How We Solve Portland 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.
As cute as squirrels look, they can do some serious damage if they make their way into your attic undetected. These little creatures are notorious for finding their ways into your attics by looking for small holes alongside your roof. Even one thats too small for them can do the trick as they use their nails and teeth to break their way in. Once inside your attic they can do things like: chew wires, damage your attic with droppings, ruin anything personal you may have, and that is just the tip of the iceburg. Seasonal inspections are extremely important to the safety of you and your home. Luckily we handle problems like squirrels and many others as well. We service the following cities: Milwaukie, Cedar Hills, Cedar Mill, Beaverton, Lake Oswego, Oak Grove, Aloha, Minnehaha, WA Gladstone, West Linn, Fairview, Piedmont, Green Hills, Brooklyn, Alameda, Hillsdale, Sylvan, Forest Grove, Lake Oswego, Oregon City, Tigard, Tualatin, West Linn, Beaverton, Gresham, Hillsboro, and Vancouver WA. We also service the following counties: Clatsop County, Columbia County, Tillamook County, Washington County, Yamhill County, Clackamas County, Marion County, Polk County, Lincoln County, Benton County, Linn County, and Jefferson County.
Other Portland animal pest control topics:
Killing a Squirrel
Will a birdfeeder Attract Raccoons
How to Keep a skunk Away
Should I Hire a Pro for Bats
To learn more about our services, visit the Portland wildlife control home page.
This month's wildlife how-to article: How to Get skunks from Underneath your Porch or Shed
How to Get skunks from Underneath your Porch or Shed
There are a few ways to remove a skunk from underneath your porch or shed. There are also ways to not get the skunk out from underneath your porch or shed. One of the things that you can do is to surround your porch or shed with fencing, or an exclusion barrier, this barrier need to be at least 18 inches deep into the ground with the ends pointed out. The barrier must be constructed of a steel mesh. If you should decide to do the exclusion fence immediately than you should have a small opening that is an exclusion door so that the animal can get out but cannot get back in.
Dispel the temptation to dig up the burrows or to close it up. skunks in general are not aggressive however; they do become extremely protective of their homes and will attack, you more than likely will have the same problem should you decide to cement the area. Using cement also won’t find won’t be effective. skunks are very adept at digging additional burrows. In trying to get a skunk out from underneath your shed or porch, be careful not to damage the structure. There are indeed other ways to get the skunk out from the porch or shed. There are both lethal and non-lethal methods for the riddance of skunks.
Non-lethal methods would include a cage. This cage will close the walls behind the entrance and trap the skunk within the cage. Once caged the skunk should be taken to an animal facility that has experience with skunks. There is a trick to capturing the skunk. The first thing is to place the cage next to the opening. Place strawberries or other forms of fruits in the cage, this will attract the skunk.
Lethal Methods of removing skunks:
There are traps that are used to capture the skunk by the leg or body. There can be legal ramifications with using this method. Many locations find this method cruel and therefore do not allow the use of these types of traps. Once you have determined your method of removal your next move will be take the extra measure of sealing them out. The best way to deal with that is to find a professional to do this job.
Trapping skunks could be a difficult task with the options that you have.
