Critter Control of Augusta

Get them out. Keep them out.®

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Discovering a pest animal in your house or on your property can be a stressful experience. With over 40 years of experience, Critter Control has been providing peace of mind to homeowners with humane wildlife control.

At Critter Control of Augusta, we’re skilled at dealing with many of Georgia and South Carolina’s most bothersome pest animals. Whether you need to remove rodents from your attic or get rid of hogs that are damaging your property, you can trust Critter Control to get the job done safely, effectively, and humanely.

Racoon Removal in Augusta, GA

Although the raccoon population in Augusta is high, you will rarely see them, as they go out at night in search of food. They will eat anything, including leftovers thrown in the trash, scraps behind a restaurant, insects, and even chickens or other small animals. While you’re sleeping, they are out roaming in Augusta tipping over trash cans, dumpster diving, raiding pet food containers, and stealing garden crops.

During the day, raccoons like to rest in a safe, cozy spot, like your attic, crawlspace or chimney. They are great climbers and will shimmy up the side of your house to get into your chimney or attic. They will break attic vents, attic screens and remove unsecured chimney screens to gain entry into your home. Once inside your home, they create nesting areas and latrine spots, since they prefer to go to the bathroom in one place.

You may have already heard raccoon noises coming from parts of your home. If you hear sounds like screeching birds in your fireplace, attic or walls in the Spring, or scratching on your walls, ripping drywall or insulation, or footsteps above your head, those are all sounds that raccoons make. Raccoons can turn your home into a fire hazard in a short time by disrupting electrical wires in your attic or walls. It’s essential to call an expert who can remove the animal and fix your repairs like we’ve done so many times in Augusta.

Inspection

Inspection

During the inspection, we determine the severity of the raccoon infestation. We look for physical evidence like footprints in or around the home, stains from raccoon feces and urine. On the exterior of the house, we look for damage like scratches on boards, broken vents and screens, ripped apart shingles, destroyed soffits, and every possible entry point.

Trapping and Removal

Raccoon Trapping

Live trapping is one of the most efficient ways to get rid of a raccoon. Depending on the situation, a one-way door or excluder valve can be installed. An excluder valve works by allowing the raccoon to leave but blocks its reentry. The choice of device is largely dependent on the season and location of the raccoons on your property. Direct capture is not commonly used because raccoons are a rabies vector species. If we must trap, we place traps strategically to safely catch the raccoons and we check traps frequently, based on state laws.

Repairs

Raccoon Control

We provide a wide range of repair and restoration services. We can repair raccoon damage like broken screens on vents and chimneys and broken boards on decks and porches. It is essential to apply cleaning agents and ectoparasite treatments on areas inhabited by raccoons.

Rat Control

There are many different species of rats and mice in Augusta, but it’s the black rat, Norway rat, house mice, and deer mice that will sneak into your home and build nests in your walls, attic, ceilings, vents, ducts, chimney, and even furniture. Some will make nests in your vehicle’s air filter.

Rodents are always on the hunt for food, water, and shelter. If they are in your house and yard, that means you can supply all three. They don’t mind chewing through roof shingles, cabinets, food packaging, drywall, wiring, wood, or anything else to get what they need. As rodents travel throughout your home and yard, they leave a trail of urine and feces. Yes, it’s gross.

According to the Center for Disease Control, rats and mice can carry over 35 diseases. Both rats and mice multiply quickly. If not controlled, you could have an infestation soon. Think dozens upon dozens of poop trails on your property. Let us handle the dirty work before this happens.

Inspection

Inspection

During a rodent inspection, we thoroughly inspect your attic and provide a complete exterior home inspection. The most common signs of rodent activity are gnaw marks, feces, rub marks, nesting material, runs in insulation material, and small entry points.

Trapping and Removal

Rat Trapping

A Critter Control wildlife specialist will create a strategic trapping plan to remove the rodents found in your home. Critter Control specialists may use snap traps and live traps to capture and remove mice and rats. Rodent trapping can usually takes between five to fourteen days.

Repairs

Exclusions for Rat Control

The best way to reduce the possibility of letting unwanted rodents into homes is to seal possible entrances. Exclusion methods include caulking cracks in foundations, capping chimneys, and installing mesh covers over vents and crawl space entrances. We also strongly recommend a maintenance service. Rodents have front teeth that continuously grow, which means they can gnaw a new way back into your home.

Augusta Squirrel Removal

Squirrels are suspects in many house fires, all due to their habit of chewing on electrical wires. They chew on hard surfaces, because their teeth never stop growing and they’ll continually search for something hard to gnaw on, including wiring in homes.

Squirrels found in the Augusta area include the gray squirrel and the fox squirrel. They spend most of their time collecting food and nesting materials and then storing those items. Squirrels breed twice a year, so they must find a nesting spot close to a food and water supply. Your house is as good as any.

If you hear chirping, squeaking, and scurrying in your walls or ceilings, a nest is probably inside your home. That can also mean you have damaged wiring, shredded insulation, broken roof shingles, scratched drywall, and a lot of chewed wood. Ready to get rid of your squirrel problem? Call us.

Inspection

Inspection

Wildlife specialists look for signs such as chewing on, in, or around your home, small openings leading to the attic or the crawl space, droppings, and debris like nuts or nesting material. Beams, wires, pipes, and insulation may all show signs of damage from squirrels.

Trapping and Removal

Squirrel Trapping

Live trapping or one-way doors are the most effective and humane ways to get rid of squirrels. One-way doors should never be used during birthing seasons (Spring & Fall), so our specialists will decide which is the best tool for the job. If we have to trap, we place traps strategically to safely catch the squirrels and check those according to state laws.

Repairs

Squirrel Exclusion

We can restore your home or office by squirrel proofing all entry points after we have removed the offenders. We can also clean-up the nesting sites and remove any debris, food, feces and soiled insulation.

Bat Removal

There are many bat species in Georgia. Horror films may have given bats a bad rap, but they are beneficial to our ecosystem, as they eat a lot of insects. They are nocturnal and consume thousands of insects each night, reducing the need for pesticides in our neighborhoods.

So, why do you need to get rid of bats if they are so beneficial and endangered? Good question – the answer is guano (also called bat poop) and ectoparasites (bat bugs).

Bat guano that accumulates on moist soils, will grow mold spores that can be toxic to humans if inhaled. For some, it can lead to respiratory diseases like histoplasmosis. For being so small, they produce a lot of guano, which can be heavy, weighing down the boards in your attic or building. Bat guano also contains uric acid, which can erode metal and wood.

Some of the reasons to call an expert for removing a bat from your home or property include: they may carry diseases, they may carry ectoparasites, they may bite you and you may not know when, or how they may be legally excluded from your home or business. We can help.

Inspection

Inspection

We perform a full interior and exterior inspection and search for signs such as rub marks, guano, a strong scent of ammonia, and small openings. The most common sign is the accumulation of guano (feces).

Trapping and Removal

Bat Removal

The most effective and humane way to remove bats is by utilizing a bat valve in conjunction with a full home exclusion. A bat valve allows for bats to exit your home but not re-enter. We follow all local ordinances for humane bat removal. We will never abandon flightless pups in your attic.

Repairs

Bat Exclusion

After removing the bat valves, we seal the entrance hole(s) so bats can no longer enter your home. If there is substantial guano in your attic, you should consider taking advantage of our attic remediation services to remove the soiled insulation and replace it.

Opossum Control

Opossums are prevalent in greater Denver. If you see an opossum in your yard, it is best to ignore it. They usually move on from a location within a few days. In the meantime, they will probably eat pests like ticks or rodents.

If you’ve got one in your home (or under your porch), you know it’s there. They are noisy animals. They scream, hiss, thump and bump. They can truly be annoying at any time during the day or night. Opossums will also leave feces and urine wherever they go. If you have a nuisance opossum in your house or under a deck, call us to evict opossums early.

Inspection

Inspection

Opossums can be found inside attics and basements or outside under decks and sheds. Common signs include unique paw prints and feces. Opossums are docile and usually easy to spot.

Trapping and Removal

Repairs and Control

Broken screens on chimney and roof vents are replaced with sturdier materials, and we properly seal all entry points, including crawlspaces. We clean and deodorize areas of opossum activity. Exclusion may include eliminating sources that attract bugs, like nighttime lighting, stagnant water, and livestock poop.

Repairs

Bat Exclusion

After removing the bat valves, we seal the entrance hole(s) so bats can no longer enter your home. If there is substantial guano in your attic, you should consider taking advantage of our attic remediation services to remove the soiled insulation and replace it.

Skunk Control

Skunks cause damage when the pests dig-up turf in search of grubs and insects. They can also cause structural damage to sheds, porches, and foundations when they burrow under them.

Removing food supplies is one of the most effective ways to prevent a skunk from entering your property. Foul-smelling skunk spray affects people, pets, and costly outdoor furniture. To avoid a skunk’s spray, rely on professional handling and skunk trapping. Skunks breed in January and February. Males typically spray during fights over females. A minor skunk problem can quickly magnify during breeding season.

Inspection

Inspection

In addition to noting any pungent odors that signal the presence of a skunk, we will inspect the condition of your landscaping, as skunks are known for tearing-up lawns and shredding grass while hunting for grubs and insects. We will also inspect the perimeter of your building’s foundations and under decks, to locate burrows.

Trapping and Removal

Skunk Trapping

Never try to remove a skunk from your property yourself. Getting sprayed is a very unpleasant experience. Furthermore, these animals may carry diseases that can spread to humans and pets, such as rabies. Our specialists will use live traps to capture and remove skunks for you, or they’ll use a one-way exclusion device to evict skunks from their harborage areas. The most effective ways to control a skunk problem is exclusion and habitat modification.

Repairs

Skunk Control

The most effective ways to control a skunk problem is exclusion and habitat modification. Methods like sealing foundation gaps, replacing and screening broken foundation vents and installing hardware cloth (rat walls) around unprotected sheds and decks are the most effective and permanent ways to keep skunks out.
We recommend keeping pet food inside and securing any trash bins.

Mole Control

Moles are typically most active during the rainy seasons, including spring and fall. Your yard is home to moles’ favorite snacks: earthworms and grubs! When it rains, the earthworms and grubs are brought to the surface where moles can hunt and eat them. The weather and white grub life cycles result in the increase of mole problems in Augusta, GA.

The amount of damage that moles can create will have homeowners or business owners thinking there is 100 or more moles causing the damage, but usually, there are only 1-3 moles causing the destruction.

Moles are territorial, and your property has proven itself to be a haven for moles. Once the mole infestation is under control, you should continue monitoring for mole damage.

Inspection

Inspection

Critter Control’s experts will confirm whether your lawn problems are caused by moles and provide you with a reliable plan to get rid of moles. Your Critter Control technician will look for these telltale signs:

  • Raised mounds of dirt at tunnel entrances
    Raised ridges crisscrossing the lawn and garden beds
    Areas of your lawn where the soil is spongy beneath your feet
    Discolored grass where moles have dug through roots
    Weed growth where lawn is dying
Trapping and Removal

Mole Trapping

Our skilled team of professionals will utilize a trapping program to effectively get the mole population under control in your yard.

Repairs

Exclusions

Once the moles are eliminated, certain parts of your yard can benefit from exclusionary methods. Garden beds can be surrounded by wire mesh, for example, but unfortunately, doing this around an entire yard is impractical.

 

The Critter Control Difference

Trained Specialists Animal removal is a highly sophisticated job. As such, we vet and train our team members to ensure they have the knowledge and skill to remove any pest from your building. Our wildlife experts utilize advanced removal and exclusion techniques and damage repair.
Guaranteed Work Your satisfaction is always guaranteed. Critter Control® takes great pride in providing quality workmanship resulting in customer satisfaction.
Residential and Commerical Invading nuisance wildlife can wreak havoc on property. If left unattended wildlife and pests can cause costly property damage. Whether a residential property, apartment buildings, retail stores, office buildings, industrial plants, medical facilities, or warehouses, our trained professionals can handle any wildlife removal problem.
Critter Control Guarantee Your satisfaction is always guaranteed. We provide reliable prevention from future intrusions. Resolving a nuisance wildlife issue calls for more than trapping and removing the critter. Our exclusion services offer immediate and long-term wildlife solutions.

Call to Schedule an Inspection

Q&A with Local Franchisee Zane Neher

What are some of the most common wildlife issues that homeowners face in Augusta?

The biggest issues you will face from wildlife is the damage they tend to do to your home. They will chew on shingles causing leaks. They will chew on fascia boards, freeze boards and vents causing rot and unsightly appearances. When they are inside the attic or under home, they will chew on wires, ducting and personal belongings, as well as bring in parasites, viruses and other illnesses into your home – not to mention other wildlife, including predators.

How do the seasons affect wildlife activity in your area?

Spring/Fall: This time of year is when wildlife tend to start breeding. For species like squirrels, this means that they breed twice a year with a litter of 3-6 babies each time, this greatly increases the chances of severe damage to your home as babies will stay a long while after they are weaned and the mothers will continue to use the attic until they are removed.

Summer/Winter: Attics and crawl spaces provide amazing cover for wildlife during these times of year. Both areas provide warmth during the winter and coolness during the summer. We may be hot in the attic or uncomfortable in the crawl space, but wildlife thrive in these areas, because of the insulation. If your home is 67 degrees during the summer, the attic under the insulation won’t be much different.

What are some common signs of nuisance wildlife activity?

Random noises. Odd smells. Unexplained staining in ceiling and walls. Dark “wet spots” on roofs and areas that look like paint was removed from home. Holes going under home and trees as well as digging in the yard are all common signs of wildlife activity.

Any prevention or exclusion tips for local residents in your area?

​Wildlife are a part of our habitat. To help keep them wild, do not feed them. Make sure to catch or clean up seeds after feeding the birds each day. Pick up your pets’ food after each feeding. Keep yard clean of debris.
Cats, dogs, mothballs, vinegar and lime do not deter wildlife.

When should homeowners call Critter Control?

Prevention is better than the cure: Call now to have natural openings on your home sealed prior to the infestation.

This franchise is independently licensed and operated by Biotic Environmental Services, LLC, dba Critter Control of Augusta, GA.