Wildlife Pests - Raccoons, Opossums, Snakes and More
When left to their own devices, wild animals can destroy your property, eat drywall, tear insulation, chew through wires and cause fires, make loud noises, leave droppings behind and even die in your walls and create odor as they decompose. To have one of the following animals humanely removed from your home, contact MosquitoNix®. Learn more about wildlife and other pests in our Pest Library.
Types of Wildlife
Bats - Bats are flying mammals that hunt nocturnally. During the day, they can make their way into dark, secluded areas of your home, such as attics, to sleep.
Lifecycle and diet: There are 900 species of bat in the world, and the little brown bat is most common in the U.S. These 3.5-inch creatures consume up to 600 mosquitoes an hour and can live more than 20 years, giving birth to only one pup per year.
Birds - Large flocks of birds can easily become a nuisance at your place of business. They can also easily become trapped inside large buildings without being able to find a way out.
Lifecycle and diet: There are over 2,000 species of bird in North America with widely varied diets that often include seeds and insects. Raptors, like owls and hawks, pray on rodents and fish. Depending on their size, birds can live a few years or more than a decade.
Moles - Moles are small, tunneling mammals that dig long tunnel mazes in yards. Unfortunately, mole tunnels can cause extensive damage to sod and landscaping.
Lifecycle and diet: Moles live almost their entire three-year lifespan underground and feast exclusively on earthworms. They give birth only once in that lifespan to a litter of three or four pups.
Opossums - Opossums are North American marsupials that are not dangerous, but they can build their dens in attics and garages. They can also eat pet chickens and other poultry, and can carry the rabies virus.
Lifecycle and diet: Female opossums birth litters of eight to 20 pups an average of three times per year. These scavengers eat almost anything, including cockroaches, slugs, poisonous snakes and overripe fruit - and they can kill up to 5,000 ticks in one season. They live about two years.
Pocket Gophers - Gophers are burrowing rodents that create intricate tunnel systems underground. While pocket gophers are actually good for the environment, they do create unsightly mounds in your yard and can be removed.
Lifecycle and diet: Pocket gophers can live up to seven years unless a predator, like a hawk or snake, preys on them. They love to eat garden crops like radishes and carrots but also consume grubs and worms.
Rabbits - Bunnies are cute until they start eating all the vegetables and flowers you worked so hard to plant in your garden. Sometimes, fences are enough to keep them out. Other times, a professional is needed for safe removal.
Lifecycle and diet: In the wild, rabbits live about three years, but can survive up to 12 years in captivity. These herbivores give birth to litters of three to seven bunnies and can produce one litter a month during the spring season.
Raccoons - Raccoons are nocturnal mammals that can damage your property by living underneath sheds and other structures. Once they've begun nesting, they can be very destructive, and they can spread diseases in your home.
Lifecycle and diet: Raccoons live an average of three years in the wild and will eat anything from fish to garden vegetables to discarded food in trash cans. Females give birth to litters of four to six pups just once in early spring.
Skunks - Because of the pungent odor that skunks can spray on you, their removal is best left to professionals. These smelly mammals will wander into your yard in search of grubs and other food.
Lifecycle and diet: Skunks are omnivores who eat everything from plants and insects, especially bees, to fish and the eggs of other animals. Females give birth to litters of two to 10 pups every spring but live only about three years in the wild.
Snakes - Be sure to always call a professional if you find a poisonous snake on your property. Do not risk getting bitten by these dangerous reptiles.
Lifecycle and diet: There are 2,700 species of snake on the planet, but only 375 are venomous. These carnivores cannot chew so swallow prey whole, like rats, chipmunks, birds and even other snakes. Most snakes lay leathery eggs that hatch as snakelets, but a few species give birth to live young. Snake lifespans range from six to 20 years.
Squirrels - Squirrels are generally not destructive and can live happily on your property. However, they can sometimes make their way into attics and get stuck without a way out.
Lifecycle and diet: Squirrels are omnivores who eat nuts and seeds, small insects, eggs and snakes. Many don't live past the first two years because of predators and accidents, but an average lifespan is four or five years. Females birth litters of two to nine pups about twice a year.
Woodchucks - Woodchucks are also known as groundhogs and whistle pigs. These large, burrowing rodents can destroy landscaping and eat garden crops. If a groundhog is tearing up your yard, we can help you remove it.
Lifecycle and diet: Woodchucks live five to six years, and females aged two years or older can birth litters of four to six young. Mainly vegetarians, woodchucks love garden produce, berries and wild grasses but also eat grasshoppers and other insects.
Voles - Voles are tiny rodents that resemble mice. They can cause damage by chewing on garden plants and tree trunks. They also create tunnels, which can cause damage to landscapes.
Lifecycle and diet: Voles live only three to six months but can produce five to 10 litters of up to six young each in that time. They eat the stems, roots, leaves and seeds of most plants and will occasionally dine on insects.
Resources:
http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/vet/rabiesmanualpdfs/rabies_faq.pdf
https://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/bwdsite/solve/faqs/general.php
https://www.livescience.com/52297-moles.html
https://opossumsocietyus.org/general-opossum-information/
http://www.minneapoliswildlife.com/gopher.html
https://sciencing.com/life-cycle-rabbit-5135968.html
https://animalsadda.com/raccoon/
https://www.livescience.com/55151-skunks.html
https://study.com/academy/lesson/snake-lesson-for-kids-facts-life-cycle.html
https://www.reptilekingdoms.com/snakes-lifespan/
https://sciencing.com/squirrel-life-cycles-5542667.html
https://www.livescience.com/28182-squirrels.html
https://www.massaudubon.org/learn/nature-wildlife/mammals/woodchucks-groundhogs/about
https://www.havahart.com/vole-facts