal control services.
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