How We Solve San Francisco Wildlife Problems
It starts with your phone call. We answer our phones 24/7, and we will carefully listen to your wildlife problem. Every case is different, so we will ask appropriate questions to help
us understand the situation better. Questions like, "do you hear the noises at night or during the daytime?" or "what type of roof do you have?" After we have a general idea of your
situation, we can provide a ballpark price range, and schedule a same-day or next-day appointment to inspect your property.
INSPECTION: Once on site, we will perform a full inspection of your home and property. This allows us to use the correct strategy and traps. If the animals are in an attic, a full building inspection is crucial, including the following:
- All ground-level areas, such as piper or A/C line entry & exit areas, A/C chase bottoms, ground-level vents, etc.
- All mid-level areas, such as dryer vents, siding gaps, first floor eaves or dormers, etc.
- We inspect the entire roof, including all plumbing stacks, ridge caps, vents, and other potential gaps or holes.
- We also inspect inside your attic, to identify animals and damage they have caused.
- If the animals are outside, we notice many subtle clues that will assist us in a successful strategy.
TRAPPING, EXCLUSION, REMOVAL: Once we understand what animal species we are dealing with, and the problem, we use the most effective means of removing the animals. We use dozens of different types of traps.
- Trapping - If trapping the animal(s) in live cage traps, trap type, set, and location are crucial to success.
- Exclusion - Oftentimes, we are able to simply set one-way doors or other exclusion devices that allow the animals inside a building to safely exit, but never get back inside.
- Removal By Hand - Sometimes we actually remove animals by hand, or with special tools like snare poles.
- The Law - In all cases, we obey state and local laws regarding wildlife, but aim to take the most humane approach.
ENTRY HOLE REPAIRS: Repairs are a crucial step in the wildlife removal process. In many cases, such as bat or rodent control, the job cannot be performed without detailed repairs, and in all cases, sealing the entry holes shut ensures that no future wildlife will ever enter your home.
- 100% of the entry holes must be found, and sealed shut, or the job is not complete.
- Our repairs are professional contractor grade, look good, and when applicable we use steel, which rodents such as rats or squirrels are unable to chew through.
- We give a written guarantee on our repairs against any future animal entry.
ATTIC DECONTAMINATION SERVICES: It may be desirable to clean your attic after we've removed the animals. They can leave behind large amounts of droppings, urine, hair, oils, food, nesting material, and so on. These remnants can attract insects like cockroaches, and the scent left behind can encourage new animals to chew their way into your house. You might experience odor problems from the waste. It's possible that mold will grow on waste areas.
- We remove or vacuum all droppings, or remove all the soiled insulation.
- We fog the attic with a special enzyme-based cleaner that destroys any organic matter and deodorizes the space.
- We repair damage, such as ductwork, electrical wires, pipes, insulation, and more.
San Francisco is home to a number of nuisance animals that can cause damage to property. Animals like opossum, squirrels, rats, skunks and many others can invade your home and cause costly damage. On top of the damage, many of these animals can be dangerous to encounter. We want to professionaly solve your nuisance wildlife problem before it becomes costly or dangerous. We service San Francisco and the surrounding area including San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Foster City, Menlo Park, Millbrae, Pacifica, Redwood City, San Bruno, San Carlos, San Mateo, Palo Alto, Belmont, Burlingame, Los Gatos, Los Altos, Campbell, Cupertino, Daly City, Mountain View, Morgan Hill, and many others. Give us a call so we can solve your nuisance wildlife problems in a timely fashion.
Other San Francisco animal pest control topics:
How to Get Squirrel out of your Attic
How to Kill a House Mouse
How to Kill a Groundhog
How to Get Rid of Pigeons
To learn more about our services, visit the San Francisco wildlife control home page.
This month's wildlife how-to article: How To Get Rats Out Of Your Kitchen
Finding that rats have been in your kitchen can be a traumatic event for any homeowner, and it will often lead to the expensive disposal of a lot of food that may have been contaminated. Most people will find the signs of rat presence rather than finding the rats themselves, as they are naturally wary of coming into contact with humans. Small black droppings at the back of cupboards and packets of food that have small frayed holes in them can be signs that the rats have been in your kitchen. In some cases people will actually see the rats themselves, but rats are fearful of humans so will usually flee to safety.
What To Do If You Find Signs Of Rats In Your Kitchen
Unfortunately, finding signs of rats in the kitchen will mean that there will need to be some upheaval as you start to solve the problem. The rats will not usually be nesting in the kitchen itself, but having rats in the kitchen will often suggest that rats may be nesting elsewhere in the house. The first thing to do will be to examine all the food that is stored in your kitchen, and anything that has been breached or may have been touched by rats will have to be disposed of, as it is no longer safe for human consumption.
The next step will be to thoroughly clean the kitchen, and especially any surfaces and cupboards where the rats may have ventured. Although they are naturally wary of open spaces, it is best to include any worktops in this thorough clean. Whilst you are doing this, examine the interior of any cupboards that do have signs of rat presence to see if there are any holes in the walls of the cupboard that the rats are using to access it. You should also examine any walls and darker spots within the kitchen to see if you can find how the rats are getting in.
Laying Rat Traps
There are many different types of rat traps available that will help you to catch these animals, and most people will opt for the inexpensive and effective snap traps to catch these rats. These should be lain in the areas where there is obvious rat activity, as they are most likely to catch the rats there. This will often be in the back of food cupboards and in the dark narrow spaces behind cookers and other spaces in the kitchen. In terms of bait, it is possible to use meat, cheese, potato and even peanut butter and candy bars as an effective bait.
These traps should be checked regularly, and any dead rats should be disposed of carefully using thick gloves. You should keep laying the traps until the traps are no longer catching any rats. In the meantime, many people will find that storing food in Tupperware or plastic containers will help to deter the rats from getting to your food.
Solving The Rat Problem In Your House
If the rats are finding their way into your kitchen, solving the problem will involve finding the nest and eradicating the rats within. Rats can commonly be found in cellars, garages, attics and wall cavities. For those who are struggling to find the nest and want to be sure that there are no further rats in their home, calling a wildlife removal professional can be a wise decision.
Keeping rats out of the kitchen is vital, because this is where they can cause the majority of health and hygiene problems. Try and seal any holes that you can find that the rats are using to get into the kitchen and the cupboard. It is also wise to minimize the amount of food kept in the open, because the smell can often attract rats that make their way into your home.
