You’ll rarely find a home that hasn’t had some pest problem at least once. No, I’m not counting your kids in the pest category! If you live in rural areas – or even if you have a decent garden – then there’s a high chance you’ll fall victim to some animals coming and making themselves at home in your house.
The longer a pest is in your home, the harder it is to get rid of them. Also, they’ll invite all their friends and family around, so you end up with an even bigger pest problem. This leads to all kinds of issues in your house and almost makes it unlivable.
Keeping that in mind, the best approach is to act quickly. To do this, you need to spot when these pests are in your home, allowing you to act as fast as you can. So, here are some of the most common and problematic pests to keep an eye out for:
Skunks
Skunks are a big problem because they absolutely stink. They usually find their way into your attic or basement, where they promptly set up a little nest. The telltales signs are similar to most other pests – scratching, marks on the walls, and little footprints. But, the main thing to be wary of is the foul skunk odor. If your house starts smelling gross, and you spot the other signs, then a skunk is probably hiding somewhere.
As with all pests, you need to try and get rid of it as humanely as possible. We won’t go into details now, but you can learn more from Animal Control Specialists to figure out the best course of action. Remember, look for the signs, then strike quickly to prevent a bigger problem!
Rats
Lots of rodents can find their way into your house, but rats are the worst. Rats crawl through cracks in your exterior and live in wall cavities, the attic, and anywhere else they manage to find. Here, they poop everywhere, urinate all over the place, and start reproducing with other rats. Then, worst of all, they die. Now, you have to deal with the smell of a dead rat in your house – which is far from ideal.
The key signs to look for are small rat droppings, little holes in any wooden structures, scratch marks on attic floorboards, and squeaking or scuttling sounds.
Bats
Bats love to sneak into your attic and make a little cave for themselves. Thankfully, they’re easier to spot than most other critters. Look at your house from the outside in the evening and early morning. Here, you could see bats fluttering around your roof.
Also, you can spot bat droppings or smell their urine in your attic. They also leave stains when they rub against things, particularly when exiting or entering your home. Keep your ears open for chirping or flapping sounds too!
I mentioned this when speaking about skunks, but you should seek out humane methods of pest removal for all of these animals. If you do take things into your own hands, then make sure you do lots of research to keep yourself and the animals safe.
