Having unwanted visitors isn’t unusual. Like us humans, wildlife seeks shelter, safety, and warmth too. 

But… 

That doesn’t mean you should tolerate them. At first, you might find it adorable, but soon enough you’ll notice and experience the mess and hazard they cause. 

The quicker you act upon this issue, the safer you’ll be from difficulty. In fact, you don’t really need to have them around to take action, remembering that prevention surely is better than cure. 

Identification

You can’t just take all the available actions and target all possible species. 

Taking action without knowing the enemy is not only useless, but also a waste of time, effort, and huge money.

Aside from the obvious ways of identification like keeping track of the sounds, movements, and habits they have, you can try doing a poop check. 

While this may sound disgusting at first, this is the most effective way of identification. The only disadvantage of this process is that it can only identify animals whose bowel is solid, of course, you can’t measure a bird’s stool as it is liquid. 

Both bats and squirrels have 1.2 centimeters (½ inches) long stool, while Racoons have it the biggest, 5-7.5 centimeters long and 1.9 centimeters wide.

Mice have it 0.3 centimeters long (⅛ inches) while rats’ have it twice as big, 0.6 centimeters (¼ inches).

Raccoons, Squirrels, and Rats have sausage-shaped poop. While both bats and Mice have it in the shape of a pellet. 

Prevention

Food

Keeping your entire household free of scattered food and crumbs is a must. It is a requirement to consistently sweep your floors and vacuum regularly. 

You also need to make sure food is properly and securely wrapped, sealed, and stored.

This doesn’t only apply to human food but also pet food. If you like to feed wild birds in your backyard, make sure that your feeder has enough distance. 

Garbage

Let’s face it, garbage is garbage. It’s dirty, it stinks, and none of it is clean at all. Yet, there are ways to avoid it from inviting unwanted guests. 

It isn’t only the indoor trash that you should take action on. Any garbage near or around your home has the potential to invite any pest. 

Remember to keep all your trash in properly covered trash cans. And when you throw it out, store it in a secure container to avoid the spread of its odor.

Entryways

Rats, mice, and other animals can surprisingly fit their bodies in tiny holes with enough will, and fit in the tiniest ones when tensed up. 

It is crucial to repair, fill in, cover, and plug any hole, crack, and openings present inside or outside your home. 

Steel Chimney Cap

Chimneys are prone to inviting such animals inside your home. Especially if you have overhanging trees and bushes they can jump from to reach your roof.

You can purchase a chimney cap to slide them over your chimney’s tile liner or mount them there if necessary. 

Vent Covers

Vents are inviting openings too, although, for smaller animals like snakes, birds, and much more. 

A vent cover will not only protect you from their intrusion but also prevent birds from nesting in the vent itself.  

Wire Mesh Or Netting

Aside from vent covers, wire mesh or netting is also an effective way to limit their entry points. 

All homes have holes to cover up or stuff. Can use these as a replacement by screening them instead.

Trees and Vegetation

Shrubs and overhanging tree branches can act as a launching pad for animals. 

Check for any vegetation or tree branches that are close enough for animals to climb and jump on to get to your roof. They should be at least six to eight feet away. 

Cure

Repellents

Repellents are effective in keeping rodents and certain unwanted animals away.

However, we must keep in mind that wildlife can become accustomed and used to these repellents. 

This means that they must be reapplied, changed, and repositioned periodically. 

Organic and Chemically Safe Repellents

It may be hard to be kind to such animals especially when they’re costing you much. But we should always understand that those actions come to them naturally, thus, we should never use harmful repellents.

Check out these all-natural repellents for safely repelling birds.

Chili Powder

Chili’s use their spicy pain as a defense mechanism, and even though we humans don’t mind this at all and actually end up using it as a flavor, animals don’t favor it. 

Chili powder is a natural irritant for all mammals. You can sprinkle a fair amount around your home, in the trash, and even mix it with birdseed. 

Ammonia

Ammonia is a natural pesticide because of its distinct odor that discourages certain pests and animals.  

Try spraying an ammonia solution outside your house or soaking a rag in this solution and wipe it around the walls. 

Mothballs

Rodents hate mothballs. They just can’t seem to stand the foul smell it reeks of. 

Mothballs are easily available at any local store. The only caution in this is that it is toxic and poisonous, so you need to keep it away from your kids and pets. 

Humane Traps

If they’re already rioting inside, it’s best to trap them than to just make them leave using such repellents. 

You can place these traps near openings, corners, along the walls, and specific places where you find their droppings. 

Food such as bread, cheese, peanut butter, fruits, and chocolate are great baits for any animal. 

Metal Cage Traps

These traps are specialized for animals that when killed are punishable by law, or the ones you can’t bear killing with dangerous traps. 

Cage traps can be used repeatedly, and you can easily release them far from your home. They work for rodents, mice, and rats. 

Snap Traps

Snap traps may be humane, but they can kill tiny animals swiftly. 

They have a quick trigger that catches tiny animals, mostly mice. There are a lot of kinds of snap traps like clam and bar traps. 

Professional Help

Certain animals such as bats and snakes should never be handled on your own.

Professional help is necessary and not just a mode of convenience. Professionals know exactly what to do and who it is they’re targeting. This will lead you into a safe and stress-free process of expelling them. Businesses like stewarts pest control services will make the task of pest controlling your home that much easier, especially if you are lacking the time or expertise to tackle it yourself.nce. Professionals know exactly what to do and who it is they’re targeting. This will lead you into a safe and stress-free process of expelling them.