Buying a home can be an exciting time. Unfortunately, some homes come with unwelcome guests. Find out how to spot the signs of furry intruders into your potential home. Discover how Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control can help you find out who has a nest or den in a home and offer you professional wildlife removal services.
Common Wildlife To Watch Out For
Some wildlife around the property can add to the beauty of a home. Hummingbirds, deer and geese can all be beautiful as they pass through your new backyard or live in a nearby forest. Unfortunately, most wildlife are best enjoyed from a distance. Here are some common animals that enjoy moving into a home:
- Mice
- Raccoons
- Squirrels
- Bats
- Birds
- Skunks
Tricky wildlife can get in through surprisingly small holes in the exterior of the home you wish to purchase. Common entrances include soffits, crawlspaces and holes as small as a few millimetres. Once a wild animal has found a suitable den in a home, it’s very difficult to remove.
Wild animals come with all sorts of troubles for new homeowners especially. Animal feces can carry diseases and roundworm, which is a health concern for you and your household, and are difficult to clean up without professional cleaning strategies, which may cost more than a new homeowners budget allows.
Some furry guests, like mice, quietly crawl into a hole in the side of a home. Others, like raccoons, can claw their way through shingles, sheathing and other materials to force an entrance. This breaking-and-entering event means you’ll need home repair services in addition to humane wildlife removal.
On unlucky occasions, wild animals can become trapped in homes. Skunks, raccoons, bats and birds can enter a home and then have difficulty exiting. This causes them to become disorientated and frustrated. Don’t attempt to deal with a trapped animal on your own, as wild animals can become violent if threatened.
Common Areas for Nests
Don’t wait until you purchase a home to determine whether it’s already a wildlife hotel. As you take a tour of a property with your real estate agent, check for signs of animal damage, droppings or other wildlife indications in these areas:
- Attic
- Basement
- Crawlspace
- Under a porch or deck
- Garden sheds
- Eaves
Take time to walk around the perimeter of the home you’re viewing. Any large holes, scratch marks or other signs of exterior damage could be marks of a wildlife entrance. An entrance will have to be repaired promptly to prevent animals from continuing to live in a building.
Signs of Wildlife in a Home
Other than seeing a raccoon crawl into your home or a bird fly into your attic, how can you know if there is wildlife in a home? If you actually see an animal inside the home during a showing, it’s usually an indication of a major infestation. More often, you’ll only see a few signs of an animal’s den:
- Remains of food
- Worn trails in your yard
- Feces
- Claw or tooth marks
- Urine odours
- Smudge marks
- Animal hair, feathers or skin
Listen for scurrying or scratching signs in the basement or near the attic. Any visible feces or other signs of wildlife, particularly mice, may mean that there are a significant number of these critters in your new home.
Don’t give up on a home at the first signs of wildlife. Schedule a professional inspection to determine whether wildlife tenants are a dealbreaker or a negotiating chip to ask for a price reduction. Some wildlife issues require extensive cleaning and building repair services, while others are a quick fix for a professional team.
Removing an animal on your own can be a difficult and dangerous task. The last thing you want to be doing is setting out live traps on your first week in your new home. Learn how to have your potential home professionally inspected and how to receive professional wildlife removal services in Ontario.
Where To Turn for a Wildlife Home Inspection
At Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control, we’ve seen it all. No wildlife damage or infestation is too much to handle. If you’ve found a home you’re interested in buying or if you’ve already made an offer and are preparing to move into a new home, contact us. We’ll inspect the property, determine whether there is a wildlife issue and offer an estimate for safe removal, cleaning and prevention services.
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