Mn Wild Animal Removal
If you live in Minnesota, I don’t have to tell you the past weeks have been cold, rainy, and now the first snow fall of the year and the snowflakes are flying. Welcome to November in Minnesota. Call it our winter dress rehearsal. Between the mice, deer mice, chipmunks, squirrels and other four legged furry critters, they will all be looking for a nice cozy place to stay warm, eat, and take up residence for the winter… and destroying your insulation, wiring and whatever they can sink their teeth into.
Protect Your Home From Mice, Rodents and Other Pests This Winter
Unlike insects, mice and other rodents are not capable of going dormant for the winter. While some mammals, such as raccoons, do hibernate during the winter, and most simply seek a warmer shelter. Mice, rats, and squirrels actively work on building warm nests year round, often inside attics, walls, and chimneys. In many cases, these animals will enter these areas but won’t be able to exit, eventually dying. This can produce maggots, flies and some pretty unpleasant odors in your home. Ugh!
So before the weather grows colder, it might be a good time to walk around your house and look for any gaps or openings where these unwanted house guests can enter your house or garage.
Rodents can be cute in cartoons and movies, but it’s not so cute when they find their way into your home. Your house, especially your kitchen provides all mice and their other little rodent pals could possibly ask for.
These critters are a threat to your home as they can carry disease, cause structural damage to your home, and contaminate food. Wiring that has been gnawed on by mice have been known to start fires in homes. They spread disease through their urine, feces and bites. Ticks and fleas can also be brought into your home and can carry infections to humans after feeding on rodents.
Animal-Proofing Your Home
Raccoons in chimney
Animal-proofing your home can be done with the right process. Mice and rodents can fit through a hole roughly the size of a quarter, and a mouse can get through foundations, walls, vents, attics, roofs, or anywhere they can find a way in. Your first line of defense is to block all access and keep them from getting into your home in the first place.
* The first step is to make sure your house’s chimney is topped with a chimney cap.
* Replace any damaged or missing weather stripping and seal cracks at exterior doors.
* Place 1/4 inch screen over all external openings and vents.
* Seal any gaps at your foundation.
* Trim back branches and shrubs that come into contact with or hang over your home.
* Keep all ground vegetation trimmed back at least 12 inches from your home.
* Keep the interior of your home and garage clean.
* All food and garbage should be stored in sealed containers
* Do not leave pet food or dirty dishes sitting around over night.
Prevention
One thing to keep in mind is that unless you do the repairs to prevent re-entry or access by another wild animal, there’s little point in doing a removal and in trying to humanely harass a wild animal out of your living space. It will just come right back!
If you have done everything you can and still have mice, rodents, and other winter invaders in your home, it is important to contact a professional. Wild animals can colonize under concrete and porches, in your attic and other hard to reach places.
A professional MN Wild Animal Removal Expert can remove the them from your Minnesota home as well repair any of the damage they may have caused. They will have the tools and techniques to rid you of these unwanted pests once and for all.
