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Community Newsletter - March 2010
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Animal Relocation
How to Get Those Uninvited House Guests to Leave
By: Michael Carli - Top Notch Pest Control
During periods of cooler temperatures, the possibility for a few unexpected visitors has a tendency to increase.
In Florida, the more common attic, eave and crawlspace crashers can include raccoons, armadillos, squirrels, feral cats, opossums, mice and rats. These uninvited guests enter a building looking for either warmth or food and typically leave traces of their presence in the form of chew marks and droppings, or from just making too much noise.
Michael Carli owns and operates Top Notch Pest Control out of Oldsmar and sees an increase in calls and requests for animal relocation services around this time every year.
"Usually someone hears a consistent scratching or scurrying noise in the ceiling area," Carli explains. "When they hear enough to know the building's not creaking, is when they call us and we go out to evaluate what has decided to move in."
Carli says it's important a technician first speak with the resident to begin to identify what may be causing the disruption as well as a general location, if any, where noises are heard the most.
If noises are heard during the day, the issue could be squirrels or raccoons and will call for their animal relocation services. If disruptions are heard at night, the odds of housing rats, which are nocturnal, are higher.
Technicians will also evaluate the perimeter and the property to determine any access points, especially around areas in need of repair, entry points for air conditioning wires, near soffits and  eaves, as well as under crawlspaces. Armadillos in particular are known for burrowing under houses and pools, which can damage or destroy a building's foundation, and due to their soft vertebrae, rats only need an opening between a half-inch, to an inch wide to squeeze through.
While a technician is examining access points, he or she is also looking for and evaluating droppings and chew marks. If rats are suspected, entry locations will be marked with black "rub" marks due to the heavy concentration of oil in their skin.
Also, because a rat's teeth don't stop growing, they  have the constant need to gnaw, which can show up as damage on wires and throughout ductwork.
When a technician confirms an animal's presence, den or nest, he or she has some options on how to best remove or relocate the critters.
Top Notch Pest Control tailors and utilizes methods to clear an invaded space that include setting traditional traps as well as humane
removal.
When a Top Notch Pest Control technician discovers animals such as raccoons, armadillos, skunks, opossums or squirrels living inside a building, a 'live trap' is set. Once caged, technicians  drive to the nearest preserve and release the beast
into a more natural habitat. Top Notch technicians also rescue feral cats that are then transported to the humane society for further care.
One common and unpredictable method residents should be wary of is 'baiting.' This is where a pest control employee literally throws poisoned baits into the infested area and informs the homeowner
or building manager animals will seek out water and leave on their own. This is not the best alternative to rid a structure of vermin, especially since rats require only a half-ounce of water each
day, and mice instead, metabolize food into their own water source.
Carli says winged creatures pose plenty of  problems as well. For obvious reasons, conventional trapping methods aren't effective, so non-toxic materials are utilized to annoy and therefore flush out animals like bats and birds.
"What's the best way to get a pest to leave?" asks
Carli. "Annoy them."
For more information on services provided
by Top Notch Pest Control, or to schedule a free estimate, call 727-789-7292 or 813-855-9056, or visit their web site at www.WeKill.com.
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