Rats

Rat infestations are more common in large cities and urban areas, and they’re one of the first creatures that come to mind when someone thinks of “vermin” or “diseased creatures”. 

Most people are also instinctively put-off by them—the beady eyes, hairless tails, and big yellow teeth all send off signals to steer clear.

There is likely an evolutionary explanation for this as rats are responsible for many diseases, most notably, The Black Death.

While The Black Death is no longer a major problem like it was in the past, a rat infestation is still likely to make you and your whole family sick. 

The 2 main diseases rats carry are salmonellosis and hantavirus—both of these are severely unpleasant at best and fatal at worst.  

There are different ways rats spread disease:

• Urin,
• Feces,
• Bites & scratches.

Signs of a rat infestation include property damage, rat droppings, holes chewed in storage boxes or food containers, scratching sounds, bad odors, and pets acting up.

Squirrels

Squirrels are cute when you see them outdoors and it’s always fun to get your dogs worked up over them, but when they enter your home, your sentiments are likely to change.

Signs of a squirrel infestation includes hearing strange noises; seeing squirrel droppings; holes or damaged areas of your home that serve as entry and exit points; damage to your duct work, soffits and fascia, roofing, and insulation; seeing nests inside your house; foul odor; seeing more squirrels around your property.

Beyond the obvious issue of property damage, squirrel infestations can be dangerous for a number of reasons:

• They can gnaw through electrical wiring, which is a major fire hazard;
• Their urine and feces is, well, just that—something unsanitary that you don’t want around your house;
• Squirrels die—especially if you try to poison them in an attempt to solve the problem yourself—and then their carcasses are going to stick around in hard-to-find places, which is another disease-causing factor.

Raccoons

Raccoons can be cute and all, but they’re actually very aggressive and pesky creatures. They’ve been known to full-on charge fully grown men (which is a scarrier event than you might think if you’ve seen how big a raccoon can get).

Raccoons are in fact one of the most damaging pests you can have in and around your property. They get into your trash, damage your electrical systems (again: fire hazard), tear up walls and ceilings, damage your insulation and siding of your house…the list goes on.

They can also carry diseases, including:

• Rabies,
• Baylisascaris procyonis—a roundworm parasite,
• Giardiasis (giardia)—an infectious protozoa,
• Leptospirosis—a bacterial infection.

Solutions

Trying to remove wildlife on your own seems daunting. The truth is, it’s basically impossible, especially if you’re trying to work it into your schedule on top of work and other obligations.

Without the right precautions or PPE, you risk contracting diseases, bites, or even making the problem worse.

What’s more, there are typically laws you have to abide by—you may need a permit and releasing animals on certain lands is illegal.

The best solution is to contact a wildlife removal company. They’ll take care of the dirty work so you don’t have to.