A pet door is an excellent way to let your pets in and out of your home on their own. Unfortunately, pet doors can also look like an open invitation for local wildlife to enter your home. Find out why you need to remain calm, act quickly and contact a local Pickering wildlife removal expert like Skedaddle if you suspect a wild animal has entered your home.

Remain Calm

Don’t panic if a raccoon, squirrel, mouse or other wild animal has gotten into your home. These animals may simply be looking for warmth or food. However, when cornered, raccoons and other wild animals can become aggressive and dangerous. It’s best not to panic and to call an expert to safely remove any unwelcome visitors.

Panicking can cause your visitor to also panic. A scared squirrel, raccoon or other wild animals can become dangerous and attempt to claw, bite or scratch its way to safety. Some animals that enter through your pet door become disoriented and aren’t sure how to make their way back to their natural environment. A trapped animal will also panic, so don’t assume a wild animal will exit your home on their own.

Act Fast

Waking up to a raccoon indoors may seem like a funny situation at first, particularly if they are behaving calmly. It’s important to not be too passive about the situation; wild animals can quickly turn dangerous. Smaller rodents also breed quickly, so a mouse or rat in your home may have bred a large litter before you realize it.

All wild animals can carry diseases and parasites that are harmful to your health and your pets’ health. Raccoons can contract rabies and distemper. Rodents commonly carry fleas and ticks, which spread other diseases that can affect you or your pets. An animal control expert can not only remove the animal from your home but also clean your property to prevent the spread of disease.

Consider Prevention Strategies

There are many ways you can prevent a wild animal from entering your home through the pet door. It’s important to work with a professional to discuss your options. Be sure you have a professional wildlife removal technician inspect your home before you implement any prevention strategy. Closing your door without properly removing all the wild animals from your home could simply trap the creatures inside.

A high-tech solution is an electronic door. Give your pet a special collar that acts as a key to unlock an electronic pet door. Without the right collar, another animal can’t enter through these convenient doors.

Some homeowners keep their pet food near the inside or outside of their pet door. This is like an invitation for a wild animal, signaling to them that your home is a good source of food. Remove food sources from around your door to make it a more discreet entrance.

Finally, closing your pet door in the evening is an effective way to prevent nocturnal animals from entering. Raccoons are one of the most common animals to enter your home. They typically feed at night, so sealing your pet door after sunset can reduce the risk of them entering your home.

Call a Pickering Wildlife Removal Service

The best prevention strategy is a professional one. At Skedaddle Pickering, we offer full-service wildlife control for your home. Work with our team to discover how we can provide personalized prevention strategies, humane removal, and prompt cleaning services to restore your home after a wild critter gets in. Contact us today to learn how we can remove any pests in your home with our proven strategies and humane practices. Keep your pet door accessible for your pets while preventing wild animals from entering your home.