Critter Control of Lafayette

Raccoons are a common problem for Lafayette property owners, as these critters have become used to living amongst people and raiding the trash cans of residents and businesses. Once they find a secure source of food and water, it’s only a matter of time before they pick out a nearby attic or chimney to make a den and have their kits. Unfortunately, they cause a lot of damage to homes and are also host to diseases and parasites.

Raccoons can tear a large hole in a roof to gain entry and create a lot of noise thumping around. Critter Control can quickly recognize the unique footprints and feces of raccoons, and we can help you with raccoon removal before too much damage has been done.

Rats and mice are two of the most abundant mammals on Earth. Thoroughly used to living amongst people, they’ve also become some of the most dreaded pests to have in one’s home or office.

The most common of these rodents to make your home theirs are the house mouse, the Norway rat and the roof rat. Once inside your house, these creatures will contaminate the food in your pantry, leave their feces and urine along their travel paths and on countertops, and create oily smudges along walls.

These creatures will also gnaw through walls and wires, creating a fire hazard. Just a few of them will quickly turn into an infestation due to their prolific reproduction. They can breed up to 12 times per year, having around five to six babies at a time. To be certain you’ve rid your home or office of all of them, it’s best to call Critter Control.

There is no shortage of squirrels in Lafayette. Purdue University loves its squirrels so much that they’ve made a Facebook page and Twitter account for them. However, the more squirrels and humans interact, the more likely it is that they will move in with us.

When the weather turns cold, these rodents look for shelter in homes and businesses. While they seem cute scampering about the park, they turn less so when tearing up insulation and chewing through wires in your attic.

Unlike their nocturnal rodent cousins, squirrels are diurnal, meaning they are active during the day. If you hear scampering about above your head in the morning, it’s most likely a squirrel.

The thirteen bat species that live in Indiana are all insect-eating mammals and are the only mammals capable of sustained flight. Lafayette bats, like bats throughout the country, are attracted to attics and chimneys because they have all the elements of a proper roosting place: darkness, security and quiet.

Bats should not be handled by people. They can carry rabies and parasites, and their guano carries other diseases that can be transmitted to people and pets. Human contact can also harm the bats, which are important to the region’s ecosystem, especially during mosquito season.

Bats are federally protected and should not be harmed. Bats give birth each spring to a single pup that remains helpless through the spring and summer, then is weaned by fall. It is during this time that bats can be eliminated from an attic without harming the young. A wildlife specialist will know how to humanely rid a home or business of a roost of bats, making sure to wait until their pups are old enough to fly and hunt for insects on their own.

The striped skunk lives in every county in Indiana. These animals are known for foraging for food in trash bins and pet food bowls. They're also profound and efficient diggers, and can mutilate an entire yard in a single night searching for grubs. They're distinctive black and white fur, and their pungent odor that can linger for days, are unmistakeable.

If you happen to cross paths with a skunk, do not try to scare it away. Skunks spray when they feel threatened. 

Skunks will most likely be a nuisance at certain times of the year. The mating season starts in February. They give birth in May. Finally, in the autumn skunks increase their fat stores by foraging for more food to prepare for winter.  

Groundhogs are the universal bane of farmers and gardeners. Common in neighborhoods that abut the woods, they like to dig and tunnel in meadows, pastures and yards that have loose soil and an abundance of attractive vegetables and flowers, such as those in your garden.

Groundhogs can cause serious structural damage to your lawn and yard with their burrowing. Their tunnels can cause foundations or driveways to cave in, and they can even chew through irrigation and electrical systems as they dig.

Groundhogs hibernate in winter. It’s best to call Critter Control in the spring before groundhogs give birth, or you’ll find yourself with more groundhogs before long.