When the saying, “snug as a bug in a rug,” was penned, the author could not have known the expression would also pertain to keeping our homes snug from nuisance animals and bugs. From the tiniest wasps to the largest raccoons, these pests find many ways to get into our homes, businesses, and agricultural and food production warehouses.
Finding an animal in our homes is disturbing enough, but the consequences can be costly in warehouses and production facilities. In Arkansas in 2018, Food and Drug Administration inspectors found dead rats and opossums, live raccoons and other rodents, and animal feces and urine in seven of a company’s warehouses. The facilities were shut down, fined, and their products were confiscated.
If you find nuisance pests in your home or business, the first step to evicting them is contacting Wildlife Services. Our experts are familiar with where the pests get in and creating an airtight perimeter around your structure is the key to keeping them out. Exclusion is the physical process of finding the entry points and sealing them up for good. This method does not include chemicals, so people and other animals are not put at risk. We also check the sanitation in the area and make suggestions for habitat modification, like cutting back tree limbs and moving hedges and plants more than six feet away from the structure.
The light shining in from below a door may seem normal to the naked eye, but to a mouse or rat, it is an open invitation. Mice can squeeze under openings as small as a ¼ inch, and Norway rats need anything larger than ½ inch to get in. We can install metal thresholds at the door’s base to seal it up. A pipe threshold is the better choice for doorways used by heavy machinery and pallet jacks. We also look for openings in foundations, stucco, and siding, and use the appropriate materials to get them sealed up and make sure they are sealed on the interior as well.
Many nuisance animals like roof rats, raccoons, and opossum are climbers, and the roof and attached structures offer many openings. Chimneys offer the largest unimpeded opening for them to get into, and many birds nest inside the chimney. The nests can create a fire hazard while the large animals have a direct line into your home or business. Though not as large, roof vents provide an excellent opening into your attic, especially for bats. We can install chimney and vent caps to keep the critters out without diminishing their function. We make sure the hardware is up to local regulations and fire codes. Once we’ve got the structure sealed up tight, getting rid of the remaining animals is our specialty. We take special care with bats and use one-way doors to keep them out and seal up openings greater than a ¼ inch. We also make sure that the pups are not separated from the adults.
In Northern Illinois, to get your nuisance animals out and keep them out, contact Wildlife Services. Our exclusion and prevention experts are ready to discuss your issues and develop a plan of attack.
