Unwanted House Guests
Saturday, March 28, 2026
March’s outing was a presentation about humane wildlife removal by Ryan Rainville from Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control. Spring is a busy time for wildlife removal as mother squirrels and raccoons search for the safest and coziest places to have their babies. Sometimes this is in our homes.
Racoons can bend metal and pop up fascia by wedging themselves in corners and pushing with their backs to access a house’s attic. Squirrels can chew their way in through plastic vents and rotting corners of a roof. Ryan showed us videos of baby racoons and squirrels hunkered down in attic insulation. He also showed us videos of the damage these animals can do to roofs, insulation, wires and wood.
Home owners often hear sounds in the attic and Skedaddle works like a detective to figure out how the animals got in and to find the babies. Then, they remove the babies and put them outside near the opening in a heated box. The entrance to the house is fitted with a one-way door so that the mother can get out if she is still hiding in the attic and then she can gather her babies and move them to a better location.
Raccoons and squirrels have multiple dens / nests that they can use. Both raccoons and squirrels are masters of finding food and shelter and that is why there are so many in cities.
When a bird builds a nest in a vent, the nest is removed along with eggs or chicks and a stronger vent cover is installed. The nest is put into a box using the old vent cover as an entrance and the box is mounted to the wall right near the original vent. The bird easily finds the nest and carries on raising their young. When they fledge, the box is removed.
Tips to keep wildlife outside of your home:
- Keep your gutters clear to help keep your roof in good condition
- Screen up brick vent holes to keep rodents out.
- Install heavy gauge wire covers over vent holes.
- Bird seed will attract mice and rats.
Call a professional to humanely remove the animal and do repairs to keep the animals out. Trapping an animal and relocating it doesn’t solve the problem. A new animal will just move in.
Reported by: Rachelle