Plants that Keep Raccoons out of the Garden

Posted on August 5, 2013 by Jeff Norris — No Comments ↓

Raccoons are often perceived as cute ,furry and friendly, with their little black masks and agile paws. The fact is that they are dangerous to humans and pets. Even when they’re healthy, they can be aggressive when confronted, especially if they have young ones nearby. They can kill pets and seriously injure humans. Raccoons carry parasites, vermin and viruses and are a major vector carrier for rabies, which is nearly always fatal without prompt treatment.

Raccoons are also a nuisance animal, particularly for homes that don’t have proper storage areas for garbage cans, and especially for homes that have fruit trees and gardens. Their chattering as they knock over garbage cans and forage through vegetable gardens can make a real mess and keep you up at night!

Once you’ve noticed a raccoon population in your yard, it’s time to take action. There are a number of ways to approach raccoon removal and raccoon trapping, but the first things to rule out are trapping them yourself or using poisons to control them. It’s always best to try non-invasive methods first.

As with deer, there are a number of plants that raccoons don’t like. For flower gardeners, roses are a good raccoon deterrent, and the thornier they are, the better. Hardy hybrids like the gorgeous Abe Lincoln rose have magnificent thorns and gorgeous blossoms. Plant them near your garbage cans to beautify your yard and repel raccoons.

For vegetable gardens, spiny vine vegetables like squash and cucumber will do the trick. Each plant will creep over a large area, protecting other plants like tomatoes, peas and beans. Raccoons will avoid foraging in those areas.

Scents can also repel raccoons. Plant garlic and onions, and their strong odor will warn them off. They take some time to grow, so if you’re in a hurry, smash a good number of cloves and onions with a hammer and leave them scattered throughout the garden.

All of these plants together will keep raccoons away from your treasured landscape and keep them from invading your home. However, if the problem is entrenched and they continue to come back, it’s better to enlist a professional wildlife removal service to handle the problem of raccoon trapping and raccoon removal.

Give us a call and we’ll come right out for a free consultation on how to eliminate nuisance raccoons!

Raccoons in Bradenton Chimney

Posted on July 19, 2012 by Jeff Norris — No Comments ↓

Homeowner Calls For Help!

This morning we received a call from a homeowner in northwest Bradenton. He was slightly panic stricken because he had been out of town for several weeks and came home to noises coming from his chimney. He was apprehensive about opening the flue himself as he wasn’t sure what was going to pop out.

Onsite Inspection Reveals The Problem

Upon inspection we could hear a slight noise coming from the chimney area but nothing that allowed us to determine what it was. We opened the flue and at first saw nothing. We assumed that it was probably just chimney swifts and we had scared them and they flew out. However, we could still hear faint scratching sounds. We investigated a little further and saw something tiny move. It was back down and behind the flue door. It turns out to be two juvenile raccoons. We saw momma up towards the top of the chimney but we spooked her and she left.

Glad To Fix The Problem

The homeowners were relieved and could not believe such a thing could happen.

CALL 866-263-WILD (9453)

Raccoons Escaped

Posted on June 8, 2012 by admin — No Comments ↓

Raccoons Escaped

We were called out today to find out what was running around in a customer’s attic. I pulled up to the house and immediately had suspicions of it being an issue with raccoons in the attic as I could see a large hole in the soffit at the roof joint. I went through my usual routine of trying to find out how long the animal has been there, what the customer is hearing, when they hear it, and any other interesting details.

People have described what they’re hearing in a lot of colorful ways but this was probably my favorite.

The customer said, “every night it sounds like someone is bowling in my attic.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. She went on to describe how it sounds like a really heavy ball rolling across the ceiling to the other end of a room or the house and slamming into something. Then it would go another way, over and over. It definitely sounded like she had raccoons in her attic. I grabbed my camera, flashlights, and respirator as I prepared to check the attic out for damage and to confirm that it was raccoons she was hearing. Sometimes they’re still in the attic when I go in but unless you corner them or get near their babies, they stay clear.

The Raccoon Search Begins

I popped open the attic access and instantly heard something scamper across the attic and out of the hole in the soffit I saw earlier. I walked outside with my camera to try and find the animal and after a couple minutes spotted two juvenile raccoons behind the house fifteen feet or so into the tree line. I walked a little closer to get clear of the brush and limbs to get some pictures. One of them took off deeper into the wooded area. The other stayed put, clung to a tree, as raccoons are great climbers. I snapped a couple pictures and went back to finish the attic and exterior inspection.

Luckily, the raccoons hadn’t done any damage to the HVAC system or wiring in the attic. You could definitely see where they had been “bowling” though. Insulation was thrown everywhere as they ran back and forth, playing just like dogs do with one another.

Orlando Raccoon in attic found nesting in tree — Juvenile Raccoon in Tree

Arcadia Racccoon Job

Posted on February 29, 2012 by admin — No Comments ↓

Raccoon Removal Project In Arcadia

Arcadia is known for being in the middle of nowhere. There is nothing more common in the middle of nowhere, FL than wild hogs! Well, when our VP Christy Norris, asked me to head to Arcadia for the day, I figured she was going to say the word “hog”. Thankfully it was just a family that was in need of raccoon removal.

Once I pulled up, the family was standing in front of their house pointing to the garage. I could tell they looked very concerned and anxious to get rid of this problem. Raccoons are among the most common of the nuisance animals we are called to relocate from properties. Raccoons are also the most common animal in Florida to be carrying rabies.

Raccoons Were Hold Up In The Garage

The family had no knowledge of how the mother raccoon and her babies got into their garage, but they did know they wanted them out asap! After carefully moving some stuff around in the garage, allowing space to work with the animals, I was able to box in the mother raccoon in the corner of the garage. I was then safely able to gather the four small baby raccoons and place them in a secure cage together. Once the mother was finally trapped, I also placed her in my truck for removal. While talking to the family and explaining that the space was safe to return too, I noticed something in the tree beside their house. Fifteen feet up in the tree was a large honeycomb nest which was occupied by some bees. I pointed it out to the family and offered my service to remove that as well. Once they agreed, I was able to rid them of a family of raccoons, and remove a large nest of bees that could be harmful to them while in their yard.

Not A Good For Bees And Raccoons

It ended up being the most productive one stop service call I’ve ever had while working here. The raccoons had been relocated, the bees were removed as a threat to nearby humans, and the family was thrilled to go about their day.

Hire A Professional

Posted on February 20, 2012 by admin — No Comments ↓

Critter Intruders: Why You Should Hire a Pro for Removal

At some point, almost every homeowner will find an unwanted guest in his or her home, and I’m not talking about a stepmother. These intruders can be anything from insects to larger mammals, such as raccoons or opossums. If you find yourself having a superfluous visitor in your home, you may be tempted to try to deal with it by yourself. However, this approach can often end up backfiring on you and creating more problems than it solves. The best approach is to hire a professional to remove the animals from your property.

Misinformation Misleads

It can seem easy to get rid of these pests, but if you do not know what you are doing, you are not likely to succeed. There are all sorts of misinformation available about how best to get rid of animal intruders, and so trying to use this advice will likely mean failure. You may even end up attracting more animals than you had in the first place. A professional service is going to know exactly what does and does not work, and so they will succeed the first time.

A professional animal removal service can also safely transport the animals away from your property so that they will not return. It is not enough to just drive away one animal at one point in time. You need to take steps to make sure that they do not come back again in the future. A professional service can help you assess your property so that you will know what attracted your unwanted guests in the first place. This way, you can make changes to ensure that they do not return again. With their years of experience in dealing with these pests, a professional service can give you lots of great pointers that you might not have thought of.

My Own Experience

As a homeowner myself, I’ve experienced problems with squirrels in the attic – This is one of the most frustrating problems to have, especially since it means that my roof contractor performed his job inadequately. Nevertheless, after many unsuccessful and harmful attempts at ridding of these pests, I called a professional. Everything was done humanely and securely, ensuring that the squirrels would never return.
Since they’ve been around it for so long, most pest control professionals are also very aware of these types of structural problems that cause infestations. So as far as the roof goes, that problem has also been taken care of. Not only did I benefit from the service, but I made out in the long haul as I was able to take care of structural problems that may have decreased the value of my home upon resale.

But the most important reason to hire a professional involves that of your family’s safety. Although furry and sometimes cute, wild animals are also quite dangerous. Professionals are trained in dealing with these animals and have the proper equipment and protective gear that is needed to safely remove them from your property. If you try to do it on your own, you risk injuring yourself and potentially contracting an unpleasant disease. Do not put yourself or your family at risk. If you are dealing with unwanted animals in your home or on your property, call a professional removal service right away.

raccoons

Plants that Keep Raccoons out of the Garden

Raccoons in Bradenton Chimney