Critter Control of Erie performs safe, humane removal of nuisance animals and pests from your home or property. We offer reliable prevention techniques for future animal intrusions in your home, with professional and permanent repairs to entry points and insulation. We can also disinfect areas damaged by animal urine and feces.
Adaptable and clever, raccoons have no trouble thriving in Erie. They mostly take up residence in the attic and can damage wires, insulation, pipes, and wood, including the ceiling. They are not polite wildlife either. Raccoons do all their business in your attic. The toxins of feces and urine are a hazard to your health.
For raccoon control, professional help is needed. The first step is to have an inspection completed by licensed, certified, and insured professionals.
Inspection
During the inspection, we determine the severity of the raccoon infestation. We look for physical evidence like footprints in or around the home, stains from raccoon feces and urine. On the exterior of the house, we look for damage like scratches on boards, broken vents and screens, ripped apart shingles, destroyed soffits, and every possible entry point.
Raccoon Trapping
Live trapping is one of the most efficient ways to get rid of a raccoon. Depending on the situation, a one-way door or excluder valve can be installed. An excluder valve works by allowing the raccoon to leave but blocks its reentry. The choice of device is largely dependent on the season and location of the raccoons on your property. Direct capture is not commonly used because raccoons are a rabies vector species. If we must trap, we place traps strategically to safely catch the raccoons and we check traps frequently, based on state laws.
Repairs
We provide a wide range of repair and restoration services. We can repair raccoon damage like broken screens on vents and chimneys and broken boards on decks and porches. It is essential to apply cleaning agents and ectoparasite treatments on areas inhabited by raccoons.
Rat and Mice Pest Control
In Erie, the most common pests are the
Norway rat, roof rat, and house mouse, all of which can fit through a hole the size of a quarter. The process of controlling rat or mice populations will look something like this:
Inspection
During a rodent inspection, we thoroughly inspect your attic and provide a complete exterior home inspection. The most common signs of rodent activity are gnaw marks, feces, rub marks, nesting material, runs in insulation material, and small entry points.
Rodent Trapping
A Critter Control wildlife specialist will create a strategic trapping plan to remove the rodents found in your home. Critter Control specialists may use snap traps and live traps to capture and remove mice and rats. Rodent trapping can usually takes between five to fourteen days.
Repairs
The best way to reduce the possibility of letting unwanted rodents into homes is to seal possible entrances. Exclusion methods include caulking cracks in foundations, capping chimneys, and installing mesh covers over vents and crawl space entrances. We also strongly recommend a maintenance service. Rodents have front teeth that continuously grow, which means they can gnaw a new way back into your home.
Squirrels are busy little creatures. They are always searching for foods to store for the winter in their nest. During their daily scavenger hunts, they have many opportunities to damage your yard and your home. They run across utility lines, making them sag to dangerous levels. Squirrels run on your roof, damaging shingles. They can also chew through your decking and boards when they want to get to those hard-to-reach areas. Squirrels may look cute, but they are known to carry diseases. That's why you should call experts for removal.
Inspection
Wildlife specialists look for signs such as chewing on, in, or around your home, small openings leading to the attic or the crawl space, droppings, and debris like nuts or nesting material. Beams, wires, pipes, and insulation may all show signs of damage from squirrels.
Squirrel Trapping
Live trapping or one-way doors are the most effective and humane ways to get rid of squirrels. One-way doors should never be used during birthing seasons (Spring & Fall), so our specialists will decide which is the best tool for the job. If we have to trap, we place traps strategically to safely catch the squirrels and check those according to state laws.
Repairs
We can restore your home or office by squirrel proofing all entry points after we have removed the offenders. We can also clean-up the nesting sites and remove any debris, food, feces and soiled insulation.
Bats like to make their home in your attic. Not only are they loud, but their feces and urine also contain toxic uric acid that can ruin the structure of your home. You should not try to remove a bat yourself. They are known to carry rabies and other diseases.
Inspection
We perform a full interior and exterior inspection and search for signs such as rub marks, guano, a strong scent of ammonia, and small openings. The most common sign is the accumulation of guano (feces).
Bat Removal
The most effective and humane way to remove bats is by utilizing a bat valve in conjunction with a full home exclusion. A bat valve allows for bats to exit your home but not re-enter. We follow all local ordinances for humane bat removal. We will never abandon flightless pups in your attic.
Repairs
After removing the bat valves, we seal the entrance hole(s) so bats can no longer enter your home. If there is substantial guano in your attic, you should consider taking advantage of our attic remediation services to remove the soiled insulation and replace it.
Skunks are abundant in the United States and are best known for their ability to spray an unpleasant and long-lasting liquid. Becoming active in spring, when they find mates and look for places to build their den and raise their young, skunks often choose the porches, sheds, and decks of unwitting homeowners for shelter. They are burrowing animals, digging down deep to create their dens.
They are mostly docile creatures that do not pose an immediate threat to humans. However, they can carry diseases that can spread to humans and pets, including roundworm, rabies, and distemper.
Inspection
In addition to noting any pungent odors that signal the presence of a skunk, we will inspect the condition of your landscaping, as skunks are known for tearing-up lawns and shredding grass while hunting for grubs and insects. We will also inspect the perimeter of your building's foundations and under decks, to locate burrows.
Trapping and Removal
Never try to remove a skunk from your property yourself. Getting sprayed is a very unpleasant experience. Furthermore, these animals may carry diseases that can spread to humans and pets, such as rabies. Our specialists will use live traps to capture and remove skunks for you, or they'll use a one-way exclusion device to evict skunks from their harborage areas. The most effective ways to control a skunk problem is exclusion and habitat modification.
Skunk Control
The most effective ways to control a skunk problem is exclusion and habitat modification. Methods like sealing foundation gaps, replacing and screening broken foundation vents and installing hardware cloth (rat walls) around unprotected sheds and decks are the most effective and permanent ways to keep skunks out.
We recommend keeping pet food inside and securing any trash bins.
Other Common Wildlife Issues
Critter Control Wildlife Removal Process
Critter Control is here for you every step of the way in the wildlife removal process. From inspection to removal—and even exclusion and repair—we have the services you need to get rid of raccoons, rodents, and other nuisances fast. First, we identify the animal on the property, then use humane methods to remove the animal and secure weak points where more could enter. If damage has been done, we can make those repairs for a complete restoration. Contact a Critter Control office near you today.
Wildlife Inspection
During the inspection we try to ascertain how many animals there are, where they are located, and how they got in.
Based on what you have seen, heard and smelled, we start the inspection where you have noticed signs of animal activity. Evidence of animals inside your home include nests, dens, feces, and animal tracks. We investigate the exterior of your home looking for possible entry points, any evidence of animal damage, tracks, fur, animal waste, or rub marks.
Removal
We use several methods to humanely remove the animal from your home. Depending on the species, the number of animals, and the condition of your property, we develop a custom wildlife removal plan. Humane wildlife removal strategies include animal traps, one-way doors, and repellents.
Once we guarantee all animals are gone, we implement exclusion techniques. Exclusion techniques provide a safe, long-term solution to nuisance wildlife in your home. We create barriers to prevent animals from getting to resources. We only apply exclusions once we are sure all animals are gone from your home.
Exclusion and Repair
Wildlife will damage your home. Exclusion techniques repair any damage the animal causes getting into your home. Inside your home, animals build nests and dens out of readily available material. They will create runs through the insulation. Rodents will gnaw on anything including electrical wires and pipes.
Animals can also spread diseases. We apply sanitation agents to clean up feces and urine. Mammals can host pests like fleas, ticks, and mites. Ectoparasite treatments exterminate those pests so you don’t become their next host.
Q&A With Local Critter Control Franchisee Brian Mullins
What are some of the most common wildlife issues that homeowners face in your area?
Wildlife entering a home or outbuilding and making it their own. They will tend to store resources within the structure to survive during times when they are not able to gather resources outside. This creates an issue due to the animal entering where homeowners prefer them not to be.
How do the seasons affect wildlife activity in Erie?
Animals are no different than humans and require food, water and shelter. In the summer, you will see them out frolicking around. As the weather gets colder, they're looking for a place to settle down and be less active on the real cold days. During breeding seasons, they'll also look for a place to settle down with their young.
What are some common signs of nuisance wildlife activity?
Noises in the house, digging under structures, claw marks and holes in structures.
Any prevention or exclusion tips for residents in your area?
Try to cut down as much as possible on shrubbery around your house and trees over the roof. This will help limit access points and shelter making your home and property less susceptible to wildlife intrusion.
When should homeowners call you?
The sooner the better. Once you hear a noise that is uncommon, or experience wildlife damaging your property, you should call us. We even get calls from homeowners building new homes, which have experienced a problem in a prior home, to inspect for possible entry points into the structure.
The Critter Control Difference
Trained Specialists
Animal removal is a highly sophisticated job. As such, we vet and train our team members to ensure they have the knowledge and skill to remove any pest from your building. Our wildlife experts utilize advanced removal and exclusion techniques and damage repair.
Guaranteed Work
Your satisfaction is always guaranteed. Critter Control® takes great pride in providing quality workmanship resulting in customer satisfaction.
Residential and Commerical
Invading nuisance wildlife can wreak havoc on property. If left unattended wildlife and pests can cause costly property damage. Whether a residential property, apartment buildings, retail stores, office buildings, industrial plants, medical facilities, or warehouses, our trained professionals can handle any wildlife removal problem.
Financing Available
Critter Control offers in-house financing. Both standard and 90-day same as cash financing options have 12-,18-,24-, or 36-month options. Some projects might qualify for a budgeted plan up to 60 months.
Critter Control Guarantee
Your satisfaction is always guaranteed. We provide reliable prevention from future intrusions. Resolving a nuisance wildlife issue calls for more than trapping and removing the critter. Our exclusion services offer immediate and long-term wildlife solutions.
This franchise is independently licensed and operated by Critter Control of Erie, LLC, dba Critter Control of Erie, PA.