Critter Control of Rio Grande Valley

Rio Grande Valley raccoons have adapted well to living around humans. Typically, they only go out at night to scavenge for food while you are asleep. They can travel up to six miles searching for food.

Raccoons are called masked bandits for a reason. They can be mischievous. Using their nimble, human-like hands, they turn over garbage cans, scatter trash along the road, and dig holes in your yard searching for insects. Because they eat anything, including junk food, pet feed, bugs, garden crops, fish out of your pond, and small animals, they will not let much get in their way. They prefer a warm, cozy spot, like your attic or chimney, to rest.

Raccoons will enter your home through open holes. They will also break vents, boards, and screens as they push their way inside. Once inside, they create a spot specifically for feces and urine. Then they begin to destroy ducts, insulation, drywall, and stored items.

Raccoons are known to carry rabies and many other diseases. Never try to remove a raccoon on your own. If you find a nest, they may need to be removed manually. Texas requires you to notify the Parks and Wildlife Department, which may want to test the animal for rabies.

The Norway and roof rats, and the house and deer mice, are common in the Rio Grande Valley. They are active at night and know how to stay out of sight. There is no lack of food, water, and shelter, and they can be found on the many ranches, barns, farms, commercial buildings, restaurants, warehouses, and residential neighborhoods.

Because rats and mice multiply so quickly, you must call for help at the first sign of rodent activity. Look for feces and urine trails, crumb trails, chewed or gnawed wood, wires, carpet, furniture, and pantry items. Outdoors look for sagging electrical wires and burrows in your yard.

When trapping, know that rodents are clever and will avoid suspicious items added to their environment. Also, each rodent may be trapped best with different baits. Using the wrong bait can lead to even more problems, and setting traps or spraying pesticides are temporary fixes. To avoid an infestation, you must implement exclusion methods.

Watching a tree squirrel in the Rio Grande Valley is entertaining. Most likely, you are watching the fox squirrel, but we also have the gray and flying squirrel in our area. They enjoy nuts, grains, seeds, bird eggs, fruits, vegetables, leaves, and in more desperate times, bark.

If you’ve ever seen a tree stripped of its bark, it’s likely a squirrel is the culprit. This behavior can also signal they are deficient in sodium. If squirrels are on your property, you have food, water, and shelter resources. The shelter may be in your attic or chimney, two of their favorite spots. Expect damage to beams, vents, ducts, pipes, wires, drywall, and flooring when inside your home. They gnaw on anything they can find since their teeth are constantly growing and must be kept filed; it can be painful if their teeth grow too large. Squirrels carry diseases, as well as fleas and ticks that have diseases.

quirrels are game animals with designated hunting and trapping seasons. There may be permitting rules to follow for specific species.

Call immediately if you are noticing small holes around your yard!  Armadillos will destroy your lawn and dig up your gardens. They become a bigger problem if their burrows (usually 7 or 8 inches in diameter and up to 15 feet in length) start to undermine structures on your property.

Armadillos generally pose no direct threat to people. More than 90 percent of the armadillo’s diet is insect matter so having one on your property can help with pest control.

Bats are protected, so you want to hire someone who knows the laws regarding removal. For example, bats cannot be removed during the maternity season, from spring to fall.

Until recently, the vampire bat was only found outside the United States. Now, it is in Texas, too. They prey on livestock, transmitting diseases. They are tiny, and a bite on a cow is very hard to detect. A typical bat living in urban areas within the Valley includes the Mexican free-tailed bat.

Bats are messy wildlife but are an essential part of the ecosystem. Bats consume thousands of insects every night. They become nuisances because of one primary reason, the feces and urine they drop inside your building. The accumulation over time can become heavy, and it contains uric acid that can erode the metal. If their guano piles get too big, the weight can put pressure on boards and beams, eventually causing them to break. Never try to trap or remove a bat by hand. Bats are covered in guano. So, if you touch a bat, you are also touching their feces and urine.

Of all the snake species in the Rio Grande Valley, only four are poisonous, including the cottonmouth, rattlesnakes, copper mouth, and coral snakes. We have water surrounding us everywhere, and when waters rise, snakes make their way into our yards and homes.

While most snakes are not harmful, they can still be a nuisance. Snakes are beneficial for the environment. They eat small rodents and can even eat predatory snakes, protecting people and pets. However, they create a fearful reaction among people who accidentally bump into them in strange places, like their basement or vehicle.

Identifying snakes is not that easy. It’s hard for many people to know which ones are dangerous. Even when you cross paths with the friendliest snakes, you may get frightened. Even snakes that aren’t poisonous can carry bacteria, and if it bites you, it can infect you. It’s always best to use professionals to remove snakes from your property.