Another name for raccoons is "trash panda." They get this name from their black and white coloring along with their clever habit of searching through trash for scraps of their favorite foods. Even with their seemingly normal diet of fruits, nuts, insects, eggs, and trash male raccoons also take interest in a less common meal during breeding season. When a male raccoon comes across a litter of kits that are not its own they may kill and eat the babies in order to breed with the mother. Male raccoons desire dominance like many animals and according to some theories want to strictly pass on their own genes. To protect their young female raccoons will nest in areas they believe are safe from males including your home. With a nest in your home you may attract male raccoons once the litter is born. You may also hear the babies scratching walls or crying. If you find a litter or hear these noises stay away since females can be very protective. Instead of trying to remove them yourself give us a call! We are trained to take care of the situation and will be happy to do so. 

If you enjoy bird watching, its likely you have bird feeders in your yard. While these do attract birds they won't be the only creatures visiting for easy access to food. Squirrels are pretty clever animals. Their diet includes, nuts, fruit, insects, and eggs. These animals are great climbers and will steal the food from your feeders with no regrets. If squirrels are frequently coming to your home for food they are likely to explore the area. Eventually they might start damaging the outside of your home and entering holes they create. Once inside squirrels can chew on everything including your electrical wires. They might also start using the area to store their food for winter. They may also begin burying it in your yard. If you notice open holes, trails of nuts, or some of their buried treasure in your yard give us a call! We can get those guys away from your house and close up entries they made to prevent them from coming back or other animals from occupying the space. You might be an enthusiastic bird watcher, but if your having squirrel issues you should consider taking feeders down.

According to last year's jobs rodents were fairly active all year round. If you live in a wooded area or near a crop field you are more at risk of finding rodents in your home. These animals will eat just about anything they have access. This can even include inedible materials such as wiring, siding, clothing, pipes, and more. Since they eat just about anything, it is true that rodents will eat cheese. Even so, rodents tend to be more attracted to sweeter smells so cheese may not be useful when trying to entice these animals. Rodents can do a ton of damage to your home if not taken care of as soon as possible. So instead of trying to catch them with any sort of trap or food, give Guardian Wildlife Services a call! We can set you up with our rodent program and take care of those pesky creatures. We will also take precautions to prevent any future infestations. 

Most people know of the fight or flight response, but have you ever thought of simply playing dead? Well, opossums are pros at this. When being threatened and see no escape route these animals will roll over, go limp, close their eyes, and stick out their tongues. Lucky for them, this performance can be very convincing. Sadly, you may not realize that the animal is only playing dead, not actually dead. If you come across an opossum laying in this way do not attempt to remove it from the area. If the animal is not actually dead it may bite or scratch in self defense if moved. If you find one of these animals near your home give us a call and we will remove the actor from its current stage of your house. 

Next Sunday, February 14th, is Valentine's Day! While there will be many lovebirds running around you are less likely to see a ton of actual birds on this day. Birds migrate to warmer climates through the year and to where food is most abundant. Many will fly south in late summer or early fall. After August there won't be many birds hanging around the Northern Hemisphere. In the beginning of March, the official mark of spring, you may notice flocks of birds returning as fruit grows and insects begin to populate. Birds often nest in open crevasses of your home. If you hear tons of chirping by your window check around before assuming they are just outside. If you find birds nesting in your home, give us a call. Our technicians will clear out the family in no time. Enjoy your Valentine's Day!

If you are not familiar with this famous tongue twister, it refers to woodchucks who are more commonly called groundhogs. Like the phrase indicates, groundhogs are not able to chew on wood. Their diet instead consists of grasses, ferns, leaves, insects, eggs, snails, etc. These animals will also consume crops or any garden plants if they have access to them. The furry animals also have two large front teeth that grow faster than all their others. Just like squirrels, these animals gnaw on leaves, roots, and more to shave them down and monitor the growth. Since groundhogs can not chew through the wood or stone siding of your homes it is unlikely that they will burrow there. They could possibly do so if there is a preexisting opening or hole they could use as a burrow. Their burrowing, whether into or under your home, can still cause structural damage. Another thing to be aware of is that their feeding may deplete your crop production and could ruin your landscaping. If you find groundhogs on your property give us a call! Guardian Wildlife Services will be happy to take care of them for you.

Bats are interesting animals who use echolocation to find their prey. Unlike you might think, this doesn't mean bats are blind. They actually have very good night vision and it may even be preferable when hunting. These mammals are the only ones who can fly. As you can imagine, they can get caught in some bad weather. When this happens these animals may seek shelter in your home. From there a colony may populate and can cause many health problems. If you find bats in your home do not handle them yourself. They can carry rabies and their habitat, your attic or wall, can be covered in feces and urine that carry disease. These areas must be carefully cleaned out as soon as possible since the disease can become airborne. If you find droppings or bats in your home give us a call! Our technicians may not be Batman, but they will clear out the colony and clean up the space in a safe way for both you and the animals.

Tomorrow we fin out how long this winter will last. According to tradition if a groundhog sees his shadow we are predicted to have 6 more weeks of winter. If it is clear and sunny we will have an early spring. Even so, creatures are more than just weather indicators. Groundhogs live in burrows and hibernate in the winter. They are sometimes found burrowing in homes. Their diet consists of many things including bushes, insects, and fruit. These animals can cause a lot of damage chewing through the wood in your home and could just as easily ruin your landscaping. If you find one of these fuzzy creatures in your home give us a call! Guardian Wildlife Services will remove them for you in no time. Do not attempt to handle them on your own or remove any carcasses yourself. These animals can carry tularemia and will spread it if infected.