Attic/Soffit/Louvre Vent Screen Guards
Unfortunately, several areas of your Cape Cod area home will be encouraging to animals in their search for a cozy nest. This includes your roof. Common animals like raccoons, squirrels, rodents, and birds are all frequent visitors to your roofline and are very skilled climbers and/or fliers, which can present a challenge. The professionals at Critter Control of Cape Cod can assist in keeping wildlife off your roofline—and out of your home! Call us today!
508.690.0076
Wildlife Prevention with Roof and Attic Vents
Vents in your soffit, attic, louvre, and fans are essential to keeping the air flowing properly in your home and keeping things working correctly. However, these vents are an easy spot for wildlife to enter your home.
You may have screens over these vents already, but if they’re damaged or missing, we can fix them. Many animals like mice can fit through a hole the size of a dime! This leaves ample opportunity for critters to sneak in through small tears or holes in your screens.
Let us help prevent unwanted wildlife from invading our home by installing animal-proof screens in/over existing vents. We are experts at finding the vents that keep the air flow working in your home, while being durable and keeping birds, bats, racoons, or squirrels from entering your home and causing damage.
Call the offices at Critter Control of Cape Cod today for all your animal prevention needs. 508.690.0076
Attic Fan Vent Guards
Attic fan vent guards do more than simply help keep your attic well-ventilated; they also act as wildlife control. If installed properly, an attic fan vent guard will discourage animals like squirrels from getting into your attic. Squirrels are strong chewers and can easily get through wood and vinyl materials on your home, but did you know squirrels are able to chew through softer metals like aluminum and copper? It's important to install a sturdy vent guard that will be squirrel-proof (and other wildlife-proof).
Roof Vent Guards
The most frequent species that are problematic in the Cape Cod area—such as birds, mice, and squirrels—will try to get into your home through damaged roof vents. If you do not protect the roof vents with heavy-duty steel guards, the clever and determined critters can easily get in, and in many cases, die—which leads to awful odors and the need for carcass removal. Keep animals (whether alive or dead) out of your vents by securing your roof vents with strong and long-lasting metal materials like stainless steel hardware cloth.
Gable Vent Closures
Another facet of your roof that can encourage unauthorized wildlife entry is your gable vents. This area of your roof helps ventilate your attic and maintain proper airflow. Gable vent closures are another important consideration in wildlife-proofing your Cape Cod home. Birds and bats are small and mobile enough to get into attics through gable vents, so properly maintaining and securing your gable vents is a good investment and a good way to save you a headache in the future.
Repairing Soffit Vents
Underneath your roofline (your soffit) is an easy way for curious creatures to get into your home, even more so if your soffit has been damaged from prior animal entry or perhaps natural degradation due to time and exposure to elements. Once again, a common soffit intruder is the squirrel. They're often responsible for soffit damage, which may include damage to your gutters and torn shingles. Make sure you keep animals out of your Cape Cod home by calling in the professionals at Critter Control of Cape Cod to repair your soffit vents and secure your roof against wildlife visitors.
Keep Animals Off Your Roof
Critter Control of Cape Cod can help you keep your roof and the rest of your home safe from animals. Check out our other home services, including foundation vent services and deck cleaning.
Carcass/Dead Animal Removal from Cape Cod Residences
The odor alone of a dead wildlife critter inside your home is very unpleasant. Beyond simply odor lies the many secondary issues the dead animal can cause, including insects, stains, and serious illnesses—all of which can linger far longer than when the carcass itself is removed. Critter Control of Cape Cod will get rid of the dead animal and any additional issues that come with it. Call our office today or reach us online for dead animal removal!
508.690.0076
Where is the Dead Animal in my Home?
Oftentimes, a homeowner doesn't know they have a dead animal inside their home if it has not started to smell yet. In many instances, the animal carcass is inside a wall, attic corner, or crawl space. Many animals go to a different location than that of their nest to die, and in some cases, you may discover dead animals inside areas like chimneys that they got into accidentally and were unable to escape from.
If you do find a dead animal in or around your home, it can be easily fixed with the right tools. Once the animal is properly disposed of, with the proper disinfectants and deodorizers your home will be back to normal in no time.
How do you find a dead animal in your home?
When you first get a whiff of a strange odor in your home, you may be wondering how to find a dead animal in your home. The best way to locate a dead animal is to follow your nose. The stronger the smell, the closer you are to your animal. The animal could be in the ceiling, behind the drywall in your walls, in the vents, or up in the attic.
If you suspect the animal you're smelling died behind the drywall, we recommend calling the professionals at Critter Control of Cape Cod. It will be frustrating to cut into your wall to find out you cut the wrong spot. When Critter Control of Cape Cod removed a dead animal from behind your drywall, we will sanitize and deodorize the area, then patch the drywall to get your home back to new.
How Do I Get Rid of Dead Animals?
The team at Critter Control of Cape Cod is trained professionally and has several years of success in removing dead animals. If you're wondering how to remove a dead animal from your home, we are here to help! We are thorough in our dead animal removal and cleanup. The first step is to remove the dead animal from the area. If the animal is behind the drywall, we will cut open the drywall and remove the animal. Then, we will sanitize the area and deodorize the space. After the space is clean and deodorized, we will repair any damage that was caused because of the animal.
One of the biggest reasons to have a professional remove dead animals from your home is the health and safety of your family and pets. When an animal dies in your home, secondary insects like beetles, worms, flies, and more will eat these dead animals. Because these bugs now have a food source, they will create a secondary problem in your home. Dead animals are also hazardous for household pets who are curious and will want to investigate. They may be carrying diseases or fleas that could be passed on to your furry friend.
Common diseases spread by dead animals include Hantavirus, E. Coli, and Salmonella. Keep your family safe--when you're searching for who to call for dead animal removal, look no further than Critter Control of Cape Cod. 508.690.0076
How Do I Get Rid of the Smell of Dead Animals?
Dead animal smell removal can be tricky if the animal has been sitting for a long time. Heavy-duty, professional odor removal methods and equipment may be necessary. DIY methods of getting rid of dead animal smell likely will not be strong enough, especially if the animal has been rotting in your home for a long period of time, or if there are several wildlife carcasses. The length of time dead animal odor lasts depends on a few factors.
Different animal bodies will decompose at different rates. The larger the animal, the longer the animal will take to decompose. If the animal died and any fluids leaked onto your drywall, the odor will stay until that is removed as well as the body. Fluids from dead animals can leak into your insulation and drywall, which makes the odor last longer. Professional dead animal smell removal will be important if you have odors in your insulation or drywall.
Even the smallest animals like mice can still leave an odor for weeks, but the good news is that you don't have to live with it. The team at Critter Control of Cape Cod will quickly remove the animal to get your home back to normal. When you're looking for who to call for dead animal removal, contact our team of professionals. 508.690.0076
Are dead animals in your home dangerous?
Dead animals in your Cape Cod home are dangerous to the health of you, your family, and your pets. Dead animals carry diseases, are a feast that attracts bugs, and can hurt your pet if they decide to pick the animal up in their mouth. If you suspect there's a dead animal in your Cape Cod home, call the professionals at Critter Control of Cape Cod to have it removed right away.
How do you prevent animals from dying in your home?
The simplest way to get rid of dead animals in your Cape Cod home is to make sure animals stay out of your home to begin with. Critter Control of Cape Cod has experts that know the best tricks for preventing wildlife from getting inside.
If you have a deceased animal in your Cape Cod home or you're looking to prevent the issue from ever happening, we are here to help. When you're searching for how to remove a dead animal in your home, don't stress about all the steps that it takes to keep your family safe. Call Critter Control of Cape Cod today for dead animal removal to get your home safe and smelling back to normal! 508.690.0076
Deck Cleaning and Sealing
Can You Help Clean My Deck?
Yes! Decks are often subject to animal traffic, human traffic, exposure to the elements, and more. Critter Control of Cape Cod offers environmentally-friendly cleaning solutions. We use WashSafe products, which are quality eco-friendly hydrogen peroxide products. Effective, safe, and bleach-free, the active ingredient in the WashSafe products is sodium percarbonate, an effective detergent.
WashSafe will not harm plants, people, pets, or property. Being an oxygen-based cleaner, the product only has an active life of 3–4 hours before the product begins to biodegrade, making it the safest product in the home exterior cleaning industry.
WashSafe is effective in removing deck growth such as:
- Dirt
- Moss
- Black Algae
- Mold
- Lichen
- Fungi
Call today for more information or to schedule an inspection!
508.690.0076
Foundation Vents
Wildlife Prevention with Foundation Vents
At Critter Control of Cape Cod, we are the experts at wildlife prevention for your home. Each area of your home presents its own challenges for wildlife prevention, but we are here to take care of those! After we remove the unwanted wildlife from your home, we repair any damage they may have caused and implement prevention techniques. Screening foundation vents, installing chimney caps and screens, and closing entry holes reduce the opportunity for future conflicts with other potential nuisance wildlife.
Foundation Vent Repair Cape Cod
Keeping your foundation vent screen in good shape is essential to protecting your home from wildlife intruders. Animals like rodents and raccoons will take up residence in your foundation vent if it is not properly screened.
There are many issues with foundation vents that can cause your home to be susceptible to animal issues. Problems include a poor fit against the siding, poor installation, or just a poor-quality vent. When installing a foundation vent, it's important to find a balance between allowing your foundation vent to circulate air and being strong enough to keep critters away.
Rodents in Foundation Vent
Rodents are the most common animal to intrude on your foundation. Rodents will use your foundation vent as a gateway to the rest of your home, so it's important to seal them out. As temperatures drop, you're more likely to have rodents try to infest your home, and your foundation vent may be a spot they choose to try.
Rodents have very sharp teeth that don't stop growing, which means if your foundation vent screen is too weak, they will chew right through. The team at Critter Control of Cape Cod will ensure your foundation vent screen is strong enough to keep rodents out!
Raccoons In Foundation Vent
Raccoons will get into your basement through the foundation vent to take shelter from cold weather and have their babies. Trying to remove baby raccoons from your foundation is not something you should attempt by yourself, and you don't want to accidentally lock baby raccoons inside your home as the mother raccoon will create endless damage trying to get them out. If you suspect raccoons in your crawlspace or foundation vent, give our team a call. We will professionally remove the animal and repair the foundation vent screen so you don't see the problem again.
Opossum In Foundation Vent
Because opossums don't hibernate, they look for a warm place to live that changes often. Opossums might decide to use your foundation vent as their home if it's not properly sealed. It's possible you might find their babies hiding inside! If you suspect opossums in your foundation vent, you don't want to come face to face with one without the proper tools and experience. Give our office a call and we will remove the animal and seal the vent so the issue doesn't return.
You may be wondering why animals love your basement. In the wild, animals like raccoons, mice, and opossums like to be covered by trees, pipes, or anything that feels safe to them. Your basement or crawlspace is another excellent option for them!
If you need help installing foundation vents, call Critter Control of Cape Cod today for fast and professional service!
508.690.0076
Inspections/Consultations
Critter Control is a full-service wildlife removal company. When we visit your home, we’ll inspect your property inside and out, and top to bottom, using our copyrighted AEW (Animal Entry Worksheet) so we can identify all potential problem areas and offer you safe and cost-effective solutions.
How much does wildlife removal cost?
We understand that cost is a contributing factor when you’re planning for wildlife removal. Because every home is different, we offer on-site inspections. The problem may be more involved than what meets the eye, and we want to make sure your home is safe for you, so we offer a thorough analysis to ensure we find any problems.
How do I know what the wildlife problem in my home is?
You may be hearing scratching in your Cape Cod walls or attic at night, or smell an odor that is not so pleasant, which has you wondering what guests have inhabited your home. Instead of spending all night doing research, call the experts at Critter Control of Cape Cod. We will come to your home and do a thorough inspection of any wildlife that belongs back in its natural habitat. We will make a plan to not only eradicate the problem but prevent it from happening in the future.
We are experts are removing house mice, squirrels, raccoons, bats, skunks, fox, chipmunks and more in the Cape Cod area. You can see a more expansive list of animals we remove here.
What services does Critter Control of Cape Cod offer?
Critter Control offers many services to keep your Cape Cod home protected. These services include:
- Installing Attic/Soffit/Louvre Vent Screen Guards
- Carcass and Dead Animal Removal
- Deck Cleaning and Sealing
- Foundation Vent Maintenance
- Soffit/Attic/Louvre/Fan Vent Installation and Repair
- Gutter Protection
- Animal Feces Removal
We do not service domestic animal problems.
For a FREE phone estimate or to schedule a consultation, call Critter Control of Cape Cod today at 508.690.0076!
Animal Droppings/Feces Removal
Your wildlife is gone, but what about the droppings left behind? Animals like mice and rats will leave around 75 droppings per day. When you have a family of them living in your home, this adds up. Other animals like raccoons will use one part of your attic as a latrine, making a pile of feces that causes quite the health hazard to your home, as well as causing stains and unnecessary odors.
Small animals like rodents will burrow into your insulation and leave their feces in there as well. Anytime there are animal droppings in your home, especially in your insulation, it’s important to call a professional.
What diseases do animal droppings cause?
Animal droppings can cause illness and disease if not handled properly. Some of those diseases include hantavirus, e. coli, hookworm, psittacosis, among others. When the experts at Critter Control of Cape Cod remove the animal droppings in your home, we use specialized methods and cleaning products that are recommended by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to ensure your home is safe for you and your family again.
What does mouse poop look like?
Mouse poop is about 1/4" long, tapered on the end, and scattered about. It is dark brown in color. In comparison, rat poop will be a bit larger, at about 3/4" in length. Likely spots to find mouse poop include your attic, basement, and sources of open food such as in your pantry.
What does squirrel poop look like?
As squirrels have a diverse diet of leaves, nuts, and more, squirrels will have multi-colored poop. It may be beige, brown, green, black, or a variation of those colors. Squirrel poop is between 1/2" and 1" in length. Squirrel droppings are thicker than mouse and rat droppings.
What does bat poop look like?
Bat poop looks very similar to mouse poop, but you'll likely find it in a large pile. This is because bats sleep in groups upside down, leaving large piles. Bat poop is also called guano.
What does raccoon poop look like?
Raccoon poop is usually 2-3" long, and found in piles. Raccoons tend to use the same place over and over to leave their droppings, and this is called a latrine.
What do I do if I find animal droppings in my home?
If you find wildlife feces in your home, it means that you most likely have wildlife animals living in your home. There are many ways to remove the animals yourself, but the safest method for you and the animal is to call a professional.
The experts at Critter Control of Cape Cod handle wildlife and their droppings every day, so we know what tools to use to safely and effectively clean your home from wildlife droppings.
If you need help removing the animal droppings in your home, or if you have questions about wildlife control, call Critter Control of Cape Cod today at 508.690.0076 for a FREE phone estimate!
Animals In The Attic
Animals in your Cape Cod Attic
Hearing something in the attic? If you hear suspicious noises above you (especially at night), you likely have an animal in the attic. You can narrow down which type of animal is in your attic based on considerations like the type of sound, what time of day you hear the noises, and types of evidence you may notice. Many different critters can get in, but the most common animals in the attic are:
Are There Bats in my Attic?
Bats like a cool, quiet place to nest, and they will stay in the same place year after year. Only the females nest together, and each year, they have one baby, which means the bat population in your attic will double each year.
Like most animals, bats can squeeze through small holes. They likely got into your attic through small gaps in your attic vents or openings in your roof line. Unless your attic gets very cold, which is rare, bats will live in your attic year-round.
The best way to know you have bats in your attic as opposed to any other animal is to see them flying in and out of your home. This can be tricky because they are nocturnal, which means they are most active in the evening hours.
Is It Squirrels in the Attic?
The most common animal to invade your Cape Cod attic is squirrels. Squirrels are looking for a warm and dry place to live, often to have their babies. They love to chew, so if they find a small hole in your home, they will chew it to make it more easily accessible.
You will know you have squirrels in your attic because they are most active during the daytime. You’ll hear scurrying and scratching. If you find droppings in your home that look like large, dark grains of rice, those have been left behind by squirrels.
Squirrels have multiple litters per year, one in the summer and one in the winter. Each litter produces multiple squirrels, so the population in your attic can add up quickly if not resolved in a timely manner.
Removing Squirrel Nests from Your Attic
After entering your home through small holes and openings, squirrels will often build nests in your attic as shelter for their young. Squirrel nests are oversized clumps of twigs, leaves, insulation, or any other type of torn material they have access to. Squirrel nests in your attic can cause extensive damage to the structure of your Cape Cod home as well as any electrical wiring.
The best way to remove squirrel nests from your attic is to call the professionals at Critter Control of Cape Cod.
We specialize in squirrel trapping and removal. We will determine the most effective and humane way to remove squirrel(s) from your attic. After removing the squirrel(s) from your attic, we will clean up the nest and repair any damage caused by the squirrel. Our specialist will apply a sanitization and ectoparasite agent to clean up after the squirrels. Lastly, we will seal up any holes or opening, to ensure the squirrel(s) are gone for good!
Are There Raccoons in the Attic?
Raccoons can be one of the most destructive animals to enter your home. They are large, have great dexterity, and are great at causing trouble. One of the most destructive things they do is leave behind their droppings. Raccoon droppings are large, and they leave them in a pile, which is very damaging to your attic and can seep into the drywall.
You’re most likely to find raccoons in your attic during the spring; however, they can live in your attic year-round. In the spring, raccoons have their babies, which makes for an even larger problem.
Because raccoons have great dexterity, they can rip through most materials. If there is any area on your home such as a loose shingle or chimney cap, raccoons will rip it apart to gain entry.
Rodents in the Attic
Rodents like mice and rats are another very common animal to have infested your Cape Cod attic. They cause a lot of damage, from chewing wires to leaving droppings to tearing insulation.
You can identify rodent noises by scurrying and light scratching. Because they are so small, they can get in anywhere in your home, from your attic to the pantry. They leave behind many droppings, which look like the shape and size of grains of rice but are dark brown.
You will find rodents in your home year-round. They can squeeze through a hole the size of a dime, so it’s important to properly seal your home to keep them out.
No matter what animal is in your Cape Cod attic, Critter Control of Cape Cod can help! We have a team of professionals with the best exclusion techniques on the market to get your home back to normal. Don't risk your family's safety by letting the problem go another day--give us a call for a fast and FREE phone estimate today! 508.690.0076
Identifying Animal Noises
Do you hear scurrying in your walls at night? Does a curious chirping over your head lead to sleepless nights? Is something gnawing at your baseboards and keeping you from feeling at ease? One of the first steps to fixing a nuisance animal infestation is identifying the creatures you are dealing with. Call us today! 508.690.0076
The most common noise-causing animals in you home are:
These nuisance animals are likely to take up residence in your attics, walls, and crawl spaces. At critter control our first priority is to keep your family and pets safe and protected—this means identifying the problem and finding a solution suited to your animal removal needs.
Common Bat Noises in your home:
Bats use echolocation to communicate, meaning that we as humans cannot usually hear them vocalizing. Male bats may make discernible noise when trying to mate with a female bat, while baby bats make more audible noises to communicate with their mothers. The most common noises you will hear from a bat in your home are usually from a bat that is trapped in your attic or a bat that has set up residence there. A bat in an attic makes scratching, scurrying or flapping noises as they try to escape to the outside. Bats can fit in through very small openings, which means they can easily infiltrate your attic if there is even a tiny opening, but may not always find their way out—this is cause for concern as bat guano can cause all kinds of health issues and a bat bite from a bat infected with rabies can be deadly.
Common bird noises in your home:
Birds love to make your attic their home—the high roofs and wooden beams are great places for them to nest and roost and still allow them the freedom of flight.The protection your attic offers from the elements means that birds living there will raise their young and the cycle of infestation will continue. If you hear chirping and rustling in your attic there is a high possibility that you have bird living above your head. It doesn’t always stop there, occasionally birds will take up residence in bathroom fans and sometimes even the eaves of your home. Birds are messy and may carry mites and diseases that can be detrimental to your health.
Common squirrel noises in your home:
Squirrels are cute, with their fuzzy tails and erratic actions, but they can also be a huge nuisance pest if they decide to take up residence in your home. If you hear scurrying and scratching inside your home during the day it is may be from the tiny sharp claws of a squirrel scratching walls and floors as they look for places to nest and store food. Squirrels are very active during the day and a squirrel infestation can do a lot of damage to both the interior and extrerior of your home.
Common rodent noises in your home:
Rodents make squeeking, gnawing, scurrying, scratching, and scuffling sounds. Many rats and mice tend to be nocturnal, but sometimes they will acclimate to the schedule of the humans around them, taking care to be active when the people in the house are sleeping or away. Often times the noises that rodents make are amplified as the rest of the house is quiet and you may think you are dealing with a larger creature. Rats and mice can do all kinds of damage to your homes wiring and interior by gnawing at baseboards and wooden fixture and they carry myriad diseases.
Common racoon noises in your home:
Raccoons are much larger then most nuisance pests, and quite a bit more vocal. They purr, chitter, growl, snarl, hiss, whimper, and even screech like owls—which can sometimes lead to confusion by pest control experts. Baby raccoon sounds may sound like kittens or crying babies. Racoons can carry disease and are not safe to cohabit with.
Do not attempt to remove certain nuisance animals yourself—keep yourself and your family by hiring a trained professional to remove wildlife from your home. Contact Critter Control of Cape Cod today!