Nuisance Wildlife Profiles
Raccoon
Raccoons live around 2-3 years in the wild. They can weigh more than 20lbs at maturity and females can have 1-6 baby kits. Mothers are very protective of their young until they separate after about a year.
Raccoons are nocturnal, meaning they are mostly active at night. They remain active all year. Most clients report hearing loud thuds in the early morning hours before sunrise, when the animals are coming in for refuge or around sunset when the animals are adventuring out for the night.
Raccoons are independent when they are around one year old. Adults tend to live in loose knit groups up to six. Raccoons communicate with each other using different "coos", "clicks", and "purrs". They can mimic bird noises.
Raccoons are very intelligent and destructive. They posse amazing dexterity, their name in every language observes the impressive use of their hands. These back yard bandits are notorious for breaking into attics, living under decks, knocking over trash cans, and raiding birdfeeders and outdoor food bowls.
Opossum
Opossums are usually not the most destructive animal that walks through your yard, they do have the potential to make a mess, especially when they are able to enter a garage or shed.
They can be found in attics but mostly are removed from under decks. I have heard about their positive effects on one's yard by eating other backyard pests. That may be true, but they can also be a source of pest like fleas and ticks and be a host to many different diseases.
Opossums are nocturnal marsupials and generally have a timid, mild behavior. They can have up to twenty "joey's" in a litter.
Groundhog
Groundhogs can be surprisingly destructive. From unsightly holes and piles of dirt, the ability to break the legs of larger animals if they where to step into the den, and most importantly the structural damage that can be made to structures. These animals are made to dig and usually have up to a two square mile territory and can have more than seven dens in that territory. Having so many dens and frequently relocating leaves many open dens that can attract other nuisance wildlife squatters.
Trapping and then performing an exclusion is the best way to remedate the problem and prevent new groundhogs or other nuisance wildlife moving back into your yard once the trapping service has been closed down.
Groundhogs can weigh 5-15lbs, are in the rodent family, are one of the only animals that enters true hibernation in the winter, and can have up to four kits per litter. The kits usually become independent around two months of age. Small groups are commonly removed.
Skunks
Skunks can be some real stinkers! They have poor eye sight and most sprayings occur in the early morning or late evening. They like to hide under hostas, shrubs, and bushes around the your landscape and commonly burry under decks, porches, and sheds.
They tend to have four to six babies in the late Spring, early Summer.
The biggest complaint clients have is their outdoor pets being sprayed, or the strong odor creeping into the home.
Caution should always be exercised when handling or in the presence of nature's little stink bomb. There spray can be projected up to 15 feet and besides its unpleasant smell, it is also an irritant for ones eyes and in sever cases can cause blindness.
Foxes
Fox removal services have been on the rise. These cute doglike animals have been moving into more neighborhoods seeking shelter and dens to raise their young, under decks, porches, and sheds.
A fox's litter normally consists of 4-6 kits . The kits will stay with their mother for around half a year before separating and establishing their own territory.
They can be fun and amusing to watch from your window, leaping and playing in your yard. But they are still wild animals and there presence can bring unforeseen consequences.
They main fear is that the foxes will prey on the neighborhoods outdoor pets. The #1 complaint is the unpleasant smell associated with their dens. They tend to drag carcasses back for their young to eat. A decomposition smell is commonly reported.
Squirrels
It is surprising how menacing the common backyard squirrel can be! The common complaint is the animals hoping around inside attics or on top of roofs driving occupants crazy, more so during stormy days. They can easily chew through soffits to gain access to you home for nesting and making the mess that goes along with it. They also tend to like to bully the birds away from bird feeders and hoard the seed for themselves.
Squirrels are one of the main causes for power outages in the United States. In 2016 squirrels were estimated to have caused around 3,500 power outages, effecting nearly 200,000 people.
Squirrels normally nest in the Spring and early Summer and have 4-6 babies.
If you have seen one chipmunk running around your property it is safe to assume there are at least five more running around outside your line of vision. It is always surprising how many chipmunks are removed from a property.
They are notorious for digging up freshly planted plants, reeking havoc on ones landscaping and curb appeal. Their damage can be identified by clusters of holes which are the multiple entrances to intricate burrows.
In worst case scenarios they can cause collapsing and warping of pavers and brick walk ways and patios.
Chipmunks are not communal animals even though they can be found in large numbers and often seen in groups.
They can have 2 litters a year with up to 8 babies per litter.
Chipmunks
Moles
Mole damage can look the same if it is from one mole or six. That is because a mole can tunnel more than 100 feet a day if it is required. Moles travel up and down their tunnels to eat worms, grubs, cicadas, and many other bugs that gather in the improved living conditions the mole tunnels provide or in search for better feeding grounds.
Mole mounds form when the animal begins to burrow downwards because of an obstacle in its path or to burrow down to the frost line during late fall early winter.
Moles can have 2-6 babies per litter. The baby moles will stay with their mother for around 2 months, until they are mature. Once mature the moles will break away in search for their own territory. This is normally noticed when the mole tunnels begin to spread into neighboring properties.
