In Los Angeles, nuisance wildlife includes those animals that threaten humans, damage property or cause an annoyance that interferes with your peace. Animals found to be nuisances include raccoons, rats, mice, squirrels, bats, skunks, snakes, opossums, groundhogs and hundreds of species of birds.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has established rules on capturing and removing nuisance wildlife. Rather than take the risk of violating nuisance wildlife laws, you may want to call professionals, like Critter Control, for help. Here are some examples of how we can help using our inspection, removal and repair process.
Raccoons are active at night. While you sleep, they are out scavenging for food. There are plenty of sources in Kalamazoo and all of Southwest Michigan. Raccoons eat just about anything, from restaurant scraps and pet food to garden crops and chickens. Their hands resemble human hands and allow them to turn doorknobs, open storage bins, and climb trees, chimneys, and poles.
Raccoons have a permanent mask and banded tail. They would be cute if they weren’t so destructive. They will do what they can to get into parts of your house they see fit to sleep and give birth to pups. If they must rip, tear, or break something to get to that spot, they will. Raccoons make lots of noises, like whimpers, growls, and screams. They leave feces and urine nearby their shelter.
Before trying to remove a raccoon from your home by yourself, remember they can carry diseases, and if threatened, they may bite. Calling nuisance wildlife animal control experts is recommended. Critter Control's three-step process works well for raccoon removal.
For the second year in a row, Los Angeles has been named as having the second-largest rat problem. It makes you shiver thinking about the Norway and roof rats invading your outdoor space and the house mouse living in your walls, ceiling and attic. To make it worse, rats and mice reproduce several times throughout a year, giving birth to five or more babies each time. Before long, you could have an infestation on your property.
Rats damage roof shingles, siding, fascia and electrical wires outside. They also like to burrow underground. If they do so close to your home, it could cause your home foundation to become unstable. Inside, mice will gnaw wires, flooring, walls, furniture, cabinets and groceries. They leave trails of feces and urine that can grow mold spores.
At the first sign of rodent activity, call our pros.
The California ground squirrel is the cute creature you see in your yard scavenging for foods and nesting items. They are collectors, preparing for survival during the winter months.
If you have squirrels on your property, you have a good food supply. Squirrels prefer fruits, nuts, bird eggs, garden crops, seeds, grains and bark. They seek favorable spaces to nest, too, like your attic. Squirrels will create storage space wherever they go, including underground or in trees, chimneys, crawlspaces, attic walls and basements.
Because a squirrel’s teeth are constantly growing, they are constantly gnawing to control their growth and prevent pain. Squirrels will gnaw through shingles, siding, wood, plastic and anything else that separates them from where they are and where they want to go. We can help you get your squirrel problem under control.
There are 25 species of bats in California, all of which are protected in some way due to diseases like the white-nose syndrome that is reducing bat populations. Bats are very beneficial to the environment, eating thousands of insects in one night.
If you have bats on your property, that means you have ample food and water for them to survive. They will find a nearby place to roost, likely in your attic, ceilings, sheds or barns. Bats threaten humans because they can carry diseases like rabies. Their guano droppings can grow mold spores that have been known to cause histoplasmosis and other respiratory problems if inhaled.
Bats are very unsanitary. Their fur is covered in their feces, and they are known to host bat bugs, which are closely related to bed bugs. It is never a good idea to interact with a bat since they may bite if they feel threatened. Instead, call us to help you get rid of bats from your home.
We attract many different birds in Los Angeles, including sparrows, starlings, pigeons and woodpeckers. This urbanized wildlife is annoying and can cause significant damage to your property if left uncontrolled.
Birds love to roost anywhere to wait for the perfect time to swoop down and collect an insect. They will stay on your roof, eaves, gutters, chimneys, vehicles, trees, wires and many other places. You know they’ve been there by all the poop below their roosting spot.
Birds build nests in places like vents and chimneys, creating a fire hazard for your home and family. Getting rid of bird problems is a must. We can help.
Skunks typically invade LA yards in search for food and a safe place to burrow. Sheds, porches, and foundations make ideal burrowing locations which can lead to structural damage. To avoid a skunk’s spray rely on professional handling and
skunk trapping. Removing food supplies is one of the most effective ways to prevent a skunk from entering your property.
Skunk mating season starts in February. Males typically spray during fights over females. A minor skunk problem can quickly magnify during breeding season.
Opossums are more of a nuisance than a real danger. They are very common in urban and suburban settings and will eat practically anything include insects, ticks, and small rodents. In some cases, an opossum can be beneficial to your yard. The greatest opossum damage occurs in gardens, where the marsupials help themselves to fruits and vegetables. They will also eat unsecured pet food left outside overnight and rummage through garbage cans or compost heaps to find bits and scraps to eat.
Opossums will use attics, crawlspaces and the areas under sheds and porches as dens.
You probably won’t see a gopher or encounter one in your home. A gopher is identified by their burrow and large mound of dirt that sits above the tunnel. Their preferred diet is pieces of plants accessible underground.
Gopher control is most effective during spring and fall when gophers are most active near the surface. Activity is usually indicated by fresh mounds of soil. One gopher can create several mounds in a day. Gopher burrows can cover two hundred to two thousand square feet. The burrow system can undermine structures. Gophers will feed on garden plants and gnaw on irrigation systems.
Time, energy and resources can be wasted by trying to control gophers in an unoccupied burrow. Baiting and trapping are the two most practical and efficient methods.