How to Prevent Large Household Pests

Keeping little pests like mice, mosquitoes and termites away seems easy enough. But, what about those bigger more peskier creatures like bats, raccoons and opossums? What can you do to prevent those from getting into your yard, your garden or your house? Well, there are actually quite a few things you CAN do it just depends on if you want to do it the natural way – and do it yourself, or whether you want someone to come in and do it for you such as an exterminator in Millburn. The obvious choice is to hire someone, but if you don’t have the time or the money or you don’t want to kill the animals you just want to be rid of them, here are a few things to consider.

Opossums – Didelphis virginiana

Adult Opossums can get very large – about the size of a cat and they are quite villainous looking creatures! They tend to have long gray hair and a scaly like tail which tends to be half the lengthen of the body. Seeing one of these in your yard would scare the bejsus out of anyone! One of the reasons you might be seeing Opossums around your house or the buildings you have on your property could simply be because of the structures around the house. They tend to love structures within the house and around the house like garages, under your house, inside trees where squirrels may have nests and even in hollow logs. They like to keep close to places where they can get food quickly and easily and since they are omnivores they will eat anything. As annoying and creepy

as these are, before doing anything you need to check with the local regulations and make sure its okay to kill them or get rid of them at all since in some states they ARE protected. In order to keep them out of your yard – build a fence. Easy enough! Just make sure that the fence is buried at least a foot down into the ground because they love to dig and will get underneath it if its only a few inches down and make sure its extra high because they also have the ability to jump over things! Another option is to install a motion sensor sprinkler system. If they get near that area, they will be sprayed and they seem to really dislike

this so they will stay away from that area.

Raccoons – Procyon Lotor

Raccoons are pretty cute. But, that’s about all they can give you in terms of benefits. On the downside, they can get into your trash and knock the cans over, they can get inside the walls of your house, and they love to be mysterious and mischievous. These raccoons tend to love living in hollow trees and logs, anywhere that allows them to venture out into the area for food and refuge. Some raccoons will even live in your attic or your chimney! These, like the pesky little guys above, will eat anything, plants and animals, which is why they love garbage so much. Its like a buffet for them. To keep raccoons away, leave your trash in the garage and make sure there are no cracks or holes they can get into to get in the garage. You can also find raccoon proof garbage cans, but some of these little guys have gotten wise and figured out how to even open those up! Make sure that you keep ANY trash, garbage cans or otherwise, away from these animals or they will find a way over to them, knock them over, and help themselves to your trash. Also, if you have outside pets, keep their food inside. Keeping food outside will also cause raccoons to come onto your property. Yes, they will eat dog and cat food! They have no shame, they just

want to eat! In order to keep them out of your chimney find a heavy wire screen and secure it over the opening of the chimney to keep them out.

Bats – Order chiroptera

Bats might not seem like such a pest, until you have them that is. They are mostly insectivores, but some will also eat fruits on occasion. Usually they will only be present at night, but they can be seen during the day if there is a specific month where it brings a lot of insects. You will know that you have bats in several different ways. First off, they tend to enter and leave through an opening and this opening can often show signs of fur, from their fur getting stuck on the opening. Bats also cause a lot of noise. Another thing that they do, is go to the bathroom – a lot, so if you notice a weird smell or see poo outside on your roof or on other parts of the house, you probably have bats. Bat poo also called guano is filled with diseases. It can cause people, especially people with asthma and allergies a lot of issues. Bats are quite hard to get rid of, but there are a few things you can do. First off, make sure there are no openings, cracks or holes into your home, this includes the eaves, the basement and the attic. Secondly, make sure that you get someone to come and inspect the area to make sure that it is indeed bats you are having a problem with and not something else. Lastly, if you already have bats in the attic, you can actually install exclusion tubes. These allow them to exit the house, but don’t let them come back in so you can get rid of the ones you have and the rest will have to find someplace else to go!