Key Takeaways
Crawl spaces are often a haven for various animals and pests in search of shelter, warmth, and food. Knowing which critters are most likely to call these spaces home, recognizing the signs of their presence, and understanding how they enter are key steps in maintaining a safe and healthy home environment. Here, we’ll explore the issue of animals in crawl spaces and how professional services like Critter Control can help you keep unwanted houseguests from taking up residence in your home.
- Rodents, raccoons, opossums, skunks, wasps, and yellow jackets are common intruders in crawl spaces.
- Droppings, nests, strange noises, and odors are common signs of infestation.
- Pests frequently enter through crevices around pipes, electrical cables, vents, and cracks in the foundation.
- Infestations carry risks, such as disease transmission, structural damage, and compromised air quality.
- Critter Control offers humane trapping, exclusion services, and crawl space encapsulation to deal with and prevent infestations effectively.
Table of Contents
What Animals Can You Find in a Crawl Space?
Crawl spaces serve as prime real estate for various animals, primarily because they’re secluded and offer shelter and protection against the elements. Typical animals in crawl spaces include:
Rats and Mice
Rodents are common denizens of crawl spaces. Attracted by warmth and possible food sources, they happily wiggle through tiny openings to gain access. Rats in crawl spaces and mice in crawl spaces may chew on electrical cables and insulation, causing fire risks and structural damage. Their droppings contaminate the space, posing health issues.
Raccoons
Raccoons are excellent contortionists, capable of finding ways into crawl spaces, especially when vents or openings aren’t secured. Raccoons in crawl spaces can cause serious damage by ripping apart insulation and ductwork to find the perfect nesting spot. They, like rats and mice, are disease carriers, which can pose a health hazard to both humans and pets.
Opossums
Opossums usually creep into crawl spaces in search of shelter and food, using gaps and openings in the foundation or vents to gain access. While they tend to be less destructive than raccoons, opossums in crawl spaces can still create sizeable messes with their droppings and may carry parasites like fleas and ticks.
Skunks
Skunks are known to burrow under foundations to access crawl spaces, especially when winter brings cool temperatures. Attracted by the warmth and potential food sources, their presence is often painfully obvious thanks to their distinctive odor. Beyond their smell, skunks in crawl spaces can damage your home with digging and may carry diseases such as leptospirosis, which can be transmitted to humans and pets.
Snakes
Crawl spaces tend to be damp, dark, and warm, which is an ideal place for a snake to live. While some snakes can climb, all snakes can slither into a crawlspace. Gaps, holes, and cracks along the foundation are easy-to-access entry points for snakes. Snakes can be harder to discover if they’re in the crawlspace. Stealthy by nature, they do not make loud noises or create much of an odor. You are most likely to see snakeskin or droppings. They enter crawlspace to escape the weather or to hunt a food source. So if you have rats and mice in your crawl space, a snake will be attracted.
Wasps
Wasps may build nests in crawl spaces, often choosing it for its undisturbed location. They’re attracted to sheltered locations that provide protection from the elements, making crawl spaces an excellent fit. While wasps in crawl spaces tend to be less noticeable than other critters, an infestation can pose a risk of stings, which can be dangerous for people with allergies.
Yellow Jackets
Yellow jacket nests are a common occurrence in areas like crawl spaces. Like wasps, yellow jackets in crawl spaces appreciate the seclusion and shelter of these areas. Like wasps, yellow jackets can deliver painful stings that can be a concern for people with allergies. They can be aggressive, especially if disturbed, which makes their presence in or near homes a problem.
What Are the Common Signs of Pests in Crawl Spaces?
Pinpointing the signs of an infestation in your crawl space early can prevent extensive damage. Common indicators include:
- Droppings: Different pests leave distinct droppings. For example, rodent droppings are small and pellet-shaped, whereas raccoon and opossum droppings are larger. If you find droppings, there’s a good chance you’re dealing with an active infestation.
- Nests: Materials like shredded insulation, paper, leaves, and twigs arranged in a secluded area point to nesting activity. Many critters, including rodents and larger animals, build nests for shelter and to raise their young.
- Sounds: Strange sounds that can’t otherwise be explained, such as scratching, scurrying, or thumping, especially at night, are a telltale sign of an animal problem.
- Odors: Pungently foul or musky odors, usually the result of urine, droppings, or deceased animals, can indicate an infestation.
- Damage: Chewed wires, gnawed wood, torn insulation, and disturbed ductwork can all be signs of destructive pest activity.
How Do Pests Get Into a Crawl Space?
Pests may squeeze into the crawl space beneath your home through multiple areas, including:
- Gaps around pipes, particularly unsealed areas where pipes enter the home
- Electrical wiring openings that haven’t been properly sealed
- Missing or damaged vent covers
- Foundation cracks, even small, seemingly inconsequential ones
- Faulty seals around doors and windows
What Are the Dangers of Pests in Crawl Spaces?
Having pests in your crawl space is a big problem for both your property and your family. Their presence opens the door to multiple issues. For example, many pests carry diseases, parasites, and allergens that may pose a health risk to your family members. Rodents, for example, can transmit hantavirus, while raccoons can carry rabies.
Additionally, when accessing the crawl space and building nests, the critters may chew on structural components, including wood and wiring, which damages the structural integrity of your home and increases the risk of a fire.
Their presence may also cause issues with air quality due to their urine and droppings. Eventually, they may also make their way into your home, causing a widespread infestation.
How Can Critter Control Help?
If you’ve found pests in your crawl space, you’re probably asking yourself how to get rid of them. How do you get rid of mice? What about rat removal? How do you get rid of raccoons? What about opossum removal or wasp removal? How do you get rid of yellow jackets? These are all jobs best left to the professionals, as attempting to handle them yourself can be dangerous.
At Critter Control, we specialize in the humane removal and exclusion of pests from crawl spaces. We leverage our many years of experience to safely and effectively handle current infestations and prevent future occurrences. Our services include:
Trapping and Exclusion
We use a variety of traps to remove pests from crawl spaces, including live traps, which we often use to capture and relocate larger animals, and wasp traps, which can safely eliminate wasp and yellow jacket colonies without endangering your family. You should leave these techniques to the professionals, as DIYing these methods could be dangerous for both you and the animal.
We also use exclusion strategies, such as sealing entry points, including gaps around pipes, vents, and foundation cracks, and installing vent covers. This can help prevent the problem from recurring and keep your crawl space pest-free.
Home Service Crawl Space Encapsulation
Encapsulation is an incredibly effective way to keep your crawl space free of pests. This process involves lining the space with a durable vapor barrier, sealing off moisture to reduce humidity levels that attract pests, and improving air quality to prevent mold growth. It’s a powerful tool for deterring pests while simultaneously enhancing your home’s energy efficiency and protecting its structural integrity.
Contact Critter Control Today
If you think there is an animal in your crawl space or you are experiencing a pest infestation, Critter Control is here to help. We specialize in humane pest removal and exclusion, providing safe, effective, long-term solutions designed to keep your home pest-free. Call us today for professional pest control near you.