Wildlife removal is a very important field of work for homeowners all over the United States. Let’s face it, it’s more than likely that at some point in your life, you will come face to face with some kind of nuisance wildlife.
In some cases, it’s a bat, in others a family of raccoons. Sometimes it’s a snake, and sometimes, it’s rats (because we know they’re everywhere, right?).
Why are there so many wild animals in residential areas?
A common question is why there are so many nuisance wild animals in cities, or other urban areas. But the real issue here is, not that the animals have flooded the cities, but rather that the cities have destroyed the animals’ natural habitat.
With less and less natural space to live and feed properly, animals are forced into the cities, and to coexist with us, humans.
Not only that, but animals are clever in their own way – they recognize human homes for what they are: great sources of shelter, food, and water. Your basement may not look like much to you, but to a wild raccoon, it’s a safe, dry place to hide from predators, and that allows easy access to nearby food and water sources. In other words, Heaven.
Are wild animals bad?
We tend to believe that wild animals have nothing better to do than lash out at us, our kids, or our pets. In truth, most nuisance wildlife like raccoons, squirrels, mice, and so on, are fairly small and helpless. Even the feared skunk only has some power because of his stench. Otherwise, he’s defenseless.
So because of that, wild animals are actually not as likely as the majority of people think to attack.
Still, that shouldn’t mean you befriend the next raccoon that comes your way. The chief cause for concern when it comes to wild animals is the host of viruses and bacteria they carry.
Through feces, urine, shed fur, saliva, and of course biting or scratching, wild animals can expose you to such serious diseases like rabies, leptospirosis, histoplasmosis, tularemia, and numerous others. These are all serious diseases that, in some cases, can result in death. Which is why a wildlife infestation should be taken seriously, and addressed immediately.
Now, why do we need wildlife removal professionals?
A lot of people, confronted with a raccoon infestation, will figure why pay money for the services of a wildlife control professional when they could just DIY the whole process.
The answer is, because you usually can not. DIY wildlife removal is dicey, at best, and often unsuccessful. This can be due to any number of reasons, from inexperience to misjudging the severity of the infestation.
So before you try some crazy DIY removal method, take a moment to consider all the benefits of hiring a pro:
- Experience – a wildlife removal professional has years of experience with the safe and humane removal of a wide range of wild animals. They know the exact species of raccoons, opossums, snakes, and so on that exist in your area, and the best way to approach the situation.
- Confidence – a big reason why DIY wildlife removal fails is that the person attempting it gets scared. And with good reason, most of us have an ingrained fear of wild animals, which makes it tricky to approach them with the necessary calm and patience to successfully trap them. A wildlife removal pro, on the other hand, has mastered that;
- Equipment – a wildlife removal company usually employs tried-and-true wildlife removal methods. They’ll know which brand of traps, deterrents, and other equipment works best, and will know how to use them properly;
- Future prevention – one of the biggest reasons to hire a wildlife removal company is that they’ll inspect the property, as the first thing they do, and figure out what’s going wrong. That means they’ll be able to tell you how to change things, so that you don’t need to worry about another infestation in the future;
- Clean-up and sanitation – as we saw, the biggest reason for concern when it comes to nuisance wildlife is the potential of contracting disease. That’s why, after the animal is removed, it’s vital that you engage in thorough and proper disinfecting, clean-up and repair of the area inhabited by the animal. You need to remove all traces of the animal’s presence, to make your home inhabitable again. And there’s no one better to do that than a qualified wildlife removal professional. They’ve got the gear, and more importantly, they understand the specifics of wildlife disease transmission.
While DIY wildlife removal may at first sound like a budget-friendly idea, it often ends up being just a hassle, without any guarantee of efficiency. When you hire a professional, you at least do so under the guarantee that they will 100% get rid of any wildlife infestation.
