So you’ve decided it’s time to call in the professionals, now what? First off congratulations on making the right decisions. It is tempting to attempt to do get rid of a wildlife problem on your own and save a few bucks. But when it comes to live animals breaking into one of your most valuable investments; calling a professional wildlife removal company is a no-brainer. What happens next? Depends on what species you are dealing with and the scope of the issue.
Below we will touch on the four most common animals we encounter and you can expect.
Raccoon Removal
Dealing with raccoons is both the easiest and most problematic of all species we encounter. Because of their size, you will likely notice them immediately and they will be easy to locate. Also because of their size, they have the potential to cause the most damage. Raccoon removal must be undertaken promptly.
After the prevention work is complete and the one-way door is installed, raccoons can take anywhere from a few hours up to three days to leave. This time varies depending on temperature, if they have young ones with them and all kinds of other environmental factors. In most cases, the raccoons will leave the same day the work is completed.
In very rare cases, during winter months raccoons will go into a temporary state of hibernation known as torpor. In these instances, raccoons may stay as long as a few weeks. But these cases are exceptionally rare.
What happens is in the ultimate effort to save energy, animals will enter a state of complete inactivity. They will not move, eat or even defecate. The duration of these episodes will vary on what the situation calls for but typically vary from several hours to a few weeks. Often as the weather warms up raccoons will come out of this dormant state and resume normal activity.
Raccoons are much more active in late winter and spring as this is their mating season. If you are having raccoon problems during these months there is a good chance you are dealing with could be dealing with a mother and babies. The process is more or less the same if caught early and does not change the timeline in most cases.
Summary:
- Important to act quickly
- Leave anywhere from 6 – 48 hours typically
- Most active during late winter/springtime
Mice Removal
When it comes to mice, its pretty much the polar opposite of what we just described with raccoons. Mice removal is more of a waiting game as we are often dealing with a population numbering in the hundreds (or worse). Mice will have litters every 2 months consisting typically of 6-8 babies. As you can see the problem will quickly get out of hand.
The protocols for mice prevention are similar to the ones described above. Once again we employ a one-way door system as well as other preventative measures.
Once the prevention work has been completed the mice will take anywhere from 24 hours to 8 weeks to leave. They will begin leaving within 24 hours but it will take several weeks before they are completely gone. The largest determining factor is the time of year and climate. During the colder
Mice are active all year but we do notice an uptick in mice prevention calls as the cold weather sets in.
Summary:
- Your dealing with several hundred mice, not just the one you saw
- Patience is the name of the game, it will take up to 8 weeks to get rid of them
- They are active all year
Squirrel Removal
Don’t let their fluffy tales and cute demeanour fool you, squirrels can be a nightmare if they break into your attic. Because their teeth never stop growing squirrels will always be chewing on something in order to file their teeth down. This process over time creates damage to your attic and home. Squirrel removal protocols also employ a one-way door system as well as additional preventative measures to the exterior of your home.
Once prevention work has been done, the eviction process takes anywhere from 6-48 hours. Basically, as soon as everything quiets down and they feel settled, they will leave through the one-way door and lock themselves out.
Squirrels typically have two baby seasons, the first one in March/April and the second one in August/September. So these are the times when they will be more likely to break into your home in search of a safe place to give birth.
Summary:
- Squirrels teeth never stop growing / they never stop chewing
- Evicton happens within 6-48 hours
- 2 baby seasons – springtime/fall
Bat Removal
When dealing with bats everything depends on the time of year. As far as the removal process, once again we employ a variation of the one-way door system used with other species described above.
Bats are an at-risk species in Ontario, therefore, there is a window each year where wildlife removal companies cannot perform any bat removal or prevention work. Babies are born between July 15th and August 31st, during this window no bat doors can be installed. This ensures the mothers will not be locked out and kept away from their young.
The other consideration with bats is the fact they hibernate during the winter months. So if the prevention work is done in the winter you will be waiting until spring for the eviction process to take place. Also, as mentioned above, if the bat problem is discovered during the baby window in the summer (July 15th – August 31st) you will be waiting until September 1st to begin the process.
Summary:
- Bats are a protected species
- No prevention work takes place between July 15th – August 31st
- Bats hibernate therefore you will have to wait until springtime to evict
Wildlife removal for each species involves similar modality. Seal up all vulnerable areas, install one-way doors systems (they vary by species) to facilitate humane and permanent eviction, then return and remove the door and seal up the areas. The difference is how long it takes and that depends on what animal you are dealing with. Regardless of whether its a mouse or a raccoon, if you think you are hosting unwanted wildlife, call a professional and have the situation assessed before it gets t of control.
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