Animals in the Attic - Nassau County, Long Island, NY

Animals in the Attic - How to Get Rid of Them

Are you hearing animal noises in the attic? You are probably hearing scratching, scurrying, digging, walking, or thumping sounds. The type of noise that you are hearing and the time of day that you are hearing it are useful pieces of information in determining what type of wildlife is inhabiting the attic of your Nassau County, Long Island home. Attics are ideal places for wild animals to seek refuge and build their homes. A New York State licensed nuisance wildlife control operator from Nassau County Animal Control Wildlife Removal Services, will do a wildlife inspection of your premises. The wildlife inspection will determine what type of animal is living in your attic and it will also identify the animal's entry point into the attic. We humanely trap and remove the critters living in the attic. Animal entry point repairs are done by a licensed Nassau County, Long Island contractor, who specializes in the exclusion of wildlife.

Squirrels in the Attic - Nassau County, Long Island, NY

The Eastern Gray Squirrel, or Grey Squirrel is the most common type of wildlife to wreak havoc in the attics of Nassau County, Long Island homes. A female squirrel, which is referred to as a sow, will enter an attic to nest and give birth to its young. They can gain access into an attic through an opening that is as small as 1.5 inches, but can and usually will gnaw a hole the size of a baseball for easier access. Squirrels may also gain access into an attic of a Nassau County residence through unscreened gable vents, roof vents and attic fans. Squirrels are rodents, which means gnawing animal. Rodents are characterized as having a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of their upper and lower jaws. Rodents use their sharp incisors to gnaw food, dig burrows and to defend themselves. The two long pairs of incisors are used by squirrels when gnawing their way into attics of Nassau County, Long Island homes. Unlike Flying Squirrels, which also inhabit the attics of Long Island homes and are active at night, the Eastern Gray Squirrel is active during the daytime, making it a diurnal animal. Squirrels are most active in attics at dawn and dusk. In the early morning squirrels can be heard leaving the attic and in the later part of the day they can be heard returning to it. So, if you are hearing running and scampering across the ceiling during daylight hours, you most probably have gray squirrels in the attic. The noises from your attic will become more pronounced, when the baby squirrels are weaned and start moving around at about six to eight weeks of age. At ten to twelve weeks of age the baby squirrels will start leaving their nest in your attic and venturing outside to forage for food. In the attic, squirrels will leave hundreds of droppings, which are usually 3/8 inch long and cylindrical in shape with rounded edges. Other signs of squirrel inhabitation in an attic would be gnawed wooden beams, electrical wires and damage to the central air conditioning ductwork. Squirrel repellents commonly sold in hardware stores and on the internet, don't get rid of squirrels. Mothballs, predator urine and ultrasonic devices are not effective squirrel removal products. Getting rid of the squirrels involves wildlife trapping, followed by repairing the damage that they have caused. Squirrel exclusion, which includes closing up the squirrel's entry point into the attic, is vital to successful rodent control in Nassau County.

Raccoons in the Attic - Nassau County, Long Island, NY

Raccoons are another wild animal that inhabits the attics of Nassau County, Long Island homes. Raccoons are very strong animals and are able to tear a hole in a roof to enter an attic. Raccoons also gain access to attics through soffits, gable vents and attic fans. A female raccoon, referred to as a sow, will mate with a male raccoon, or boar between the months of January and June. The female raccoon has a nine week gestation period and gives birth to an average of four raccoon pups. However, a raccoon can give birth to as many as seven pups. An attic of a Nassau County, Long Island home is a dry warm place with insulation that a mother raccoon will use to keep her newborn pups warm. In the attic of your Nassau County, Long Island home, this nocturnal animal can do a great deal of damage. Raccoons in the attic can destroy the ductwork to a central air conditioning system. Raccoons often use the attic as a latrine, which usually requires an attic cleanup and restoration services. Raccoons are active at night, so if you hear loud noises coming from the attic after dusk, it is most probably coming from raccoons. If a raccoon is entering through an attic fan, you may hear a loud thump followed by heavy walking in the attic of your Nassau County, Long Island home. Raccoons make vocal sounds, including growling and baby raccoons make a high pitched chattering noise, which sounds like birds in the attic. Raccoons will most commonly enter attics in Nassau County, Long Island in the spring, when female raccoons are looking for a place to give birth to their young. However, raccoons can live in attics year round and often will seek out the warmth of a Nassau County, Long Island attic during the winter months. Evidence that your attic is inhabited by raccoons, may also include raccoon tracks on your gutter leaders and siding, or raccoon feces on the roof. Getting rid of raccoons involves raccoon trapping and removal. Raccoon repellents commonly sold in hardware stores and on the internet, don't get rid of raccoons. Mothballs, coyote urine and ultrasonic devices are not effective raccoon removal products. Getting rid of the raccoons involves wildlife trapping, followed by repairing the damage that the raccoons caused. Raccoon exclusion, which includes closing up the raccoon's entry point into the attic, is vital to successful raccoon control in Nassau County.

Bats in the Attic - Nassau County, Long Island, NY

Common to Long Island, NY from March through October are the little brown bat and the big brown bat. If you have bats in the attic of your Nassau County, Long Island home, they are almost certainly brown bats. Bat droppings, also called bat guano in an attic evidences their presence. Bats are a nocturnal animal that can enter an attic through an opening as small as 1/4 inch. Male bats typically roost individually, but female brown bats of both sizes form maternity colonies in Long Island attics when they are preparing to give birth, which usually occurs in June. The female brown bats usually give birth to one baby bat each year. Consequently, the bat colony size doubles at birth and the life expectancy of these bats is more than twenty years. Hence, with time, bat colonies can grow to very large sizes and often can be heard leaving the attics of Long Island homes shortly after dusk. Getting rid of bats in a bat infested attic, is one of the most challenging situations in the profession of nuisance wildlife control. Once the young have been born and are weaned, little brown bats leave the attics, preferring to hibernate in caves during the winter months. Big brown bats, however, often hibernate right in the attics of Nassau County, Long Island homes. There are no effective bat repellents on the market and there are no easy quick fixes when it comes to bat removal. When the baby bats are able to fly, one way doors that will allow the bats to leave and not re-enter the attic are set up over the primary entrance openings into the attic. When all of the bats have left the attic, the openings can be sealed to exclude the bats from entering.

Mice in the Attic - Nassau County, Long Island, NY

Mice in the attic is a common pest control problem in Nassau County, Long Island. The house mouse is approximately three inches long and weighs less than an ounce. These vermin have six to ten litters per year with the average litter size being six pups. Mice have poor eyesight, but possess an excellent sense of hearing and smell. These rodents can climb most surfaces. A mouse may gain access to an attic through openings made by other animals, such as raccoons, or squirrels. They are extremely good climbers and can enter a home through an opening that is as small as 1/4 inch. Mice are a nocturnal animal and typically can be heard at night scratching on the ceiling, or walls. Evidence of a mouse infestation in an attic, may include the presence of mouse droppings. Mice are rodents that have a pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. Gnawing is an instinctual behavior used to wear the teeth down and maintain the dental health of the rodent. Rodents are particularly attracted to electrical wires. Wires do not offer rodents any nutritional return, but they like to gnaw on them. The gnawing of electrical wires, results in a fire hazard making rodent control in Long Island essential.