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How Destructive Can Wildlife Be?
1/28/14
One of the most destructive types of pests that can enter your Missouri home are wildlife animals. Wildlife species such as raccoons, squirrels, and even rodents commonly make their way from neighborhood yards into the homes of residents in the St. Louis, Missouri area. Wildlife species can be dangerous and difficult to remove from your home without the help of a professional pest control company.
When wildlife species enter your home they can cause a lot of costly structural damage to your home. Raccoons, squirrels and even mice will chew through walls, destroying drywall and contaminating your insulation with their urine and feces. They can also chew through wires and pipes which can lead to house fires, water leaks and mold issues. Along with causing structural damage to your home, wildlife critters can also destroy your personal property; they will chew on clothing, furniture, bags of pet food, dry goods, boxes and books.
Luckily there are some preventative measures that you can take to protect your St. Louis home from unwanted visitors. Here are some wildlife prevention tips:
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Trimming trees and bushes back away from your home- This will prevent them from using them as a bridge to your home. It is best to keep all landscaping a few feet from the perimeter of your home so that branches and limbs do not touch the siding.
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Store garbage and compost piles away from your home- Wildlife will be less likely to view your home as an easy place to forage for food if you do not attract them to the immediate surroundings on your property. A trash bin with a loose fitting lid is a big welcome to raccoons and other critters foraging for food. Another tip is to keep your trash bins located well away from the home so that if they do find the trash, they do not necessarily find their way inside.
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Caulk any gaps around doors and windows - By closing off any openings, you are creating a barrier around your home that does not allow pests to move inside. In the case of rodents, it only takes an opening the size of dime for them to squeeze through which means you need to pay close attention to all openings around the home that could make way for a wildlife or rodent infestation.
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Check your roof for loose shingles and holes under the roof line - The roof is not an area that you spend a lot of time paying attention to and if you are like many homeowner, damages to roofs and shingles can go undetected until there are issues like water damage showing up. But by inspecting the roof now, you can help to prevent opening your home up to bats, birds, squirrels or other wildlife critters.
Keep in mind that while these tips may help to prevent a wildlife infestation, it is important that if you do happen to find wildlife inside your home like say raccoons in the attic, that you contact a pest control professional right away. Rottler Pest & Lawn Solutions offers safe and effective wildlife control in St. Louis and surrounding Mid-Missouri towns. Call them today to help rid your home of dangerous wildlife this winter.