Wildlife scares homeowners - Wildlife control and removal services in Iselin
Challenge
One of my biggest motivations as a wildlife control technician is helping homeowners, especially those who have children. There is no greater responsibility for a parent than keeping your children safe, and your home is that one place that’s supposed to be completely safe for your kids. When I am able to do something substantial to help, it is very rewarding.
If you’ve ever experienced a wildlife infestation, you’ll know what I’m talking about. You feel as though you’ve surrendered control of their home, and you no longer feel safe or comfortable there. We all know that wildlife infestations can cause extensive property damage and that they can be a serious health risk. Wildlife and their toxic droppings can bring diseases, including rabies, and parasites into your home. But there is also a psychological component that is often overlooked. With a wildlife infestation comes worry, anxiety, and loss of sleep. For kids with their vivid imaginations, these problems are even worse.
Today, I was called out to a home in Iselin to handle a wildlife infestation. Upon arrival, I met with the homeowner, an expectant mom, who also had a rambunctious two-year-old running about. Yesterday, her neighbors had alerted her after they spotted that a raccoon family snooping around her house. That same night, her family heard loud scratching noises and some "thumping" sounds. Needless to say, she was worried sick.
None of these sounds surprised me. These were all common raccoon sounds. Also, the sounds were coming at night, and raccoons are nocturnal animals. The scratching that she heard was likely the critters clearing out space for nesting or other activities. Since raccoons are larger animals, you’ll often hear thumping noises as well. For example, with raccoons in the attic, you may hear thumping sounds when they jump from one area to another, or when they are shoving or dragging something around. Raccoons are notorious for making a wide range of vocal noises that most other types of nuisance wildlife don’t make — and they can be downright frightening! You’ll hear raccoons purr, whimper, snarl, growl, hiss, scream, and if there are baby raccoons, even cry. I assured the homeowner that I would quickly trap and relocate these animals. She had more than enough to deal with besides a raccoon infestation, and I wanted them out of the house as much as she did.
I started my inspection on the outside of the house because I always want to first find the animals’ access route into the home. I immediately noticed that an entire section of the soffit was missing. I also noticed that the soffit had a large bulge and was sagging in a particular area. I’ve seen it all before. At least one raccoon, and probably more, were entering the soffit after a night of scavenging for food in order to sleep there all day. Unfortunately, this soffit area chosen for their daytime hideout was just above the toddler's room. Raccoons are extremely strong animals and can easily tear and shred through most building materials. There was a real possibility that the raccoons could enter the toddler’s room — and that was not about to happen on my watch.
Solution
Fast action was required. I placed two traps on the roof where the raccoons were climbing down to access the soffit, and I also placed a "one way" exclusion over the access. Across the opening in the exclusion, I placed some tape. I use this tape as a signal for me to know whether any of the critters had exited the soffit. If so, the tape will break, usually sticking to the animal’s fur. I baited the traps with my own special concoction of numerous sweets that raccoons simply can't resist. Raccoons have a wicked sweet tooth and I’m happy to use it against them. For good measure, I added some professional paste lures.
With the traps and the exclusion in place, I am confident that these raccoons will be safely and humanely trapped within a couple of days. Once trapped, I’ll relocate them to a location far away from this homeowner and other human habitats. Until the animals are trapped, I recommended that the toddler sleep in another room until this infestation was resolved, and the homeowner said that her toddler would be sleeping right next to her until these animals are gone.
I take these wildlife infestation assignments personally. I’ll be on this job until this homeowner and rest of her family can feel safe and worry-free in their home.