Fredericksburg is known for some extraordinary historical landmarks, but there are also some hidden gems. We’re talking about the local wildlife roaming our neighborhoods and damaging our yards and homes. The three B’s: bats, birds, and bees are common culprits in Fredericksburg. We also see skunks, opossums, snakes, raccoons, and rodents.
If you are bothered by any local wildlife, we can take care of it. Below are a few examples of how we inspect, remove the animal, and repair your property.
Squirrel Removal around Frericksburg
Squirrels are among the most common nuisance animals in the area. They enter attics and wall spaces through small roof gaps, especially in older homes. Critter Control uses humane exclusion devices and repairs entry points to prevent future invasions, minimizing property damage and fire risks from gnawed wiring.
Raccoons in their natural habitat are excellent climbers and use the cover of trees to protect themselves from predators. But that also makes attics and chimneys an ideal substitute when the weather turns cold, and the availability of trees is low. Although these creatures are quite cute, they are also quite destructive.
Raccoons are strong and will tear a hole in the roof to gain entry. Once inside, they tear insulation and gnaw on wood and wires. Because of their size, if a raccoon was in your attic, you would definitely hear them banging around. Raccoons can become fierce when confronted, especially if there are kits. It is important to call a wildlife control specialist like Critter Control to remove them.
Rodent Control in Virginia
In Charlottesville, rats are more than just a nuisance. They can damage homes, threaten health, and create ongoing problems if they are not handled quickly and thoroughly. Older neighborhoods, wooded lots, crawl spaces, restaurants, and areas near streams or heavy vegetation all provide good shelter and food sources for rats year-round.
Bat Removal in Fredericksburg
In Fredericksburg, bat infestations are most common in areas with older homes, mature trees, nearby woods, and structures with aging roofs or attic spaces. Bats are attracted to warm, protected voids like attics, soffits, chimneys, and wall cavities.
Opossum Control in Virginia
Opossums often take shelter under decks, porches, and crawlspaces. While generally not aggressive, they can create messes and attract other pests. We humanely trap and relocate opossums, then block access points to prevent re-entry.
Pigeons, starlings, sparrows, chimney swifts and woodpecker are common birds that cause problems for both residential and commercial properties. The city’s mix of old homes, commercial rooftops, and wooded neighborhoods gives birds abundant nesting and roosting opportunities. Our bird control solutions focus on exclusions, repellents, and deterrents to encourage the birds to find another roost.
Skunks are common in Virginia yards and gardens, especially in spring and fall. We locate dens, use humane traps, and install barriers to prevent future digging and denning under porches or sheds.
These burrowing animals can destroy lawns and gardens throughout the growing season. Our experts identify tunnels, trap the animals, and recommend exclusion methods to protect your yard.
Our whole home inspection covers the entire home from the top of the roof to under the house. We identify the animal species, all signs of animal damage, current and potential entry points, and any droppings or nesting materials. Trust our comprehensive inspection to identify every issue related to this animal problem.
We use species-specific trapping and removal techniques that humanely remove the animal from your property while protecting you, your family, and your pets.
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.
One of the most common squirrel in the Fredericksburg to take up residence in your attic is the flying squirrel. Because their agility gives them easy access to your roof from tree branches and utility wires, they can take advantage of a vulnerability to squeeze through a hole or make one.
Tree squirrels have two litters per year, in late summer and winter when they give birth to three to four young. They are nocturnal and can be discovered as they scamper about above your head as you try to sleep.
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.
Raccoons are one of the most common nuisance animals found in Virginia. Raccoons normally make their homes in trees where they feel safe from predators, but as habitats shrink, homeowner attics and chimneys are taking the place of trees. These agile creatures create large holes in roofing and soffits to gain entry, causing significant damage.
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.
Virginia is home to over 15 species of bats, including the gray, Indiana, and Virginia Big-Eared bats that are protected under the Federal Endangered Species act. Plus, in Virginia, it is illegal to transport or relocate a bat anywhere other than the property on which it was caught.
Most people are repulsed by bats, but these creatures are predominantly beneficial and can eat enormous quantities of insects in a single night. In your attic or behind your shutters, they pose health risks to you and your family that require their removal.
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).
Let’s say you wake up one morning to find your basement flooded with water. You check all the pipes and water lines but see nothing broken. You are shocked to learn the flooding was caused by a beaver who dammed up a nearby creek.
Beavers are mini architects and engineers and like to build homes in, around, and under waterscapes. While the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources reports a landowner can legally kill a beaver that has damaged property, we have a better way of getting rid of the wildlife.
Virginia is for lovers and love birds and nuisance birds. Pigeons, sparrows, European starlings, and woodpeckers are a few examples. They seem harmless until they wipe out a fruit crop, leave droppings that can carry disease, and build nests that clog your gutters. If you have a woodpecker near your home, you get to wake up each morning to constant pecking noises, the ones that represent hundreds of holes in your wood home or trees.
Now that the cicadas are appearing, snakes are coming out in droves in Fredericksburg. They love to eat cicadas and are bothered by the sound the insects make. While snakes don’t do too much damage to your home or property, they don’t mind hanging out wherever they choose. They can make appearances at the neighborhood barbecue, in the basement laundry room, or even your vehicle.
If the snake in your yard is poisonous, you and your pets are in danger. We can take away your worries by removing snakes from your property.
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.
