Bats in your attic? Mouse in your house? As human development extends further into wilderness areas, creatures of all shapes and sizes find their way into homes and can cause serious problems.
While the state Department of Natural Resources will remove certain animals, there are also several nuisance animal removal services operating throughout Greenville County to catch anything from rodents and snakes to feral pigs. A Plus Wildlife Control, All About Wildlife Control, and All Things Wild are just a few, and experts on each agree that people often don’t realize how vulnerable their homes are to animal invasion.
“On a typical day, we crawl under houses, through attics and on top of houses,” said wildlife biologist Roddy Cooper of All About Wildlife Control.
Each Cooper call begins with a search for signs of the animal and possible entry points.
Jeremiah Gilbert of All Things Wild agreed that the sources of most animal invasions are small openings in the structure of the home.
“When people are building houses, they’re not thinking about animals,” he said.
Surprisingly, these businesses receive the majority of their calls from urban and suburban areas, some of which occupy once-wild environments.
“As people build in forested areas, there is more of an animal-human interface,” Cooper said.
Wildlife technicians at these companies deal with a wide variety of animals, but in the summer months, most of their calls are for bats and snakes. Often nesting in attics, bats can transmit rabies and parasites, and their droppings can cause damage to the home if allowed to accumulate. As protected animals, bats must be managed with a process Cooper calls “passive eviction,” in which all entry points are sealed and a device is placed at a designated exit so bats can fly out at night but not they can enter. again in.
Burrowing animals like marmots and armadillos are also a problem in this area, according to these business owners.
“I have only seen armadillos [begin to appear] in the last five or six years,” said Keith Murphy, owner of A Plus Wildlife Control, adding that the animals have been gradually moving in from Georgia. These animals can burrow into yards, collapse small buildings, and compromise house foundations by digging tunnels. They are usually removed by cheating.
“A lot of people don’t realize the complexity of the problems that animals can cause,” Cooper said.
Gilbert agreed that indoor rodents like mice and squirrels can damage ductwork and nest in insulation, and outdoor beavers can cause pond flooding that can spill into homes and cause costly damage.
“As soon as you notice signs of animals, start dealing with the problem,” he said.
Gilbert and other experts suggested taking preventative measures like sealing off potential entry points to prevent infestation.
“We coexist with wildlife even though we try to isolate ourselves from it,” he said.
Some things you may not know about nuisance wildlife
- While rabies is a concern for bats, they also carry parasites called bat bugs, which are cousins to bedbugs and can similarly infest your home if you have a bat problem.
- The smallest openings in your home can become entry points for animals. Insects like bees can enter through a quarter-inch opening and create hives, while other animals can enter through a half-inch opening.
- While raccoons are vectors for rabies, they can also carry a disease called distemper that causes lethargy, seizures, and aggressive behavior if the animal is cornered. This disease does not affect humans, but can infect unvaccinated dogs.
- State regulations do not allow the relocation of some nuisance animals. Companies that remove nuisance wildlife are encouraged to euthanize furbearing animals such as beavers, groundhogs, raccoons, and squirrels, as well as warthogs and armadillos.
For more information on dealing with nuisance wildlife, visit https://www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/nuisance.html
For more information on the companies listed above and their services, visit:
http://www.allaboutwildlifecontrol.com/humane-animal-control/