You may feel powerless in the face of a wildlife infestation in your home, but you can call wildlife control to have the animals removed professionally and humanely. You can also take steps to keep wildlife off your property in the first place.

If you’re wondering how to keep wild animals out of your yard, it involves property maintenance with an eye toward wildlife prevention. It takes a little extra effort, but it’s well worth it not to have to worry about wildlife intrusion.

3 Tips To Keep Wildlife off Your Property

Essentially, property maintenance for wildlife prevention has two goals: avoid attracting the animals and prevent them from getting inside. Here are some things you can do in the interest of achieving both goals.

1. Store Garbage Securely

Wild animals, such as raccoons, skunks, and rodents, are opportunistic feeders. In other words, whenever they find something that is edible, they either eat it or store it for later. When they find an abundant source of food, they stay close and keep feeding from it for as long as possible. This is why garbage cans often attract urban wildlife.

Storing garbage securely is an important step to keep your property wildlife-free. You should choose receptacles made of metal or heavy-duty plastic that animals can’t chew through. These receptacles should have tightly sealing lids; and look specifically for wildlife-proof locks. If possible, store trash cans inside a shed or garage until collection day.

2. Seal Any Entry Points Into Your Home

Inspect your home’s exterior looking for gaps or openings that wild animals could use to get into your home. Don’t assume that these cracks or holes need to be large or obvious. A mouse can squeeze through a hole the width of a dime, so if you find any openings, you should seal them off.

Better yet, hire professionals who know what to look for and can safely inspect high and low. Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control can confirm that there are no wild animals in your home before sealing off potential entry points for you. If you were to seal off entry points with animals still inside, they would become trapped and die.

3. Remove Sources of Food and Water Around the Property

We have already talked about securing garbage to avoid attracting wildlife, but this may be only one potential food source for animals on your property. Fruit trees, vegetable gardens, and bird feeders can all attract unwanted wildlife. You may either have to remove these completely or clean up or harvest them promptly.

Wild animals need water to survive, and while they get some hydration from the food they eat, standing water can attract them as well as a source of drinking water. Water can collect outside in depressions in the ground, in outdoor toys, forgotten clutter, and lawn furniture. You should drain these puddles and prevent water from collecting again. For example, fill in holes in your yard, remove clutter, and bring lawn toys inside.

Unfortunately, wild animals can also drink from decorative water features on your property, such as ponds, fountains, or birdbaths. It may be possible to use additives to make the water unpalatable for wild animals. Otherwise, you may have to consider removing these features.

Hire Skedaddle When You Can’t Keep Your Property Free of Wildlife

Working to keep wildlife off your property can seem like a full-time job. Sometimes even diligent efforts don’t pay off, which is when you should bring in the professionals. We know how to keep wild animals out of your yard after we have removed them and perform exclusion as part of our wildlife control services. Contact us for an assessment of your Hennepin County property.