Beaches are just the beginning in Southern Delaware, but there is plenty of water with twenty six miles of Atlantic Coast, the Delaware Bay, inland bays, and lakes and rivers. Sussex County is less urbanized than the rest of the East Coast. Small, charming towns dot the area.
Most forests are fragmented and cleared for agriculture. Animals like bat, beaver, chipmunk, mole, opossum, river otter, beaver, snake, squirrels, skunks, Canadian Geese, raccoons, woodchuck, and woodpeckers have adapted to live among people.
Sussex County, Delaware, has specific codes (Penalty Section 7 Del.C. §103(d)) regarding nuisance wildlife removal. Wildlife is a nuisance when they are annoying you and your family, making it difficult to enjoy your property. They may also cause damage to your property or pose a threat to the public.
The Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife recommends hiring a wildlife control operator to handle nuisance wildlife for the safety of both you and the animal. In addition, because there are so many laws and protections, you want to make sure to complete the job the right way.
Raccoons are active at night. While you sleep, they are out scavenging for food. There are plenty of sources in Southern Delaware. Raccoons eat just about anything, from restaurant scraps and pet food to garden crops and chickens. Their hands resemble human hands and allow them to turn doorknobs, open storage bins, and climb trees, chimneys, and poles.
Raccoons have a permanent mask and banded tail. They would be cute if they weren’t so destructive. They will do what they can to get into parts of your house they see fit to sleep and give birth to pups. If they must rip, tear, or break something to get to that spot, they will. Raccoons make lots of noises, like whimpers, growls, and screams. They leave feces and urine nearby their shelter.
Before trying to remove a raccoon from your home by yourself, remember they can carry diseases, and if threatened, they may bite. Calling nuisance wildlife animal control experts is recommended. Critter Control's three-step process works well for raccoon removal.
Rat and Mice Pest Control
The Delaware house mouse is not a resident you want living in your home. They are curious and will chew through wires and walls to get to a food source. If you have mice in your home, you have the food, water, and shelter they are seeking. Mice live in walls, attics, basements, and any other place in your home that is dark and hidden from view.
Rats and mice will raid pet feed, pantry items, and anything left on counters or floors. They usually don’t travel more than 30 feet from their nest. They carry fleas, ticks, and other parasites. Their droppings and urine form trails. These tiny creatures can fit through small holes the size of a quarter. They can also contaminate ten times more food than they contaminate.
Our process for getting rid of mice and rats:
Tree squirrelsare in abundance in Sussex County, from the gray, red, fox, and flying species. They are fun to watch, too, as they collect various items to store for the colder months. Squirrels search for nuts, grains, bird eggs, flowers, garden crops, and birdseed. Some squirrels will strip bark from trees and use it for nesting or meals.
Squirrels are always on the move. They have teeth that never stop growing and must chew and gnaw on hard surfaces to keep them filed and pain-free. That means your siding, shingles, wires, wood, gutters, soffits, wire screens, and mesh may be destroyed. Squirrels also build nests in chimneys, vents, attics, and pipes, creating hazardous and costly outcomes such as fires and clogs.
Squirrels typically give birth twice a year. It’s essential to call a professional to get rid of a squirrel in your home. There are varying permitting rules: no permit may be needed for the gray squirrel, but all others must be approved. Critter Control complies with all permitting laws.
Delaware is home to
nine species of bats. Some of Delaware's tree bats migrate long distances from summer roosts to their wintering grounds.Bats are insectivores and can consume more than one-half their body weight in insects each night.
The bats causing problems on your property are likely the big brown, little brown, and Northern long-eared bats. If you have a bat in your attic, barn, or other structure, you will hear them at night when they are loud and keep you awake. You may also smell their foul guano, which amasses under their roosting spots.
Bat guano contains uric acid and can corrode woods and metals. While not all bats carry rabies, they can harbor parasites. Histoplasmosis, for example, is a respiratory condition in humans that occurs after inhaling mole spores that grow on bat guano.
Never try to get rid of a bat yourself. All bats are on a federal or state protection list due to the risk of extinction by a threat of some kind, like the white-nosed syndrome sweeping through some bat colonies. Also, bats are a valuable part of the ecosystem, eating their body weight in bugs every night. After eating, bats roost and clean themselves. They also continue excreting guano, which runs down their fur to the floor. This is another reason never to touch a bat.
Calling an expert for bat removal is crucial to protect you and the bat.
Skunks 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. Please also remember that skunks
can carry rabies; therefore, it’s best to let a professional handle removal for you.
Ninety percent of all snakes in urban and residential areas in Delaware are non-venomous. If you are like most people, you aren’t confident you can tell the difference and, therefore, consider all snakes dangerous. We get it.
Snakes are searching for food, water, and shelter, just like other wildlife. They prefer piles of wood, stones, or brush. They are looking for insects and small rodents, so if you have those in your basement or shed, you may also find a snake nearby. We can help get rid of snakes.