Critter Control of Quad Cities

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The most common wildlife you find in your Quad Cities backyard includes squirrels, raccoons, rabbits, skunks, snakes, opossums, bats, rats, and mice. Iowa and Illinois have specific nuisance wildlife laws. Both states define nuisance wildlife as an animal that causes damage to your home or property, causes an annoyance to your family, or poses a threat to the public.

Seeing wildlife in your backyard is more common today due to animals having fewer places in the wild to find food, water, and shelter. At Critter Control, we have dealt with every nuisance wildlife in the Quad Cities. Below are a few examples of our inspection, removal, and repair process that helps us get rid of nuisance wildlife for good.

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 quickly get rid of raccoons, rodents, and other nuisances. First, we identify the animal on the property, then use humane methods to remove the animal and secure weak points where more could enter. We can make those repairs for a complete restoration if damage has been done. Contact a Critter Control office near you today.

STEP 1

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.
STEP 2

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.
STEP 3

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.

Raccoon Removal

Don’t be fooled by the raccoon’s cute black mask and bushy tail. Raccoons will move into any vacant space. Recently in Rock Island, they infested an empty house, causing trouble for the neighbors. A raccoon’s destruction starts with their dens, which they build under decks and porches or in attics and chimneys.

Raccoons have hands that are much like humans, a big help when searching for food. Their hands allow them to turn doorknobs, unlock latches, open trash cans, dig holes in the lawn, catch fish in the pond, steal crops, and climb everything from trees to roofs. They can go anywhere for a good meal.

Destruction can be immense and goes way beyond scattered trash. They eat small livestock, raid gardens, and break vents and screens to enter your home. Once inside, they shred insulation and drywall, scratch walls and beams, and leave piles of feces and urine near their living space. Critter Control has removed many raccoons in the Quad Cities.

Inspection

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

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

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 Removal

The rats and mice you will find causing damage to your home and property in the Quad Cities area are the Norway rat and house mice. According to the Centers for Disease Control, there is a long list of diseases carried by rats and mice.

Rats and mice cause damage inside the home by chewing on wires, wood flooring, or through walls and building nests out of insulation, carpet, and any other item they can find. Because they can chew through most materials and squeeze through holes smaller than a golf ball, rats and mice can do a lot of damage.

Rodents contaminate food and break roof shingles and screens covering chimneys and vents. Rats burrow holes under the ground, causing instability to foundations and driveways. Rats and mice reproduce multiple times a year and have an average of six young per litter. While there are no legal limits on controlling rodents, the nuisance wildlife experts can do things to ensure you don’t have a return infestation.

Inspection

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

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

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.

Squirrel Removal

Squirrels in the Quad Cities area include the fox, red, Southern flying, and Eastern gray squirrels. They can be seen collecting items to store for winter all around your yard. Squirrels like to keep food and nesting materials in multiple locations, including trees and holes dug in your yard. Stored items can include nuts, seeds, fruit, bird eggs, and bark.

The Department of Natural Resources recommends hiring a wildlife control operator to remove squirrels in the Quad Cities area. One reason is that some squirrels require permitting before removal. Another reason is that some squirrels, like the red and flying squirrels, are protected and cannot be taken at any time.

Squirrels will also store items and build nests in eaves, soffit, chimneys, vents, and pipes. This activity can jeopardize your family’s safety.

Squirrels are fun to watch, like when raiding the bird feeder. To know if the squirrels are a nuisance, call one of our experts for an assessment.

Inspection

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

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

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. 

Bat Removal

You may not realize bats live on your property unless they are in your attic. Then there is no denying it. Their feces, or guano, has a strong odor and stains flooring and walls. The Quad City area is home to 13 or more bat species. However, only a couple can be found roosting in your attic, like the big and little brown bats.

Bats are beneficial to the environment, eating thousands of insects in one night. This is one reason all bats are protected by state and federal wildlife codes. Bats cannot be removed during the maternity and mating season, from May to August and from October to March. It’s during this time bats may roost in colonies.

Calling experts to assist in removal is the safest plan for you and the bats. Also, cleaning their guano can be hazardous. Mold spores grow on the guano, and if you inhale the spores, it could lead to respiratory problems like histoplasmosis. Also, guano contains uric acid, and the guano typically covers the bat’s fur. Let our experts handle the dirty work.

Inspection

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

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

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.

Opossum Removal

 

Opossums are nocturnal and lone animals. To stay safe and out of harsh weather, they will make their home in sheds, inside garbage cans, under woodpiles and decks, and even enter a garage or basement, especially if you have a doggie door. Opossums are generally harmless and do not cause structural damage. Unlike raccoons, they are not strong enough to create an openning to your house. 

Opossums can be beneficial to have on your property. Their diet consists of insects, grubs, and ticks. Opossums can carry diseases such as tuberculosis, tularemia, spotted fever, toxoplasmosis, and Chagas disease. While they probably won't damage your house, they can destroy your garden looking for food. 

Remember, if a opossum has entered your home, you have an entry point that raccoons, rats, squirrels, and bats could take advantage of. 

Inspection

Inspection

Opossums can be found inside attics and basements or outside under decks and sheds. Common signs include unique paw prints and feces. Opossums are docile and usually easy to spot.

Trapping & Removal

Trapping & Removal

Opossums can be lured into cages for live capture. If it is maternity season, we follow all guidelines for removing mother and newborn opossums. We will seal entryways into the building to prevent opossums from reentering in the future. Opossums can be kept from getting under sheds and decks by installing fencing around the bottom edges and burying the fence underground.
Repairs

Repairs

Broken screens on chimney and roof vents are replaced with sturdier materials, and we properly seal all entry points, including crawlspaces. We clean and deodorize areas of opossum activity. Exclusion may include eliminating sources that attract bugs, like nighttime lighting, stagnant water, and livestock poop.

Skunk Removal

The striped skunk roams the neighborhoods of the Quad Cities, searching for nuts, seeds, insects, unprotected gardens, and small rodents. This is another reason to get rid of your rat and mice problem. Skunks cause damage by digging holes in your yard, burrowing under buildings, and raiding garbage cans.

Skunks have a defensive spray that can leave you, your pets, and your home is smelling awful for weeks. If a skunk is living under your porch, in your basement, or a brush pile near your home, call an expert for removal.

Inspection

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

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

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.

Mole Control

 

Moles create large mounds of dirt when they top soil is dry. These animals burrow deep underground and kick the dirt to the top creating a large mound with no visible entry. Most people think that they have fifty to one hundred moles tearing up their yard due to the amount of damage they can do. But in most cases, it usually one or two moles that are responsible for the damage in most residential size yards.

Trapping and removing moles is the best way to eliminate the problem. Inexperienced person usually are not able to properly set or capture moles with traps since they need to be set and maintained very specifically. For this reason, it is best to call an experienced wildlife specialist.

Mole Inspections

Mole Inspections

During our inspection process, we look for the travel tunnels and the feeding areas. Travel tunnels are long, straight pathways, usually occurring along sidewalks, edging, home foundations, etc. Feeding areas are usually those areas that zig-zag in a close proximity. 
Mole Control

Mole Control

We use an exclusive process to treat your mole problem, so no unsightly traps need to remain in your yard. This procees prevents the possible endangerment of pets and children that some mole traps may present. Call us and we can tell you more.
Mole Repairs

Mole Repairs

We rid your yard of the unightly tunnels and mounds that moles create, by leveling your yard. We also provide monthly services for yard maintenance.
Get them out.
Keep them out.®
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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.
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.
Guaranteed Work Your satisfaction is always guaranteed. Critter Control® takes great pride in providing quality workmanship resulting in customer satisfaction.
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