Daytona Beach has ecosystems only found in Florida. These attract wildlife of all kinds, including seashore birds, inland birds, native and non-native birds. The Fish and Wildlife Department gets numerous calls daily about local wildlife. Whether it’s a marine animal stranded on a beach or an alligator roaming the neighborhood, wildlife can be a nuisance.
Most wildlife is fun to watch and encounter occasionally. However, some animals are starting to invade our peaceful neighborhoods. Some are invading our homes. Raccoons, skunks, opossums, armadillos, rats, mice, bats, and squirrels are growing in number. They are starting to outnumber humans. This population growth is forcing wildlife to seek food, water, and shelter in new places.
Some end up in your yard and your home. Call an expert wildlife control company to avoid a potential hospital visit for you or the animal to remove any nuisance animals from your property. Critter Control has a three-step process that involves inspection, removal, and repair. Please keep reading for examples of how our process works on the most common wildlife nuisances in Daytona Beach.
Sure, Daytona Beach raccoons are cute with their little masks and striped tails. Observing them pick foods and wash them before they eat is cute too. What’s not cute? The tipped garbage can and scattered trash, opened feed boxes, holes in your yard, and half-eaten crops in your garden.
Raccoons will eat just about anything, from junk food to small livestock if it’s available. Raccoons are filthy creatures, leaving dirty streaks on places they enter, like your siding as they climb your chimney to enter your attic. Once inside, raccoons destroy insulation, ductwork, flooring, drywall, and any sentimental items they can find.
They like to poop near their nesting area so expect large piles of feces and urine in your attic, crawlspace, or under your deck. We can help you get rid of a raccoon invasion.
Rat and Mice Pest Control
Daytona Beach is overrun with rats and mice. Common mice include the Beach, Cotton, and House mice. Rats include the Rice, Gambian Pouch, and roof rats. Mice can fit through a hole the size of a quarter and rats the size of a golf ball; it’s likely one has entered your home at some point.
They reproduce a lot, having multiple litters a year, all of which could be living on your property. Rats tend to burrow in holes outdoors or under your home. Mice love the indoors and will use any entry to get inside and build a nest.
Signs of rodent activity inside your home include poop droppings and chew marks on wood, wires, carpet, or walls. You may also notice boxes in your pantry with gnaw marks and food scattered around the cabinet. You may also catch sight of one when you flip on the kitchen light in the middle of the night for a snack. You scream, and it runs back to its nest. The rodent control pros at Critter Control can find that nest and get rid of your rodent problem.
Squirrel watching is a thing in Daytona Beach. We can see the fox and gray squirrels in action all day, every day. They collect seeds, fruits, nuts, bark, leaves, and many other items to store for the winter months. Squirrels can fit large apples in their cheeks.
It’s where they store their collections that is a problem. When possible, a squirrel will use your attic, walls, or ceilings as a hiding spot. Suppose they are getting ready to give birth to a litter of baby squirrels. In that case, they will build a nest in your home using your insulation, drywall, wallpaper, clothing, carpet, and anything else accessible.
Squirrels are gnawers and will destroy wires, wood boards and beams, and ductwork. Outside your home, squirrels will raid your garden, dig holes in your yard to store treasures, and scratch your siding as they hurry up and down. We can limit the squirrel activity on your property.
Most snakes are harmless. They are just like every other animal, searching for food and shelter. Some may find refuge in your attic, crawlspaces, basements, or in woodpiles lying around your property. It’s not that unusual for a snake to curl up under the hood of your car where it is warm.
It’s essential you know how to identify a snake in Daytona Beach. Learn the difference between diamonds, stripes, crossbands, blotches, and rings.
Snakes don’t cause much damage to your home or property. They can even eat the rodents, which may be annoying you. However, most people are fearful of snakes. The sight of one often brings on screaming, jumping, running, and more screaming. That’s okay. It’s a common reaction.
We don’t want you to be fearful while at home, so give us a call if you spot a snake inside or outside your home.
How do the seasons affect wildlife activity in Florida? Seasons in Daytona Beach, FL, fall into one of two categories: hot and wet or warm and dry. These conditions make it easy for wildlife pests to remain active all year. Breeding and birthing seasons have stretched out to nearly year-round, with a lull in middle of the summer, although we occasionally see baby raccoons in the summer.
What are some common signs of nuisance wildlife activity? The most common sign of wildlife is strange sounds in your attic, on your roof, or within your walls. Rat droppings are also a common sign.
Any prevention tips for residents in your area? You can’t keep animals off your roof, but you can keep them out of your roof. If it’s vulnerable, and 8 out of 10 roofs are, there will be a rat in it. It’s never too late to protect it.
When should homeowners call Critter Control? Don’t wait until you hear an animal in your ceiling. Call Critter Control immediately. Most people won’t even hear the animal. Sometimes when you finally hear an animal in the attic, the attic is already compromised.
