Common Wildlife Problems in Carlsbad, CA
From popular tourist spots to lagoons and beaches, Carlsbad, CA, offers habitats that draw many kinds of pests. The area's coastal cliffs and caves are home to bats, European starlings, house finches, and swallows. These flying pests also come into neighborhoods to nest in attics, eaves, vents, and ducts. Their droppings smell strongly and draw insects. Animal feces is known to spread diseases like histoplasmosis to humans, as well.
Nutria are burrowing rodents that live near bodies of water and marshes in Carlsbad. Their digging can cause problems by wearing away the banks of flood ditches and weakening home foundations.
Year-Round Squirrel Removal
The warm winters of Carlsbad, CA, allow squirrels to remain active all year round. These rodents annoy people when they build nests in eaves or garage lofts. Persistent scratching and thumping noises, chewed wires, stains from the pests' waste, and shredded insulation are common problems with squirrel infestations.
- Inspection- Gnaw marks on, in, or around your home. Small openings to attics or the crawl space. Droppings. Debris like nuts or nesting materials.
- Trapping & Removal- Live trapping, deterrents, one-way doors.
- Repairs- exclusion services focus on repairing entry points. Removing debris, repairing nest sites, decontaminating droppings and urine.
Bat Removal in Carlsbad
When outdoors, bats are useful in Carlsbad, CA, because they eat mosquitoes and other insects. Twenty-one of the twenty-three bats in San Diego County are insectivors. The problems begin once the animals invade houses.
Small bat colonies enter an attic during maternity season to give birth to bat pups. They usually go undetected until noise, foul odors, and the buildup of feces draw the homeowners' attention. Do not exclude bats if flightless pups are present. Maternity season typically lasts from May to September in California. Separated pups can starve without their parents.
- Inspection- Small squeaking sounds. Piles of droppings in one corner of the house. Stains on walls and strong ammonia smell.
- Trapping & Removing- Generally you can only remove a bat if its in the livable part of your home. Most likely one way doors will be employed once the bats offspring have reached maturity.
- Repairs- Sealing entry points. Disinfecting area under roost from accumulation of guano.
Raccoon Removal
Raccoons prefer dense wooded habitats but have adapted to cities like Carlsbad. These pests become a nuisance to homeowners when females enter crawl spaces or attics and make dens to raise their kits. A raccoon can carry rabies, so residents should avoid any contact.
- Inspection- looking for footprints in or around home, large openings, raccoon poop
- Trapping & Removal- Live trapping most effective and humane
- Repairs- Seal all entry points. Restore attic insultation. Latrine disinfection and clean up.
Rodent Removal
Rats and mice are typical pest animals in a home. Proximity to water and buildings with plenty of entry holes allow the pests to travel freely and breed rapidly. In homes, a mouse or rat may contaminate food with waste, spread disease, and destroy property. To effectively get rid of rats you need to control the population. Female rats can have six litters in one year. The wildlife technician will determine the best type of trap, placement of trap, and the best bait to use.
- Inspection- Noises such as scurrying and rat or mouse droppings most prominent signs you have a rodent infestation
- Trapping- Variety of traps available.
- Repairs- caulking cracks, capping chimneys, installing mesh over vents.
Gopher Control
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. 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.
Although trapping is the most effective method of gopher control, it requires time, patience, and the knowledge of the gopher's habits to be successful.