Raccoons are among the most adaptable mammals in North America. They are found at high densities in urban areas, where they frequently exploit food sources around your home, such as garbage cans and dumpsters. They also regularly enter homes (especially attics) and to raise their litters, and mom can be particularly dangerous when cornered. They are also a major reservoir for the rabies virus, and can carry canine distemper. A very clever animal, the adults can be tricky to live trap, but often leave many signs of their presence in the form of home damage and feces, which can contain ringworm, and noises in the middle of the night.
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Opossums are North America's only marsupial (same group as kangaroos) and females are often seen with their babies climbing on them. These opportunistic animals frequent human-dwellings for food knocking over trash cans, and females often raise their young in the attic, where they can create a real mess with their droppings. They also frequently die in the building leaving behind a horrible stench. They are not much of a rabies threat, but can carry large amounts of parasites including fleas that can infest your home and your pets. Luckily these animals are easy to catch in a live trap.
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Skunks, if it wasn't for the smell, we are convinced they would be a popular pet. Here in Florida, there are two species; the striped skunk, and the smaller spotted skunk. Both often burrow under the porches of your home and dig holes in the yard while looking for food, where they pose a spraying risk to you and your pets. They can also carry rabies (beware the daytime skunk), so having such a smelly animal living around your house can make homeowners understandably nervous. Luckily they can be easily-live trapped, and successfully relocated.
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Armadillos are ancient mammals that have distinctive bony armor plates. These nocturnal animals feed on grubs and worms by digging large numbers of holes in the ground. They also burrow to escape predators and of course raise young. When they enter someone's property they often burrow under the porch or home, and can cause extensive damage to landscaping. Catching them is a bit of an art, since they are not attracted to bait, and instead we rely on trap placement near burrows and pathways. Once caught they are easily moved to another site.
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Gray squirrels are very common in Central Florida and they regularly enter attics, chimneys, and other structures to nest in. Being rodents they have have strong teeth that can gnaw woodwork and tear apart wiring, ducts, and even pipes. A family of squirrels are also very noisy as they scurry about in the eaves of a house. Removing squirrels involves a combination of locating and sealing entry/exit holes with steel, and trapping or excluding the family. However it is important and humane to make sure that all of the animals have been removed.
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Flying Squirrels are smaller nocturnal cousins of the gray squirrels, but have the amazing ability to glide 150+ feet from tree to tree. These social animals often take up residence in attics and chimneys, where they can damage woodwork and wires. A large colony can also damage insulation with large quantities of urine and feces. Dealing with nuisance flying squirrels involves a combination of trapping and exclusion to ensure that all animals are humanely removed from the building.
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Rabbits are cute and Florida is home to two species, the long-eared eastern cottontail and the short-eared marsh rabbit. Normally the presence of a rabbit is an asset to any lawn. But a group of rabbits can strip a garden of its spoils and destroy a yard with an extensive network of tunnels and warrens. Safeguarding your yard from rabbits simply involves reinforcing fences with a digging strip, and live trapping is very effective at lowering local rabbit populations. Rabbits are only relocated a short distance away (quarter of a mile or so), since they do not survive away from the safety of their burrows. For this reason, maintaining good fencing combined with trapping will keep rabbits alive, but away from your yard.
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Rats are what people often think of when they think pest. Although there are many native rat species in North America, the ones that plagued people's homes are introduced from Europe and Asia (mainly the Norway and Black rats). Removal of rats from the home involves a complete approach, of locating and sealing entry points with steel mesh, intensive trapping indoors over a period of time, and final cleanup and decontamination. Although live trapping is possible, lethal snap traps are more humane as relocated rats (moved only 100 ft from their nest) will perish within hours. Whatever you do, do not use a pest control company that uses poison, unless you want many dead rats decomposing in your walls.
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Mice, like rats, are another commensal rodent (meaning they live with people) that has made its way to the Americas from Europe and Asia. Although much smaller than rats, the house mouse breeds more often (10-12 times a year) and have larger litters (12+), which if you do the math means they can take over a house in no time, provided food is available. Dealing with mice is the same as dealing with a rat problem, which means snap traps combined with sealing all points of entry. Again using poison will only kill a few mice and leave them to rot in your house, instead call us to deal with them.
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Bats are a common evening sight in Florida, and this state is home to 13 species. They are a vital part of the ecosystem, as they consume mosquitoes and other undesirables by the millions. However bats also pose a rabies risk and a large colony can generate massive amounts of guano, that can produce odors and also corrode metals. Dealing with a colony of bats is a tricky affair, as trapping is illegal (do not use a company that offers to do this). Instead the colony is excluded from reentering once they leave to forage forcing them to take up residence elsewhere. This method works for the winter months, but summertime bat colonies should be left alone, as these are likely maternity colonies, and excluding them would condemn the babies to death. Instead the best practice is to let them raise their young and once they all leave, seal up the house and clean up. This protects the populations of the fascinating and important creatures.
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Moles are seldom seen, but they leave their signs everywhere on your lawn. In Florida, the Eastern mole digs a network of tunnels and chambers as they search for earthworms and grubs and these end in surface tunnels and mounds that are usually the only sign you see of them. These animals are highly-territorial so a lawn would likely only have 1 or 2 moles. Trapping moles is generally very difficult, and live trapping is especially difficult as it involves a lot of digging and setting multiple pitfall traps. With humane removal and changing your landscaping to include rocky areas, mole problems can be a thing of the past in your yard.
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Foxes are rarely an issue to homeowners being solitary, nomadic predators that have large home ranges. Florida has two species, the common gray fox (shown here) and the less common red fox. A fox walking across a yard is usually a pleasant sight, however as cliche as it sounds, the occasional fox does raid the chicken coop or rabbit pen and they can carry rabies. However a lot of detective work goes into determining the fox as a culprit in a raid, and even more into trapping them. Many wildlife control companies will use leg hold traps or snares to catch these gorgeous animals, however we feel these are inhumane and instead use live trapping and an exclusion protocol to keep them out.
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Coyotes make a lot of news as they move into urban areas, frighten people with their boldness and prey on our beloved pets. In farmlands they can take livestock, although in many cases feral dogs are the culprit. The recent success of the coyote can be traced back to how we altered the North American landscape to exclude the wolf. Now, the coyote originating from the western states has been steadily moving east and into cities. Coyote removal, much like with foxes, involves patience, attention to detail, a focus on exclusionary methods and frankly a strong dose of luck. In Florida, state law prohibits the release of captured coyotes and so they must be legally and humanely destroyed. Instead of removal, the UWS prefers to provide the landowner with the tools and strategies that would allow them to live side by side with coyotes without issues.
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Bobcats are elegant predators that rarely pose a direct threat to people, but do occasionally threaten pets and small livestock around your home and property. They can also be attracted to garbage, although here often the actions of feral cats in Florida are blamed on bobcats. Having a large territory (10+ square miles), most bobcats do not linger, however if one persists in visiting your property, live trapping and removal is a viable option.
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Snakes induce a fear in many people that few animals can match. But in Florida, only 4 of the 46 snake species are venomous (pygmy and diamondback rattlesnakes, cottonmouths, and coral snakes) pose a direct threat to safety and all are essential in controlling rodent populations. Dealing with nuisance snakes involves their direct capture, possible trapping, and making alterations to the yard to discourage their use in the future.
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Turtles are incredibly common in Florida, with 26 species present in ponds and wetlands around the state. Some of these are introduced to Florida and originate from pet animals that were released into the wild. The presence of turtles in your pond can effect your ornamental plants and fish such as koi. A large turtle, such as snapper or soft-shell, can also be dangerous. Removing turtles is easily done using specialized traps placed in the right areas.
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Pigeons are perhaps the greatest urban animal success story. No city is too built up for these birds. Originally from Europe, where they were known as the rock dove, a bird that nested on cliffs, pigeons now prefer buildings. These highly social birds gather in big flocks to roost and can inundate a building with their steel corroding droppings. Controlling a major pigeon problem is a great deal of work, although trapping can help, birds cannot be relocated due to their incredible homing abilities. Even if I was to take the birds back to Europe they would find their way back. Instead, trapping, scare tactics, and exclusion methods can be used together to make a roosting site less desirable. Dealing with a pigeon problem involves an integrated approach, but a bird free home or workplace is well worth the effort.
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Sparrows are also a European visitor that decided to overstay and rumor has it that in 1864, the American Acclimitization Society released these birds in Central Park, New York to make the place more reminiscent of Shakespearean England. Horrible plan it was, and now house sparrows are a major urban and agricultural pest species. The little social birds form big noisy flocks, and as cavity nesters they frequently clog pipe and vent openings with nesting material, and have been known to start fires. They also produce a lot of droppings, posing a health risk in food processing plants and can transmit many diseases. Exclusion methods are most reliable when dealing with sparrows and combined with trapping, even the largest sparrow problem can be contained and controlled.
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Starlings are yet another European visitor that has become a bird pest in the Americas. Despite their attractive plumage, a flock of these birds can consume crops and devastate the exterior of buildings with their droppings. Removal of small numbers of birds is possible through the use of large traps, however for a large flock the predominant method of removal is by making the place less attractive as a feeding and roosting site. As cavity nesters they also enter buildings to make their nests and can occupy open sites around the building, like pipe ends and vents. A combination of sealing such entries, eliminating food sources and excluding birds from roosting is the best solution for dealing with starlings.
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