According to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources, wildlife in our area classify as game, big game, non-game, and furbearer.
Another classification is called nuisance wildlife. A nuisance animal is causes annoyance in your neighborhood or property. It may also be posing a threat to the public and damaging your home, office, or other building.
In Wilmington, examples of nuisance wildlife are raccoons, rats, mice, squirrels, bats, skunks, opossums, and birds. Do you have a wild animal invading your space? If so, call the experts for removal, like the ones at Critter Control of Wilmington, who provide a thorough inspection, remove the animal, and repair damages.
Below are examples of how we’ve handled the most common nuisance wildlife in New Hanover County.
The most well adapted to humans, raccoons in Wilmington seem to enjoy the urban lifestyle. With their masks and banded bushy tails, human-like hands, and appetite for just about anything, they roam Wilmington streets for many miles. They use the cover of night to tip garbage cans, scatter trash, damage feed bins, put holes in your yard, open dumpsters, and damage garden crops are some examples of their destruction outdoors. Raccoons will also break into your home to find a cozy spot to rest. You will see smudges on the outside of your home from where they climb to the roof to enter your vents, chimney, or attic. They will break doors and screens and even crawl through pet doors to get inside.
Once inside, raccoons pile up feces and urine, break boards, chew wires, rip insulation, and scratch insulation. All these minor damages can be costly over time. To save money, call Critter Control at the first sign of raccoon activity.
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.
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.
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.
The Norway and roof rats and the deer and house mice are rodents in Wilmington seen in any building, residential or commercial.
Rodents have grown to like human foods they can find in trash, dumpsters, garages, and your kitchen. Rats and mice do not travel far from their nests for food and water. If a mouse is in your home, so is their nest. Rats typically burrow in the ground outdoors but will use your crawlspace or attic if easy to access.
To make a nest, rodents will use wood, metal, plastic, and fabrics, all of which they find in your home.
Rats and mice run along walls and behind appliances and furniture, leaving feces and urine everywhere they go. We can get rid of rats and mice in your space.
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.
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.
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.
Squirrels in Wilmington include the Eastern gray squirrel, red squirrel, Southern flying squirrel, and the fox squirrel scurrying up trees, across roofs, and often in the middle of the street. They are quick in all their actions, including gathering fruits, nuts, seeds, vegetables, leaves, bark, and bird eggs to store for eating.
They are also collectors of materials to make nests. If they are living in your attic or walls, that means they may be collecting items you consider sentimental and clogging up ducts and vents with their treasures, creating fire hazards.
Squirrels have teeth that do not stop growing. Squirrels like to chew on everything, even wood. If they are gnawing on structural beams and posts, the stability of your home is in danger.
There are ways to get rid of squirrels and the damage they’ve left behind. Call one of our technicians for help.
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.
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.
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.
There are 17 species of bats living in North Carolina. Out of those, three are federally endangered. There are many laws regarding bats, including removal from a property. For example, bats cannot be harassed or removed during the maternity season, which runs from late Spring to Fall.
Bats are incredibly beneficial to the Wilmington environment and worldwide. They consume thousands of bugs every night, up to half their body weight. Reports claim a bat can eat 15 insects in sixty seconds. We need bats. We don’t need them living in residences or commercial buildings we own. The reason has to do with the guano or poop they leave in piles. It’s stinky, heavy, and grows mold.
Bats even poop while roosting upside down, allowing it to run over their bodies. They hang on one foot to groom themselves with the other, but this does not mean they are clean. Touching a bat or its guano can be dangerous. Rather than put yourself at risk, call us. We have equipment that keeps us and the bat safe.
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).
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.
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.
There are six types of venomous snakes in North Carolina, 37 species total. The ones you see most in your neighborhood or backyard are often harmless. But there is something about a snake that makes us fearful. Maybes is how they can sneak up on you, and maybe it’s the horror stories told over the years. The one thing that can make you less fearful of snakes is education on the species.
The experts at Critter Control are happy to provide you with information on the snakes in our area. The more knowledge you have on a species, the better you will handle running into one on your property.
Snakes can get inside your hope if there are openings. They are not looking for trouble, however, only food. They eat eggs, bugs, and small animals. Like bats, snakes are beneficial to our environment. Instead of killing the snake, call us.
Snakes are excellent at avoiding detection. We inspect your home for potential entry points and look for signs like snake skin and feces. Because a snake typically enters a home hunting for food, our wildlife inspector also looks for signs of a rodent infestation.
We have a humane and safe way to trap and handle snakes. We relocate the snakes back into the wild.
In addition to dealing with any possible rodent problem drawing snakes to your property, a specialist will assist with sealing possible entry points and also encourage you to remove any debris where snakes can easily take up residence.
Don’t wait to call if you have a nuisance wildlife problem. Professional wildlife control experts provide
With over 30 years of experience, Critter Control is the nation’s leading wildlife control company. At Critter Control of Wilmington, we’re skilled at dealing with many of Coastal North Carolina’s most bothersome pest animals. Whether you need to remove rodents, squirrels, or raccoons from your attic or get rid of insects or other pests that are damaging your property, you can trust Critter Control to get the job done safely, effectively and humanely.
Critter Control is here for you every step of the way in the wildlife removal process. From inspection to removal—and even exclusion and repair—we have the services you need to get rid of raccoons, rodents, and other nuisances fast. First, we identify the animal on the property, then use humane methods to remove the animal and secure weak points where more could enter. If damage has been done, we can make those repairs for a complete restoration. Contact a Critter Control office near you today.
During the inspection we try to ascertain how many animals there are, where they are located, and how they got in. Based on what you have seen, heard and smelled, we start the inspection where you have noticed signs of animal activity. Evidence of animals inside your home include nests, dens, feces, and animal tracks. We investigate the exterior of your home looking for possible entry points, any evidence of animal damage, tracks, fur, animal waste, or rub marks.
We use several methods to humanely remove the animal from your home. Depending on the species, the number of animals, and the condition of your property, we develop a custom wildlife removal plan. Humane wildlife removal strategies include animal traps, one-way doors, and repellents. Once we guarantee all animals are gone, we implement exclusion techniques. Exclusion techniques provide a safe, long-term solution to nuisance wildlife in your home. We create barriers to prevent animals from getting to resources. We only apply exclusions once we are sure all animals are gone from your home.
Wildlife will damage your home. Exclusion techniques repair any damage the animal causes getting into your home. Inside your home, animals build nests and dens out of readily available material. They will create runs through the insulation. Rodents will gnaw on anything including electrical wires and pipes. Animals can also spread diseases. We apply sanitation agents to clean up feces and urine. Mammals can host pests like fleas, ticks, and mites. Ectoparasite treatments exterminate those pests so you don’t become their next host.
Rats, moles, snakes, opossums, raccoons, squirrels and insects.
We have rats and moles year round. Snakes are active from March – November. The opossums and raccoons are active most of the year and squirrels are quite prevalent in fall and winter.
Noises in the attic, crawl spaces, walls and vents. Chewing, or gnaw marks around the home. Droppings in and around the home or business.
Reduce areas where animals and insects can hide or build nests, such as overgrowth of shrubs, piles of debris or firewood, etc. Regularly walk around and inspect the exterior of the home for any signs of animal activity, or any possible entry points.
At first sign of any odd, new noises or other possible animal activity.
