Johnson City, Tennessee, is known for outdoor activities. Every season of the year offers new adventures for locals and visitors. We have steep mountains, rolling hills, valleys, and ridges, all of which provide food, water, and shelter for local wildlife.
However, the more we develop Washington County, the more the local wildlife are forced into our neighborhoods. Today you can expect to encounter rats, mice, raccoons, opossums, skunks, snakes, bats, and squirrels, lots of squirrels, daily.
While fun to watch, they can quickly become nuisance wildlife or animals that cause damage to your home or property. According to
Tennessee law, property owners are responsible for the removal of nuisance wildlife and damage repairs.
The state also recommends hiring an animal control operator since removing wildlife can sometimes be a dangerous task. At Critter Control, we have the knowledge and experience to safely and humanely eliminate nuisance wildlife. Below are some examples of how we solve animal problems using our three-step process of inspection, removal, and repairs.
The masks worn by raccoons cannot cover their bad habits, like overturning trash cans, raiding dumpsters, and building a nest in your attic. Their size and nimble hands allow them to break into your property. Raccoons are filthy and leave behind greasy smudges. They break vents, ductwork, spouting, shingles, and more. They dig up sod searching for insects, attack backyard chickens, steal bird eggs, and help themselves to pet food. If it’s edible, a raccoon will probably try it.
Rat and Mice Pest Control
We have an abundance of
rodents in our area. Examples are Harvest mice, various deer mice, roof rats, cotton rats, and hairy-tailed moles. It’s the brown rat and the house mouse that become the biggest nuisance wildlife in Johnson City.
Rodents are sneaky, clever, and can squeeze through tiny holes, ones you may not even know exist. Once in your home, they spend their time chewing, gnawing, scratching, and scavenging. They break into your pantry and ruin groceries. They run across your counters and leave feces and urine everywhere they roam.
They carry diseases, making it risky for you to get rid of rats and mice on your own. Critter Control deals with rodent nuisances often. Here’s what we do.
Johnson City is home to the Eastern gray, American red, fox, Northern, and Southern flying squirrels. Squirrels are becoming a big nuisance as more and more adapt to the urban lifestyle. They hang out everywhere, from ETSU to all our local parks. Some prefer staying at home, your home.
Squirrels can travel anywhere on your property, causing damages along the way. They make electrical wires sag, break roof shingles, eat vegetables out of your garden, and create
nests in your attic if it is open and has a vacancy.
Squirrels are tiny collectors. They gather nuts, fruit, leaves, bark, twigs, bird eggs, and anything else they want to hoard in your attic. Professionals must remove them since they also carry diseases. We can get rid of squirrels in your home so you can go back to watching them on the outside.
Out of 15 or more
types of bats in the area, the little brown bat is the most common. It’s the one most likely to succeed at roosting in your attic, barn, or other building. Bats will choose your property as a place to live if they find a constant source of food and water. By food, we mean insects. Bats can eat thousands of insects daily.
Bats eating insects is not a problem. It’s the guano they leave behind that’s a problem. Bat guano smells terrible and is very toxic. It is heavy, and it could break the board if it piles up on a weak board. It contains acid that causes erosion. Inhaling guano fumes can lead to respiratory ailments in humans.
Bats are rarely seen but do make a lot of noise. It's best not to try to get rid of bats by yourself for several reasons. One, bats will bite if they feel threatened. Two, bats carry diseases like rabies and can transmit them to you through a bite. And three, bats are covered in their poop. If you touch a bat, you are handling their poop.
Our experts have the equipment to
solve any bat problem.
Opossums are common in Johnson City. They are nocturnal, but it’s easy to see what they did the night before during the day. With 50 teeth and a tail that can carry items, the opossum can wreak havoc on your home if it manages to get inside.
Some people find them cute, like when they fake being dead to escape harm. But those who have had one spend a few days in their home think they are anything but cute. They can chew wires, scratch walls, and leave feces in piles.
It’s essential to get rid of an opossum living in your home before they give birth to nine or more babies, the average litter. We have a lot of experience with removing opossums.