Jacob Lehman owns a wildlife control service in Northern Virginia called Destination Wildlife Control. From his many years of experience, he is skilled at telling what kind(s) of animals are in your house by knowing their biology and habits, and at trapping them. One thing he can tell you from his experience is that “repellents” don’t work for wildlife.
First things first: “Pests” are bugs (termites, roaches, bed bugs, ants), rats, and mice. “Wildlife” includes anything smaller than a deer, such as squirrels, groundhogs, beavers, raccoons, bats, foxes, and birds. Only qualified wildlife removal specialists should conduct your wildlife removal work. There are no approved types of fumigation for wildlife, and it works about one out of 1,000 times. So basically, it’s a bit of a myth that you might read on the Internet.
There are countless old wives’ tales about chasing critters away by blasting loud rock music, using strobe lights, and releasing smelly substances like vinegar and ammonia. These are completely ineffective. On one of my jobs, I went into an attic where raccoons had been making themselves comfortable for quite some time before the homeowner decided to try the “all of the above” option. There was loud music, a strobe light, and a bowl of ammonia inside this attic. But guess what? The raccoons were still there (and probably holding a rave).
At another house where I conducted an inspection, the homeowner had thrown two ammonia-soaked socks directly onto a mother raccoon in an attempt to get her to move her kids. The determined mother simply picked up the socks, moved them away from her nest, and went back to where she had been.
The only truly effective way to get rid of your unwanted “guests” is to trap them and then repair the entry point, as well as any other potential entry points. Once an animal has lived in your house, there is a good chance others will follow later, especially if the original animal was a female during mating season. All animals leave a little bit of their scent wherever they go, but during mating season, the scent of a female in heat draws suitors from near and far and her scent lingers even if she is trapped and removed, making repairs to any potential entry points even more essential.
At Destination Wildlife Control, we perform emergency service calls, nuisance animal removal, dead animal removal, exclusion services, cleanup services, handyman services, home inspections, termite inspections, and general pest control.
