If you have an animal infestation in your home, you may be wracking your brain trying to figure out a solution. Many companies and local shops take advantage of the desperation of homeowners with wildlife problems by selling “wild animal repellents.” At the end of the day, these do-it-yourself measures can have dangerous and unintended consequences. Professional humane wildlife removal services are really the only safe and practical way to deal with raccoons, squirrels, and any other wildlife that has moved into your home.

Repellents Marketed as “Humane” Are Actually the Opposite

Suppose you spotted a raccoon climbing in and out of a hole in your roof. There are several possible “solutions” that may come to mind, including blocking up the hole, making your attic uninhabitable, or spreading repellent. But these approaches may become more than a waste of money; they can cause harm to innocent creatures, and they can even make the problem worse.

The first thing to realize is that wildlife that takes up residence in your home doesn’t do so with the intent of causing you annoyance or harm. They are simply looking for a warm place to make their den, and often, to have a nest for their babies. Inhumane removal methods come along with a chance of removing a mother from her babies, leaving them to die in your attic. Not only is this a horrific fate for them, but the rotting corpses of animals in your attic can be a health hazard for you and your family, not to mention the awful odour. Additionally, if animals leave behind any toxins, including their droppings, many of these diy methods don’t include proper decontamination, further putting you and your family at risk.

Repellents Are Ineffective

Often, these DIY methods are not as effective as you thought they would be. Most repellents use the smell of predator urine to make animals feel unsafe in the area where it was sprayed. However, raccoons and squirrels, the most common intruders in attics, are smart enough to survey the area. Once they see there are no predators, they will move right back in, sometimes within a couple of days. At best, a repellent provides only a temporary solution, and at worst, it may not work at all.

Noxious Chemicals Are Noxious for a Reason

If you have read somewhere that you should just spread mothballs or ammonia around your attic, you might want to think twice. Even if these repellants were effective, in order to have a chance at repelling all wildlife, you would need to cover every inch of your attic space. At that rate, the intense amount of chemicals in your attic could seep through the rest of your home, affecting your health and the health of your family. If these chemicals can cause harm to you, just imagine what they could do to the little animals you are trying to get rid of.

These are not just repellents–they are poisons. In a worst-case scenario, one of your pets could get into the toxic chemical, and that is the last thing you want to happen. Even if these poisons do end up getting wild animals to leave, this won’t prevent new animals from moving in again later. Besides, do you want your home to smell like ammonia and mothballs forever?

Many Repellents Have Awful Smells

Some of the common repellents on the market include smells made from rotten eggs, predator urine, and chicken manure. Some repellents are even made from treated sewage sludge. These rely on the fact that animals have sensitive noses–but don’t forget that you have a nose too. Getting rid of such a clingy, nasty smell could be tougher, more expensive, and more time consuming than getting rid of the wildlife in the first place.

Getting To The Root Of The Issue

Regardless of whether you believe repellants will work or not, the root of the issue is not being addressed. How are these animals getting in and out of your home? At Skedaddle, our job is to thoroughly inspect your property, and find the source of the invasion. Once we find all possible entry points, we will seal them with proven methods and high quality products, preventing any further infestations.

Humane Wildlife Removal Is the Best Bet

When you hire experienced wildlife removal experts like Skedaddle, we will not only remove all animals and their traces from your home but also do it humanely. Our techs are fully trained on the proper methods to ensure that no babies are being left in your attic. When done properly, a mother raccoon can be encouraged to relocate. We give her the time to go back and fetch all of her babies to carry them to her new den. We then seal off the previous entry points so that you don’t end up with a new guest moving in. 

The best solution for you and the animals you want to move out is to call Skedaddle.