Tulsa, where Route 66 begins, sits in the center of Tornado Alley, between the edge of the Great Plains and the foot of the Ozark Mountains, along the Arkansas River. With geography like that, you know the wildlife population is impressive. Some of the wildlife, anyway. Like every other city in America, nuisance wildlife has found its way into our neighborhoods and our homes and businesses.
We see raccoons, bats, rats, mice, skunks, opossums, birds, moles, armadillos, and many others. If any of these animals are causing problems on your property, call us. Critter Control has a three-step process that ensures a thorough inspection, humane removal, and repair of damaged areas.
Critter Control Wildlife Removal Process
Wildlife Trapping & Removal
Exclusion and Repair
Raccoons seek food, water, and shelter, and Tulsa offers numerous environments that offer all three. Raccoons are intelligent, nimble, and determined. They use their hands to open trash cans, dumpsters, pet food containers, other containers. Because raccoons like the nightlife, we use that to our advantage when removing raccoons from your home or office.
Inspection
During the inspection, we determine the severity of the raccoon infestation. We look for physical evidence like footprints in or around the home, stains from raccoon feces and urine. On the exterior of the house, we look for damage like scratches on boards, broken vents and screens, ripped apart shingles, destroyed soffits, and every possible entry point.
Raccoon Trapping
Live trapping is one of the most efficient ways to get rid of a raccoon. Depending on the situation, a one-way door or excluder valve can be installed. An excluder valve works by allowing the raccoon to leave but blocks its reentry. The choice of device is largely dependent on the season and location of the raccoons on your property. Direct capture is not commonly used because raccoons are a rabies vector species. If we must trap, we place traps strategically to safely catch the raccoons and we check traps frequently, based on state laws.
Repairs
We provide a wide range of repair and restoration services. We can repair raccoon damage like broken screens on vents and chimneys and broken boards on decks and porches. It is essential to apply cleaning agents and ectoparasite treatments on areas inhabited by raccoons.
Armadillos present little danger to people. They greatest danger they pose is to your landscaping. Controlling the animal can protect your lawn and garden and the integrity of structures like decks and driveways on your property.
Trapping an armadillo can be difficult. Habitat modification and exclusions are extremely effective in removing armadillos from your lawn. Water your garden beds in the morning because armadillos prefer loose soil. Armadillos are nocturnal, and the soil will have dried out by the mid-afternoon.
Inspection
Call immediately if you are noticing small holes around your yard! Armadillos sleep during the day. During the inspection, our professionals look for signs of armadillos such as: shallow holes, uprooted plants, damaged pipes or wires, burrow entrances near structures, and cracks in sidewalks, driveways, and foundations.
Armadillo Trapping
Cage traps with a funnel is an effective removal strategy. Armadillos can be unpredictable so cage placement needs to be strategic. Armadillos have strong front legs and sharp claws that can destroy certain types of traps.
There are no fumigants, toxicants or repellents registered for the control of armadillos.
Exclusions
After we trap and remove the armadillo, we install armadillo control methods. Barriers and fences are effective exclusion techniques to control armadillos in your yard. Limiting their food sources like ants and termites will keep the critter from exploring your yard.
Rodents like rats and mice are everywhere. They can squeeze their bodies through almost anything, no matter how small. The Norway and roof rats and house mice are common in Tulsa. They search for food, water, and shelter. Your attic, pantries, basements, sheds, garages, and even under your stove are a few places we’ve found rodent infestations.
Here’s how we handle rodent removal:
Inspection
During a rodent inspection, we thoroughly inspect your attic and provide a complete exterior home inspection. The most common signs of rodent activity are gnaw marks, feces, rub marks, nesting material, runs in insulation material, and small entry points.
Rodent Trapping
A Critter Control wildlife specialist will create a strategic trapping plan to remove the rodents found in your home. Critter Control specialists may use snap traps and live traps to capture and remove mice and rats. Rodent trapping can usually takes between five to fourteen days.
Repairs
The best way to reduce the possibility of letting unwanted rodents into homes is to seal possible entrances. Exclusion methods include caulking cracks in foundations, capping chimneys, and installing mesh covers over vents and crawl space entrances. We also strongly recommend a maintenance service. Rodents have front teeth that continuously grow, which means they can gnaw a new way back into your home.
Flying squirrels, fox squirrels, and Eastern gray squirrels can be seen scavenging streets, yards, parking lots, playgrounds, and parks in Tulsa. In a matter of seconds, they can travel from the top of a tree across power lines to your roof and into your attic, scavenging for food and materials to build nests. They can create a lot of damage along the way.
Here’s how we help solve your squirrel problem.
Inspection
Wildlife specialists look for signs such as chewing on, in, or around your home, small openings leading to the attic or the crawl space, droppings, and debris like nuts or nesting material. Beams, wires, pipes, and insulation may all show signs of damage from squirrels.
Squirrel Trapping
Repairs
Although Oklahoma bats consume thousands of mosquitos in one night, they are loud and like to reside in your attic or the ceilings and eaves of buildings.
Whether it’s the brown bat or the Mexican free-tailed bat, if they are living in your attic or chimney, they are causing damage. Their guano is so toxic it can corrode metal and wood. The bat droppings accumulate, and some floors cannot hold the weight.
Bat guano grows fungal spores that you can inhale, and that leads to Histoplasmosis. This is a preventable problem if you call us as soon as you notice bats on your property.
Here’s how we handle bat removal:
Inspection
We perform a full interior and exterior inspection and search for signs such as rub marks, guano, a strong scent of ammonia, and small openings. The most common sign is the accumulation of guano (feces).
Bat Removal
The most effective and humane way to remove bats is by utilizing a bat valve in conjunction with a full home exclusion. A bat valve allows for bats to exit your home but not re-enter. We follow all local ordinances for humane bat removal. We will never abandon flightless pups in your attic.
Repairs
After removing the bat valves, we seal the entrance hole(s) so bats can no longer enter your home. If there is substantial guano in your attic, you should consider taking advantage of our attic remediation services to remove the soiled insulation and replace it.
Inspection
We thoroughly inspect the area for things that attract birds, like harborage and loafing areas, as well as food and water sources. Also, we look for where birds may be entering your home or business. We also inspect for damage caused by birds, whether it’s by nesting, or by droppings.
Trapping & Removal
After identifying the bird species, we may start by physically removing the species in question. In rescue situations, such as chimneys or basements, birds can be released on-site if the entrance has been secured properly. Occasionally, live traps will be used, especially if flocks of birds are involved. For persistent birds and larger flocks, several advanced techniques may be applied simultaneously including netting, spikes, ledge products, scare tactics, misting and more. The most effective method of bird control is prevention and exclusion.
Repairs & Prevention
We can repair the damage that is allowing birds entry to your home, like broken siding, weakened gutters, rotted soffits and fascia. We can also install protective screens on chimneys and vents. We can also remove nesting materials and accumulated droppings, then clean surface stains. We can use netting over fruit and vegetable crops and water basins. Netting can also be used in car ports, building overhangs and food courts. We also install a large number of different types of roof ledge barriers too.
Here’s how we handle snake control:
Inspection
Snakes are excellent at avoiding detection. We inspect your home for potential entry points and look for signs like snake skin and feces. Because a snake typically enters a home hunting for food, our wildlife inspector also looks for signs of a rodent infestation.
Trapping & Removal
Skunks typically invade yards in search for food and a safe place to burrow. Sheds, porches, and foundations make ideal burrowing locations which can lead to structural damage.
If skunks are on your property, approach cautiously. When threatened, they can spray up to 10 feet away. Skunks are the primary reservoirs of rabies in Oklahoma.
Inspection
In addition to noting any pungent odors that signal the presence of a skunk, we will inspect the condition of your landscaping, as skunks are known for tearing-up lawns and shredding grass while hunting for grubs and insects. We will also inspect the perimeter of your building’s foundations and under decks, to locate burrows.
Trapping and Removal
Never try to remove a skunk from your property yourself. Getting sprayed is a very unpleasant experience. Furthermore, these animals may carry diseases that can spread to humans and pets, such as rabies. Our specialists will use live traps to capture and remove skunks for you, or they’ll use a one-way exclusion device to evict skunks from their harborage areas. The most effective ways to control a skunk problem is exclusion and habitat modification.
Skunk Control
The most effective ways to control a skunk problem is exclusion and habitat modification. Methods like sealing foundation gaps, replacing and screening broken foundation vents and installing hardware cloth (rat walls) around unprotected sheds and decks are the most effective and permanent ways to keep skunks out.
We recommend keeping pet food inside and securing any trash bins.
The Critter Control Difference
Tulsa Wildlife FAQ
There are a number of factors that determine pricing; location of the animal (i.e. – chimney, attic, crawl, wall void, living area), condition of the animal (i.e. – sick, aggressive, dead), location and condition of the property and time of year (i.e. – weather condition, offspring present?). Generally speaking, pricing will vary by location and species for just the animal removal and that pricing usually does not include the entry repair.
Raccoons, squirrels, snakes, armadillos.