How to Gatekeep Your Home From Squirrels

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Squirrel on tree branch

Squirrels seem to be everywhere these days. How can you prevent them from setting up shop in your home? You don’t want them to get into your home and chew up wiring or insulation. You don’t want them building nests and pooping everywhere.

The Find Small Creases

Have you looked around the outside of your house to see if there are any holes or cracks where critters could enter the house? Filling holes or cracks with things like fiber cement, sheet metal flashing or even auto body filler can help. It’s a good idea to look on the roof as well as around vents. Check things like gables, soffits and chimney caps. One missing part could mean you have a house full of squirrels! 

But Smells Can Keep Them Away

What’s a smell squirrels don’t like? Capsaicin, which is found in cayenne peppers, deters squirrels. So you can get repellents that contain capsaicin and use them around your house. Or lay out some cayenne peppers in spots where you think squirrels could be!

Want to lure squirrels away from your house? Put peanut butter and/or sunflower seeds out for them, away from the house– perhaps in a bird bath– that way they’ll go there instead of your house. 

Take Away “Bridges”

Trim tree branches so they don’t allow for a bridge between the tree and the house/roof. Do what you can to seal up doors and windows that have gaps. Entry points can be sealed with metal, ideally. Check your attic periodically to see if you hear any animals moving inside of it. If you do suspect you’ve got a squirrel or two living in your home and you want them gone, call Critter Capture at 251-680-5068. You can also email lea@critter-capture.com. Squirrels look for a warm space to live, and they make a mess inside people’s homes! They’re a nuisance. Have Critter Capture get rid of them.

Issues Caused By a Bat Infestation

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Most people shudder at the thought of having just one bat in their house. Can you imagine how you’d feel if your house was home to a bat infestation? Yikes!

During the colder months, bats like to look for warm spots to call home… so they’re drawn to attics, chimneys and walls. If bats have a nest in your home, they’ll return to that same spot year after year. If and when they multiply, the colony can get out of hand.

What are some issues if you have a bat infestation?

Droppings

You’ll probably notice their droppings. Their poop is known as “guano” or “dung.” It looks like little black or brown pellets in a pile. Bats also leave a greasy film around the entry point to the house, so if you notice a “dirty spot” on your home’s exterior, it could be from bats.

Disease Carriers

Bat droppings aren’t good for people to be around because they can carry a fungus known as Histoplasma capsulatum. Long story short, if people inhale particles from dry bat poop, they could get a lung infection known as histoplasmosis, which could conceivably be fatal if it spreads to the whole body. Meanwhile, when bat poop breaks down, it releases airborne pathogens, encouraging bacteria to grow in your house. This can negatively affect your attic’s structure and your insulation. Oh, and it will smell bad, too. And bats could conceivably die in your walls leaving a terrible stench.

If a person or a pet gets bit by a bat, there’s the risk that they could get rabies. Nobody wants rabies.

Instead of removing droppings and bats yourself, it’s best to call a professional company like Critter Capture to come do the dirty work for you. In Mobile, Alabama, Critter Capture can be reached at 251-680-5068. You can also email lea@critter-capture.com.

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Don’t Let Rodents Cause Significant Damage to Your Property

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White rat on floor indoors

Some people love rodents like mice and rats (and even squirrels) and keep them as beloved pets. That said, most people hate rodents and want nothing to do with them. The mere sight of a mouse or rat scurrying across a floor or sidewalk can incite panic in a lot of people. So, whether you like or hate them, what are some problems rodents can cause properties?

Rodents Can Wreak Havoc on Homes and Businesses

Rodents are often on the hunt for food and water, like most animals. They’ll also look for someplace warm and protected from the elements, so they like to find their way into buildings, including homes. They can seemingly squeeze through the smallest cracks and then set up their “home” inside your home! Yikes!

Rodents love to chew, which means they might chew through wood, electrical wires, cardboard boxes of Christmas tree ornaments, etc. And then they poop and pee wherever they feel like it. Ugh! That stinks both literally and figuratively.

When rodents enter a home, they often chew through things along the way, causing structural damage. You could end up with a leaky roof, wall, window, door or other component thanks to rodents. They can even mess with your foundation. Besides chewing through things, they like to build nests, which means they’ll chew wood, furniture, books, insulation, cardboard and more– destroying things in your home such as heirloom furniture, expensive artworks and valuable keepsake books. What if they gnaw through insulation around your water heater or attic? What if they chew through electrical wires causing outages or even fires? Those little teeth can do lots of expensive damage.

Besides all that chewing and making a mess and causing damages to a home, rodents can also contaminate a home’s foods and surfaces with their poop and pee trails– and that stuff can transmit diseases to people and pets.

Do you want to get rid of rodents in or near your home? Critter Capture of Semmes, Alabama, can do the job– call 251-680-5068 or email lea@critter-capture.com for more info. Critter Capture offers timely and professional humane wildlife control services at an affordable price.

Those “Cute” Squirrels Could Be Doing Serious Damage to Your Home

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Squirrel on Roof

Nestled between the trees, playing a perpetual game of tag, and known for their cheek-stuffing acrobatics, squirrels can be quite the spectacle to watch. But before you’re too charmed by their bushy tails, let’s dive deep into the lesser-known adventures of these nimble creatures and understand why they might not be the best houseguests.

The Hidden Mischief of Squirrels

First and foremost, squirrels are natural burrowers and diggers. They can dig up your beautifully manicured garden, burying their treasures (often nuts and seeds) in your flower beds, vegetable patches, or under your prized rose bushes. A dig here, a hole there, and before you know it, your garden might look like it hosted a squirrel-sized treasure hunt.

But the mischief doesn’t stop outdoors. These little acrobats are also expert climbers. When winter hits, they start looking for cozy spots, and attics seem to top the list. Once inside, they might chew through insulation, wires, and wooden beams, creating a host of problems from fire hazards due to exposed wires to compromising the structural integrity of your home.

Squirrels: The Uninvited Guests

Imagine hosting a dinner and hearing a tiny scratch-scratch above your dining room ceiling. Or perhaps, finding little droppings in the attic. Squirrels, being wild animals, can bring with them parasites, like fleas and ticks, and their droppings might pose a health risk if left unattended.

Moreover, if you’re keen on bird-watching and have feeders in your yard, you’ve probably witnessed the incredible agility and determination of squirrels when it comes to stealing seeds. Not only can they empty a bird feeder in record time, but their antics can also damage the feeder itself.

Prevention is Better Than Cure

While these cute critters are simply following their natural instincts, it’s essential to safeguard your home against their unintentional havoc. Regularly inspect your house for gaps or holes, ensure your garden is difficult for squirrels to access, and perhaps, consider squirrel-proofing your bird feeders.

When wildlife and home-life collide, it’s always a good idea to consult the professionals. If you need help getting rid of squirrels from your home, contact Critter Capture today.  

Here’s Why You Need to Remove Rodents Immediately From Your Home or Business

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Family of raccoons in a homeowner's attic

Some people keep rodents as pets. Others have rodents in their house that shouldn’t be there, and they can’t wait to get them gone! So they call Critter Capture to remove them from their home. And what about business owners? They, too, generally do not want rodents in their building(s)!

Why are mice and rats unwanted? Well, they’re known to spoil food, chew wires, damage property, poop everywhere, carry diseases and spread illness– not exactly good things, right?

Removing Rodents From Your Home or Business is Critical

It’s critical to remove rodents from your home or business because they carry diseases, and can spread those diseases in numerous ways, including through their excrement, biting and contact with food and materials in your building. Did you know rodents are often known to carry salmonella? Rodents can also harbor parasites which can carry diseases into your building. What are some examples? Well, fleas, ticks, mites, lice, tapeworms and roundworms are just some of the parasites brought into people’s homes and businesses thanks to a rodent infestation.

Rodents have a way of sniffing out food left in open packages or containers. Then they eat that food and contaminate it with droppings and more.

Rodents love to chew things, including electrical wires. They can also gnaw on wooden beams, pipes, insulation and other parts of a building, causing all sorts of problems.

If you have a rodent problem, expect to smell their urine and/or feces. Obviously, that unpleasant odor is not good.

If you see one rodent, there are probably more around– they tend to create nests in walls or attics, and they multiply (reproduce) quickly.

Do you suspect you’ve got mice or rats in your building and want them gone? In Alabama, call Critter Capture at 251-680-5068 or email lea@critter-capture.com to schedule a visit.

How to Avoid Having a Colony of Bats Setting Up Shop in Your Home

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Colony of Bats in attic

How would you know if you have bats in your house or building? If you were standing outside, looking at your house, you might see them exiting your place! They tend to leave roosts in order to feed around dusk each night. So, as the sun goes down, look at your eaves and vents to see if these flying critters are present. You can also find them sneaking out through holes in the siding and/or from behind shutters. Meanwhile, keep in mind they poop, so look for evidence of their droppings near eaves and/or holes in your exterior siding– dark brown stains may be there!  

Where Would a Colony of Bats Reside?

If you’re inside your house or building and you hear a lot of noise coming from your attic, maybe there’s a large colony of bats in there. Typically, either little brown bats or big brown bats are the types of bats causing problems for homeowners.

Now if it’s just one bat that somehow got into your house, you can see if you can close off doorways to a particular room where the bat is and then open the window in there to allow it to fly out on its own. People have also used jars or boxes to capture and remove a single bat from their home. Since bats may give people rabies, it’s best to wear heavy leather gloves in case your hand(s) touch the bat.

Getting rid of bats can typically involve letting all of them fly outside and then sealing up their entry point(s) so they can’t get back in. That said, if you’re concerned about bats in your house and you don’t want to deal with them on your own, you can always call Critter Capture to “take care of the problem.” Critter Capture, of Mobile, Alabama, can be reached by calling 251-680-5068 or 769-895-6022 for our Jackson, MS number.

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Is That the Sound of Squirrels in My Attic?

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Squirrel Control Services

Squirrels love attics. Why do they love them? Well, they’re often looking for a warm, safe place to build a nest, especially in the autumn or winter months. They want somewhere that’s sheltered from bad weather and predators. Attics can be accessed by chewing holes from the outside such that the squirrels get inside.

When squirrels chew their way into attic space you can expect some problems. They often ruin your wiring or insulation up there. They can also mess with your home’s exterior, including gutters. Not content to have just one entryway into your attic, they’ll often chew additional holes around the outside of the attic. Ugh. When they’re in your attic, they urinate and poop in there– it can stink!

How would you know if squirrels are in your attic? Most likely, you’d hear them. They wake up in the morning to leave their nest in search of food. Listen for scratching or scurrying noises in your ceiling. You might have several squirrels in your attic.

Squirrel nests, also called dreys, usually consist of a variety of materials compressed together, such as leaves, twigs, moss, and bark. Usually two to nine squirrels share a typical nest. If you’ve got a nest in your attic, you want it completely and humanely removed. You also want to avoid spreading disease and staying safe from harm, such as bites. So, it makes sense to call a professional who deals with removing squirrels from attics.

If and when you think you’ve got a squirrel in the attic, what can you do? Call Critter Capture to have an expert come remove it! Call 251-680-5068 or email lea@critter-capture.com to arrange a visit. You can also call our Jackson, MS number at 769-895-6022. An expert can find the pest, trap it and take it away from the premises. When people have pests they want to get rid of in Mobile, Alabama, they call Critter Capture.

What Should You Do When You Encounter a Racoon?

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As the sun sets and a couple is enjoying is some fresh air before heading in for the night, they notice an animal sneaking around their property. It’s a raccoon! He or she has come around looking for fresh food or a place to rest. The raccoon is a furry little animal about the size of a small dog. It has a black mask across its eyes and cheeks and black rings around its bushy tail. Overall, its long, thick fur is gray-brown in color. Should people pet it? No. If it’s out during daylight, it could have rabies. Now raccoon sightings are common at parks, but they’re also fairly common around homes in the country, suburbs and sometimes even the city. What should you do if you encounter a raccoon?

Racoons Are Very Smart; Don’t Provoke Them

Know this: raccoons are intelligent creatures. They’re also cunning, wild and dangerous when provoked. They don’t attack you if you don’t provoke them– but they will attack if you do provoke them. Keep in mind they’re distant cousins to bears, and just like bears they can become fierce with humans when they feel they’re being threatened.

You Should Not Touch or Pet a Raccoon

Ideally, if you do encounter a raccoon, don’t approach or touch it. The raccoon could be sick or injured, or protecting its young, and you should not interfere with its life, even if you’re well-meaning and have good intentions. Remember, it’s a wild animal– let nature take its course.

Calmly Walk Away from Raccoons

If you’re close to a raccoon, back away calmly and in a decisive manner. Should a raccoon pursue you, do what you can to cover your arms, neck, face and head using your clothing, jacket or backpack as a shield. If you’ve got pepper spray with you, use it if needed.

Should you find that a raccoon seems to be coming around your house all too often, and it’s a total nuisance, then you should call specialists to capture and remove it from your property and area in general.

Raccoons tend to take up residence in people’s attics or chimneys. They make a mess looking for food in and around your garbage cans/bags, and they also love to steal pet food and bird seed. Their presence in your yard or house can really bother your pets, especially dogs. Therefore, if a raccoon is causing problems, call professionals to get rid of it. In Mobile, Alabama, call Critter Control at 251-680-5068 or at our Jackson, MS number at 769-895-6022.

How Do Bats Get In Your Home?

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Do you have bats in your home? How did they get inside? Why did they come inside your house?

Bats like to look for places that offer shelter from the elements and protection from predators; They also like stable temperatures. Therefore, many homes offer them the ideal place to live. So how do they get in? There are plenty of ways, including windows, chimneys, vents, roofing, walls, siding(s) and fascia boards, especially where there are gaps, cracks or holes allowing them inside.

Do you leave your unscreened windows open sometimes? If so, that’s one way bats could get inside your home.

Does your house have a chimney? Bats love chimneys, so if you don’t have a chimney cap installed, it’s likely they enter(ed) the house that way! Similarly, many homes have vents letting air inside and out of the house, and vents attract insects, which attract bats. Ideally, you want decent vent covers to avoid bats getting inside via vents.

What about your roof? If it’s damaged with a hole or crack, bats can get inside that way and make their home in your attic. You might need a professional to caulk any holes or cracks. They can also get in via gaps between bricks or walls of the house as well as through deteriorated/rotting siding or fascia boards.

Bats tend to end up in attics, sheds and barns which are generally uncrowded, silent, warm and isolated places where they can feed on plenty of spiders and insects. That said, once in a while they’re flying around people’s bedrooms or living rooms, which is when Critter Capture gets a call…

If you suspect you’ve got a bat problem and want the bat or bats gone, call Critter Capture of Mobile, Alabama, at 251-680-5068 or our Jackson, MS number at 769-895-6022 or email lea@critter-capture.com.  Check out this page for more info.

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Why Would a Snake Come on My Property?

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The fear of snakes is called ophidiophobia. Most healthcare professionals think this fear is a combination of genetics, learned behavior and superstitions. Snakes, for a long, long time, have been associated with evil and temptation. That said, most people do not encounter snakes that often, unless they work at a zoo or happen to live on a property that attracts snakes.

What Attracts Wild Snakes to a Home

Why would snakes be attracted to a property? They’re looking for food, water and shelter. They like to live in a cool, moist area. Therefore, if your yard has overgrown grass or bushes/plants, those are areas that might attract snakes. So, if you want to avoid snakes, keep your lawn cut and your bushes and plants properly trimmed. Meanwhile, if you have spots or puddles of water on your property, fill them in with soil and get rid of them! Snakes like properties with puddles.

If your property is home to rodents and birds, then snakes are likely to follow since they eat those animals. Therefore, if you have a birdfeeder in your yard, get rid of it. That way you’ll eliminate all the dropped seeds that attract pests. If you feed your own pets outdoors, stop doing that, too, since any “extra” feed scattered in the lawn will attract pests.

If you have clutter in your yard, clean it up. Don’t give snakes a place to call home– get rid of debris that they’d use as hiding spots.

If you have a garden pond, just be aware that your pond could be attracting snakes.

The more sun exposure your yard has, the better, because snakes are looking for cooler places– they don’t want to be in the sun too long. So maybe consider getting rid of some shade trees, etc.

Basically, you can make your property unappealing to snakes and other pests. If you need professional help to get rid of snakes on your property, call Critter Capture of Mobile, Alabama, at 251-680-5068.

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