How To Tell If Wildlife Got Into Your Houston Home This Winter

While wildlife like raccoons, squirrels, and bats are an essential part of your local ecosystem, they make much better neighbors than roommates. Wildlife infestations bring all sorts of problems with them: damaging property, contaminating food, spreading disease, and even directly harming humans and pets in the home.

Also, the damage caused by these animals during the later winter months can lead to even more significant problems from spring and summer pests. The conditions created are conducive to termites or carpenter ants while leaving holes that other pests like spiders, cockroaches, and other invasive insects can use to get inside. Like any pest, they are always on the hunt for food, water, and shelter, and unfortunately, your home provides all three making it an appealing spot for a break-in.

As the temperatures begin to rise and many Houston pests spring back into their active season, it's important to find out if your home came under wildlife infestation this winter, or if there could still be animals inside. That's why homeowners must conduct a thorough inspection to find out if they could have been a target of a wildlife break-in.

Signs Of Wildlife Activity To Watch Out For

• Audible scurrying or scratching noises coming from the attic, basement, or inside the walls, especially during the night

• Droppings or urine stains found in secluded areas of the home such as the attic and basement or inside kitchen cabinets

• Flickering lights throughout the house, which could indicate that something has been chewing on the wires

• Pungent odor coming from particular walls, inside crawl spaces, or inside the chimney, which could suggest that an animal found its way inside and died there

• Signs of entry onto your property such as holes in fences or siding, or damage to soffits and fascia that could indicate a squirrel tore its way inside

• Noises from fan vents which could suggest that birds or bats found their way inside

• Garbage bins that have been knocked over, chewed into, or tampered with, and trash that is scattered around

• Food scraps left around the home that could have been leftover from an opossum or raccoon

• Shingles or roof tiles that have fallen off, possibly indicating a squirrel or rodent chewed into them to get into the attic

• Visible animal tracks left in the snow or mud leading toward or away from the house

• Small tunnels near the exterior of the home

• Wood chipping and other signs of gnawing left behind from wildlife trying to force its way inside

Of course, the surest sign of a wildlife infestation is seeing the animal with your own eyes. While it can be easy to write off the experience as a one-time problem, don't be fooled. If you've seen one animal inside your home (especially if it's a rodent), it's likely that it's not alone, and that you have an infestation on your hands.

Luckily, if you've got a wildlife problem, there is a solution—wildlife exclusion services through Modern Pest Control. If you believe that wildlife may have found their way inside, don't hesitate to contact us today for a consultation. We'll be able to safely and effectively remove any wildlife that might have invaded your home this winter so that you can enjoy a pest-free spring.