Most Common Attractants

Pet food is the most common attractant. The garbage containment situation should be looked into because it can be a key attractant. Sometimes grubs in the soil are the food desired by the animal. Reduced watering or turf treatment will often remove or reduce the grub attraction. A product called Milky Spore is available from online merchants, one application lasts for 10 years or more.

Shelter is the next most common attractant, especially in the spring when babies are born.

Identify the Animal

In the event that an animal has taken up residence under a home the first method of removal should be exclusion. The first step is to identify the animal you are trying to exclude. It is important to know what the animal is. If you know the type of animal, it tells us the likelihood of baby animals living in the structure with them. You can read more about common wild animals by clicking the links below:

If it Is Likely Baby Animals Are Under the Structure

If they have young, under most circumstances one must wait until the young are old enough to walk out on their own. Trapping young in a structure will not only make the mother furious, but they will eventually die and become an odor problem. There is also the potential problem of parasites such as fleas, mites or ticks that will now be in search of a new host.

The mother will care for and nurse the young for a number of weeks (depending on animal type), until they can walk and venture forth with the mother. SCWR can tell you how long it generally takes for babies to become mobile.

How to Exclude Animals from Your Home

Basic wildlife exclusion can be done by determining all possible entrances to the structure in question. After this is done, you need to find the most commonly used entrance. This may have to be done by the use of tracking powder. Talcum, flour, or baby powders are the best choices. Sprinkle a light coating around the opening during the day and recheck the next day. This may also tell you the number of animals.

Seal up all openings except the one used the most. Once all the other openings are sealed, you can prepare to exclude the animal. Prepare the building material that you will use to exclude the animal. Often this is as simple as buying a new vent screen, and having nails or screws ready to attach it in the opening. Sometimes you must be creative in coming up with a way to seal the opening. It must be stressed that a permanent solution is what is wanted.

In general most animals will be out foraging by midnight. If there is any question about this time, tracking powder can be used again. One must go out and check, and if there are prints going out-- seal the opening well. If you suspect babies are under the house, wait until you see lots of little tracks leaving. When the animal returns there may be some scratching or digging around-- attempting to defeat the exclusion, but a good job will usually hold up. If there is continuing, furious attempts to reenter, this may be a sign that young are present!

It should be as simple as this in the majority of situations. The animals will move on to better habitat.

Trapping should only be done under extreme circumstances.