You have probably seen a raccoon or a skunk dart around in your compound once or twice. They may appear to look cute, so it may be natural to regard them as harmless. This, however, may be far from the truth. Some may be carriers of diseases while others may even attack you. Here are a few pests that can greatly disrupt your lifestyle at home:
Skunks
They have distinctive by their black and white striped fur. For such a small creature, they pack a powerful punch in the form of their spray. Whenever they feel threatened, skunks instinctively spray their predators or anybody unlucky enough to be on the receiving end with a strong odor. They can spray their odor over a moderate distance and the effects are really strong.
Research has shown that if you are unfortunate enough to get skunk spray in your eye, it can cause a burning sensation and the chemical content has been known to cause partial blindness. Even if it doesn’t get your eye, the spray has a pungent smell that can last a long while. The next time you see this beautiful creature, you might want to turn the other way.
There is an easy way to deal with skunks however. They are not known for their climbing skills. If you can manage to erect a perimeter fence around your compound or patch up holes in your fence, you can almost be sure you won’t be seeing any of these guys around.
Raccoons
In domestic areas, they are very common around garbage bins. If you manage to see one in your home, chances are you will see it going through your garbage. They will normally leave your garbage all over the place and cleaning up can be a real challenge.
Raccoons are disease carriers. If it feels threatened, it might scratch or bite passing on rabies infection. It is highly advised to get an expert once you see them in your compound. These guys happen to mate the first 3 months of the year and it won’t take long before they start popping out babies. Their young come in large numbers, usually 3 to 6 litters so you won’t have long before a single raccoon becomes a big problem. So make sure you start raccoon removal in Mississauga fast!
Wasps and bees
These are two pests you never want to get in the way of. Do anything that makes them feel threatened and you are guaranteed things won’t end well for you. They both live in colonies and are ready to defend their nests with their lives. Depending on their number, they can be very noisy and the thought of bees living in your compound may be unsettling. Do not ever try to remove a bee or wasp nest on your own. They will attack any threat to their nest and cause injuries to you. Wasp and bee stings are very painful. Their effects are widespread and vary depending on a lot of things such as the number of bees, allergic reactions and such, but cases where bees and wasps sting someone to death are not unheard of. Instead, get a professional to exterminate them for you.
Bats
You have probably seen bats flying around in a cave in a scene of a scary movie. Bats are the only living mammals that can fly. They are nocturnal creatures which mean they are mainly active at night. During the day, you will probably find them sleeping in a cave or a tree upside down. They have poor eyesight and navigate by use of sonar. When bats are moving, they emit sonar waves and listen for the echo. From the echo, they are able to tell whether there is an object in their path of flight, the object`s size and precise location.
If you have a lot of bats living in a together, they can make a lot of noise at in the morning and evening as swarms of bats fly in and out of their habitat. Their biggest effect is felt when they are in large colonies. Bat urine and excrement corrode metal and wood which means they will leave structures, trees and the environment in general looking unappealing. When inhaled, it can cause several diseases. They can squeeze through narrow spaces, especially when they want to breed and are more often than not found in many attics in homes.
Squirrels
Squirrels are very fast to adapt to our environment. They can be unpleasant in a lot of ways. They will often look for a small hole and then chew till the hole is big enough for them to enter and then they enter the house. They will nest in your house and cause a lot of noise dashing around your home. They can give birth to so many babies, but only a few survive, the rest can cause a bit of an odor around the house. They love to live inside our homes and they chew on almost anything. It is not uncommon to have your power cables chewed on by squirrels.
If you have seen some of these pests around, give us a call. We have a dedicated team ready to help you day and night!