How to exterminate animals, pests, insects from your home

Jul 10, 2023

Carol Richard has had her share of encounters with furry critters trying to find a cozy shelter inside her house. Most recently, she heard a raccoon scratching against the duct work and nibbling the insulation under her mobile home.

"I’ve had at least four possum, four to five groundhogs, and a few skunks removed," said Richard, who recently spent about $2,800 reinsulating and sheathing the home's undercarriage. "It's more than just a nuisance."

As a Realtor for the Melody Lakes mobile home park in Quakertown, Richard can tell many stories of creature encounters among the 336 homes in the community, including the time a possum got into her neighbor's kitchen cabinet.

"Over the years, the shopping centers have come in and taken away a lot of the woodlands that were around here and displaced the critters," Richard said.

Urbanized areas provide a lot of opportunities for wild animals who use the void spaces and other elements of homes because they are easily accessible — not wildlife-proof, said John Griffin, senior director of Urban Wildlife Programs at the Humane Society of the United States.

"These spaces meet their denning or nesting needs for rearing young as well as provide loafing areas that keep them safe from predators and protected from the elements," Griffin said.

Critters are most often heard during the silence of the night. It's important to note the type of noise, such as scratching versus something being dragged, the time of day, and whether the noise moves from one location to another.

The type of critter you hear is not always obvious. A 30-pound raccoon will sound different from a four-pound squirrel or a hive of bees. Do you hear tapping, humming, thuds, or scurries? That information will help narrow down the culprit.

"What I don't find is as important as what I do find," said Francis Felix, owner of FX Felix Wildlife Solutions in Allentown, who has removed unwanted visitors, including mice, rats, bats, squirrels, possums, skunks, and birds from homes in the seven Southeastern Pennsylvania counties he covers.

Larger mammals leave droppings, disturb the insulation, and chew openings to get in and out.

During mating season, animals and birds seek out a safe place to have their babies, often the dryer or HVAC vent. Felix recently found several female bats in an attic where they had set up a maternity colony. He evicted more than 100 baby bats.

"They’ll stay in the attic from June to August," said Felix.

Using the information you share, the contractor will come to your home for an inspection. Once they diagnose the type of critter and where it is likely getting into the home, they will set a trap.

Technology has made that task easier. For example, Langhorne-based Ed's Pest and Wildlife Control uses sensors in the cages they set up to trap the animals.

"The sensor sends an alert to my phone telling me an animal is in the cage," said Nicholas Marczak, the company's owner. That saves time for the contractor and homeowner who would otherwise need to constantly check the traps.

Other advancements include thermometers to locate a heat signature in the attic, a scope that can look through a small opening in a wall to find a nest, and Bluetooth-enabled mousetraps to let you know if a mouse has been caught.

Not every contractor is equipped for every type of creature. For example, not all wildlife professionals remove insects, so you may need a pest control company. With insects, you will often see the perpetrator.

Shortly after completing plumbing work that caused a leaking toilet, Lorraine Sheaff noticed cockroaches and water bugs scurrying around the washer and dryer in her East Falls home.

"I guess we dislodged some of the critters in the neighborhood," said Patricia Black, Sheaff's daughter. The bugs, who enjoyed the water that had pooled in the basement before the leak was fixed, began searching the house to find other water sources. "That's when we started seeing them."

Insects take advantage of their small size to fit into vents, the spaces around cable fiber-optic wires, electric motors, under eaves, and in walls and attics.

"New construction and materials like vinyl siding have gaps," said Rich Foreman, chief technician of West Philadelphia-based Dynamite Pest Control, who Sheaff hired to exterminate.

Once the critter is removed, be sure to thoroughly clean up the area.

"The droppings and soil that's left behind is a true health hazard," said Felix. "There are a number of diseases and parasites that people can be exposed to."

It's also important to repair the damage and fortify the area where the animal came into the house so the problem doesn't happen again. Periodically examine your house for places animals can get in, from the foundation up to the roofline.

"Look at your house through the eyes of a wild animal," said Griffin, who offers specific tips, including shoring up cracks; looking for pipe, vent and cable openings; and keeping branches trimmed, six feet away from your house.

Though a YouTube video might make catching a squirrel look easy, leave that to the professionals. Most attics have rafters with open areas covered only by insulation. Being startled by a scared animal might send you tumbling backward, through that insulation, causing you to get hurt or damage your roof.

"Going with a licensed contractor also virtually assures any actions to remove wildlife will be done lawfully and safely, since different rules and guidelines might apply to different species," said Travis Lau, communications director for the Pennsylvania Game Commission, which offers referrals of licensed contractors.

Charges can vary greatly, so find out what the cost of the initial inspection — which can run anywhere from $50 to $300 — will also cover. What are the additional charges each time the contractor comes back to find and catch the animal? Will that contractor clean up the mess and seal the opening? How much will that cost?

Game commission guidelines determine how the animal can be caught, where it can be released and whether it can be euthanized. Species known to have rabies, including foxes, raccoons, skunks, bats, groundhogs, and coyotes, can be euthanized. Other animals, such as squirrels and possums, can be trapped and let go at least 10 miles from where they were found.

There's also the chance you’ll evict a mom while her young are still in the house.

"The maternal instinct is really strong in all mammals, and if they think their young are still inside, they’ll do whatever they can to get back in," Griffin said.