Critter Control of Carlisle

Rats and mice are two of the most common and destructive pests found in homes, commercial buildings, farm outbuildings, and their open fields throughout the U.S. They have learned that close proximity to humans is synonymous with steady access to food, water, and warm shelter.

Able to squeeze through an opening as small as one-quarter inch, they will contaminate food, chew through walls, electrical wires, storage containers, and more to make their nests and sustain their comfortable lifestyle.

Rats and mice breed throughout the year. A single mouse can produce about 300 babies in a lifetime. Should you suspect a rat or mouse problem, a call to Critter Control immediately can help save you, your family, or your growing business from the serious health and damage risks they bring.

Raccoons are active all year long. While you sleep, they are out scavenging for food and looking for new places to live. There are plenty of food sources in Carlisle and all of Cumberland County. Raccoons eat just about anything, from restaurant scraps and pet food to garden crops and chickens. Their hands resemble human hands and allow them to turn doorknobs, open storage bins, and climb trees, chimneys, and poles.

Raccoons have a permanent mask and banded tail. They would be cute if they weren’t so destructive. They will do what they can to get into parts of your house they see fit to sleep and give birth to pups. If they must rip, tear, or break something to get to that spot, they will. Raccoons make lots of noises, like whimpers, growls, and screams. They leave feces and urine nearby their shelter.

Before trying to remove a raccoon from your home by yourself, remember they can carry diseases, and if threatened, they may bite. Calling nuisance wildlife animal control experts is recommended. Critter Control’s three-step process works well for raccoon removal.

Opossums are the only native North American marsupial. Their young develop inside their mother’s pouch, much like a Kangaroo. After a few months, the young are ready to leave the pouch and can often be seen clutching to the mother’s back as she travels in search of food and shelter.

Opossums are beneficial, as they eat many different types of insect pests, but they can cause damage when they choose to den in your attic, garage, crawl space or under your patio or shed. They’re famous for playing dead when approached, but they do have 50 teeth, so don’t push your luck. Call Critter Contro of Carlisle to address any issues you have with opossums.

Five squirrel species are residents in Carlisle: the eastern gray, American red, fox, northern flying, and southern flying squirrels. Two interesting facts about their physiology are that they can leap ten times their body length, and they can turn their ankles 180 degrees to face any direction when climbing.

Although most people appreciate their cuteness, they are part of the rodent family and will wreak havoc in your attic, basement, or crawlspace. As with rats and mice, squirrel teeth never stop growing throughout their lives. Gnawing is the way they keep their teeth to a manageable length. Squirrels will gnaw on electrical wires creating a fire hazard as well as many other materials stored in an attic. They also soil insulation with their droppings, urine, and parasites.

Pennsylvania is home to nine bat species: big brown bat, little brown bat, tri-colored bat, hoary bat, Indiana bat, small-footed bat, silver-haired bat, northern long-eared bat, and the red bat. All are insectivores, helpful in the control of insects detrimental to residents and farmers.

Female bats will set up roosts in barns, sheds, attics, and window shutters, where they will hibernate for the winter and give birth to their pups in the spring. All bats are protected in Pennsylvania. The northern long-eared bat, tri-colored bat and little brown bat are endangered because of the proliferation of white-nose syndrome. Not only is bat extermination illegal, but you also cannot remove bats until August.

While bats are woefully misunderstood and quite beneficial, they do harbor parasites, and the mold that grows in their feces can cause Histoplasma, so it is important to get rid of them and seal up places through which they can get in.

Birds are mostly beloved creatures, known for their beautiful colors, graceful flight, and beautiful songs. But there are some species of birds that are impossible to love, such as Canadian geese, starlings, pigeons, and even woodpeckers!

When geese descend upon a yard or field, they can smother it with feces within very short order. Protected by federal laws, adult geese, their nests, eggs, and young cannot be harmed without a permit.

Woodpeckers are a sometimes nuisance when they peck incessantly on the siding of a house. This behavior, done mostly as a mating call, can result in chipped siding and paint and dents and holes along the trim. This damage can become costly to repair.

Starlings are quite common in Carlisle, where their large flock creates a lot of noise. Their droppings smell foul, and they can build their nests on home or barn exteriors.

While it is hard to get rid of birds, Critter Control experts can deter these birds from your property and advise on habit modifications that will make your property less attractive to them.