The variety of wildlife living in Thomasville is impressive. More than 90 species of mammals exist here, along with 46 types of snakes and 350 species of birds. Due to deforestation and developing land for residential and commercial purposes, wildlife must find new homes. They must also find new places to acquire food, water, and shelter.
In Thomasville, this means they may explore your property. If you have wildlife that stays on your property, you likely have a good source of food and water. Wildlife is good about creating a place for shelter, even if one is not readily available near their food sources. For example, many wildlife will break into your attic or basement.
When wildlife actively damages your property, threatens the public, or causes a disturbance that prevents you from enjoying your home and land, they become nuisance wildlife. Although you live on private property, you must follow laws and regulations about how nuisance wildlife can be removed. You must understand which animals are protected at the state and federal levels, which ones require permits for removal, and where to get a permit if needed.
Below are various examples of nuisance wildlife removal concerns in the Thomasville area.
Although the raccoon population in Thomasville is high, you don’t see them too often. They are nocturnal and go out at night searching for food. They will eat anything, including leftovers in your trash can, scraps found in a restaurant’s dumpster, insects, grains, seeds, fruits, vegetables, fish, and even chickens or other small animals.
During the day, raccoons like to rest in a safe, cozy spot, like your attic or crawlspace. They are great climbers and will shimmy up the side of your house to get into your chimney or attic. They will break screens, boards, and posts if it helps them access your home. Once inside, they start making a nest using items they find lying around. They will also use insulation and drywall. Raccoons leave piles of feces and urine in the areas where they nest. It smells horrible and can grow mold spores. You do not want these spores traveling through your ducts or walls and seeping into your living areas.
You may have already heard strange noises coming from parts of your home — noises like scratching on walls, ripping drywall or insulation, footsteps, chirps, growls, howls, or chatter. You may notice electrical issues since they love chewing on wires. Raccoons can turn your home into a fire hazard in a short time. You may have even met your tenant face to face. If so, it is time to call for help.
Norway rats, roof rats, and the house mouse are common in Georgia, and there is no lack of food, water, and shelter in Thomasville. Rats and mice are thriving in our area. But you won’t likely see them actually scurrying about. They are active at night and know how to stay out of sight. They are sneaky creatures, snagging crumbs off countertops and chewing their way through boxes in your pantry.
One way you know they are living in your home is the feces and urine trails they leave behind, which can be toxic to humans. Rats and mice can transmit over 30 diseases to humans. There may also be gnawed materials like wood or wires and shredded insulation. If it is soft and accessible, rodents will chew it. They will use threads from your carpet, clothing, sentimental photos and letters, blankets, dolls, and anything else with materials they can gnaw off and add to their nest.
Setting a trap for rodents is a temporary fix. Eventually, others will find their way into your home. Also, rats and mice multiply three or more times each year, giving birth to five or more rodents each time. Unless you want to set enough traps to get all the rats and mice, it may be better to call for help.
A professional can help you find all the holes and cracks in your home rodents will use to enter, which only have to be the size of a quarter.
There are four types of squirrels living in our Thomasville neighborhoods: the fox squirrel, the Eastern gray squirrel, the flying squirrel, and the red squirrel. In Georgia, squirrels are considered both a nuisance and game animals. It is always recommended to seek the services of a nuisance wildlife removal company to ensure proper measures are followed.
Squirrels love to collect and store their treasures, and they can jump up to ten feet to retrieve a treasure. Squirrels are mini-collectors and hoarders. Your home may be the perfect storage facility. They keep watch over their items by building a nest nearby. You will know they are there when you hear them moving around in your attic or running across your roof, anytime, day or night.
Squirrels eat nuts, pinecones, bark, bird eggs, seeds, roots, and garden crops. If you’ve got those treats on your property or keep your bird feeders filled, squirrels will likely find their way to your place. They can chew through materials such as mesh, thin metals, vinyl, wood, and thick plastic. In fact, they need hard surfaces to chew on because they have teeth that do not stop growing. To prevent them from getting too big and too painful, squirrels find stuff to chew, even if it is your home.
We’ve got 16 species of bats in Georgia, all of which are protected due to diseases, such as the white-nose syndrome, that reduce bat populations. Bats are very beneficial to the environment, eating thousands of insects in one night.
If you have bats on your property, you have ample food and water for them to survive. They will find a nearby place to roost, likely in your attic, ceilings, sheds, or barns.
Bats can become a nuisance because of the piles of guano they produce. Bat guano, or poop, is very toxic, carrying diseases affecting the human respiratory system. It can corrode metal and wood due to the uric acid content. Bats poop in their sleep and while hanging upside down. This means the guano runs down their little bodies, covering their fur.
It is never a good idea to interact with a bat since they are disease carriers and will bite if they feel threatened. Plus, Georgia laws do not allow bats to be moved or harassed during their maternity season, which runs from April to August. Pups must be able to fly out on their own, and the temperature outside must be at least 50 degrees.
With nearly 50 species of snakes in Georgia, only six are venomous. That doesn’t stop everyone from being fearful and shrieking at the sight of one, even a small one. Snakes are sneaky in their search for food and water, mainly because snakes do not want to interact with humans. They want to avoid conflict whenever possible.
Snakes can easily enter crawlspaces below decks, barns, sheds, chicken coops, and even cars. Snakes are not usually destructive and do very little harm when left alone. Unless there is a constant food source, such as rodents, snakes will usually move on to another property quickly.
The biggest problem with armadillos is digging large holes in your yard searching for insects. They also dig burrows, making a foundation unstable if located directly under it. Armadillos have poor eyesight but great hearing and smell. In Georgia, they are classified as both exotic and as a pest.
The nine-banded armadillo is nocturnal and is often found roaming underground in Thomasville. When scared, they jump straight up and move like a bucking horse before running back to their burrow. They have incredible speed, oddly enough. They can force air into their bodies, pumping themselves up like a balloon to help them float in water. Or they can choose to sink to the bottom of a water source and walk along the bottom to their destination. Some armadillos can weigh up to 120 pounds, but the ones in Georgia are about the size of a small dog.
The biggest problem with armadillos is digging large holes in your yard searching for insects. They also dig burrows, making a foundation unstable if located directly under it. Armadillos have poor eyesight but great hearing and smell. In Georgia, they are classified as both exotic and as a pest.