While you might be out and about enjoying the Fall weather, there’s something out there that wants to spoil your fun: wildlife pests. Everyone wants a warm space to spend the winter, and wildlife aren’t immune to that; in fact, they’ll seek out your home as an easy source for warmth and food, if your home isn’t prepared. So which wildlife frequents upstate New York, and what should you be on the lookout for? We’re here to answer that question.
In the capital region, there’s a range of different wildlife that you’ll want to keep your eyes peeled for:
Raccoons are quite active in the spring and summertime, but it’s during the fall when they start looking for warm shelter to beat the winter chill; raccoons like taking shelter in and around man- made structures, and your property can be the perfect winter den for them.
Skunks like to burrow for warmth, so keep an eye out for skunk holes near decks, sheds, porches, garages, and your home foundation.
During the Fall, squirrels will be looking for places to burrow for the winter hibernation, particularly in places like sheds, attics, and garages. Flying squirrels will nest in trees, so they can be a threat both inside and outside the home.
Much like the other animals we’ve talked about, bats hibernate come winter; this means they will be looking for dark, warm places to hide to escape the cold, like your attic, garage, or basement.
Probably the most infamous and numerous of the home invasion wildlife threats, mice and rats will start trying to populate your home, like most pests, looking for warmth and food. What makes them an especially frequent threat is their ability to enter the home through the tiniest entry points.
Chipmunks aren’t a major problem in the grand scheme of wildlife, they can carry fleas and ticks and cause structural damage to homes, especially if they choose your home as a place to burrow underneath come winter.
Groundhogs aren’t a direct problem as fall turns to winter, but if groundhogs are hibernating in your yard, they will become a serious problem once the ground thaws and spring arrives. You’ll want to see if groundhogs are occupying your property now so that they don’t become an issue later.
While opossums are cute, they can also be quite vicious, and will look to burrow under your home or take up residence in your attic during fall and winter. This can be especially threatening if you have livestock, because opossums are known to go after smaller livestock--particularly chickens.
Wildlife will leave behind a pretty easy to identify trail if they’re in your home:You will almost always be able to hear wildlife, whether from a screech, yelp, or scratching sound.
Wildlife will leave behind droppings, hair, and urine. Even if you don’t directly see it, you will be able to identify it by an unpleasant, uncommon odor.
Critters can also cause home and property damage that will set off alarm bells in your head. Scratch and gnaw marks that you notice in your home or burrow holes in the yard will let you know that wildlife is present.
If you think you may have a wildlife invasion on your hands, call Thomas Pest Service immediately. Trying to take care of an animal on your own can be dangerous, and we’ve built out several different control processes specifically for different types of wildlife with expert and humane removal. With wildlife removal, we will catch and later release- at approved release spots- the creature or creatures that are inhabiting your home. With our rodent control program, a combination of traps will be deployed into problem areas so that all rodents will be trapped and drawn away from your property. We also offer bat control that has proven effective at driving bats away and keeping them out, while not actually hurting or depriving baby bats of their mothers.
Each of these plans also includes cleanup and damage repair post-removal, as well as fortification and sealing of the entry points that the critters got in through in the first place. We consider it a sort of all in one package of removal, clean-up, and defense; we think it’s the best way to ensure that the critter is gone and stays gone.
Want to learn more about other pests that you should be on the lookout for before winter arrives? Check out our blog “How to Protect Your Home from Cold Weather Pests”!