Keeping Nuisance Animals Out is Key
Wrangling a raccoon…picking up a load of squirrels…trapping the skunk living under the porch. For sure, these are the easily understood actions of nuisance animal trapper.
Consider, though, that the actual removing of nuisance wild animals is only half of the battle.
Today, we point out the other part of the job that is arguably even more important than the actual animal removal—the repair or exclusion that keeps future animals out. You know….. super exciting things like replacing a vent, replacing a soffit, bending aluminum trim, and laying long beads of caulk. 🙂
Admittedly, even in our own blogs and videos, repair and exclusion work doesn’t get all the love it deserves. While we know it’s important and mention it often, watching and writing about Ryan doing exclusion work often takes a backseat to the animals.
Let’s change that today.
Below are some videos from recent jobs. Instead of focusing on the animals removed, let’s focus on the work necessary to keep animals out.
Keeping Raccoons Out with Exclusion
This first video highlights a very unique raccoon exclusion job.
Ryan went to investigate sounds of animals crawling around in a ceiling and found a house with a very unique design exploited by raccoons.
There is a large deck on the front of the house as well as a lot of hardscaping. There are different footings and, in a void between them, raccoons were able to get into floor/ceiling joists and work their way into the house.
In the video Ryan shows us some animals captured, the situation, AND the exclusion work necessary to keep this raccoon hot spot trouble free. As you watch the video, just think about what was easier and more important to the overall solution: catching raccoons (and a skunk) or getting under there and installing all that blocking?
Keeping Skunks Out
The second video highlights some skunks in traps at a historic building with a large wrap-around porch. There is lattice which blocks access to the area under the porch but, as you can see, the lattice doesn’t keep the skunks out.
With a wire exclusion all around the porch, future skunk intrusions could be prevented. Some digging and wire installation by Frontline Animal Removal will thwart future digging of skunks that really like this spot.
Flying Squirrels Kept Out
See the smudge marks on the aluminum trim to the right at that small gap where the cable wires go?
Frustratingly for a homeowner, those smudge marks indicate a spot where flying squirrels are slipping in and out.
It’s frustrating because it isn’t a big spot at all. The wires have to go somewhere, right? Unluckily, the small and nimble flying squirrels found this spot and it must be addressed.
Like bats, flying squirrels often exploit small openings in homes that are often not given a second thought UNTIL bats or flying squirrels are using them.
Dealing with these animals involves a heavy dose of exclusion work. Homes must be painstakingly inspected and sealed up. Leaving any small openings will only invite more troubles, especially with bats which, by law, can’t be physically removed in traps.
With that in mind, here is a video where Ryan shows some flying squirrels captured. In the beginning of the video, notice that he states that he spent “the day” before this flying squirrel-proofing this house. The video shows the trap and the squirrels but doesn’t show the amount of work it took to make that trap successful.
This is another case where the exclusion work is the unsung hero, not the star of the show.
Removal. Exclusion. Solution.
We strongly believe that repairs and exclusions are often as important as the animal removal itself.
Though this repair/prevention work doesn’t always get top billing, it is one of the most vital parts of achieving long term solutions for nuisance animal problems.
If you live in the Akron / Canton / Kent , Ohio and are in need of professional animal removal AND animal damage repairs please give us a call today!
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