It can be quite distressing to hear noises from inside your home. All sorts of rustling, scratching, clawing, and fluttering footsteps all serve as a reminder of a looming threat residing overhead, making it even more alarming for you and your family.
When you hear all sorts of sounds from your attic, ensure that your family and pets stay away from that part of the house to keep them safe. More importantly, your next step should be to figure out how to get critters out of the attic.
In this blog, we’ll share tips on how to get rid of animals in the attic safely to keep your loved ones safe and secure inside your home.
Dangers of Having Animals In Your Attic
Constantly hearing animal noises above you can be quite concerning as you never know when those critters might exit the attic and into your home. Unfortunately, even if you manage to isolate the animals in your attic, they can still deal considerable damage to your home, including the following:
- Exposed electrical wires.
- Plumbing issues.
- Damage to appliances and building materials.
- Fire damage as a result of the exposed wires.
- Health hazards from fleas, parasites, and diseases carried by the critters.
- Safety hazards as these animals can be quite aggressive.
Warning Signs To Look Out For
Loud or weird noises coming from upstairs are often an indication of an animal infestation in your attic. However, there are also other signs you can look out for to determine whether you have animals in the attic.
Watching out for these signs can leave clues as to what animals are living there, which will be helpful in knowing how to get critters out of the attic:
- Urine and Droppings: These emit strong odors and are relatively easy to spot.
- Nests: These are usually made from twigs, grass or shredded paper. You should be able to spot these easily.
- Damage to Wires and Cables: Inspect your cables and wires to see if there are bite marks on them.
- Strange Sounds: Different animals produce different sounds. For instance, fluttering and scurrying are usually the sound of mice, rats, and squirrels, while relatively bigger footsteps could indicate a larger animal, such as a raccoon.
How to Get Rid of Animals In The Attic
Based on the warning signs above, you may be certain that you have an infestation on your hands. The first thing you need to do during these situations is to stay calm to avoid threatening the animal.
Next, follow these tips below for how to remove the animal in the attic:
Identify the Animal
Begin by identifying the animal that is infesting your home to determine the best course of action. Each animal calls for a different removal method, which means you have some investigating to do.
The following are some of the most common animals found in the attic:
- Rats and Mice: These critters are always searching for food and water source. Setting traps can help reduce their numbers but are usually ineffective in preventing them from returning. Instead, keep your attic dry to eliminate their moisture source.
- Snakes: Although it might sound surprising, snakes can actually find their way into your attic in search of rodents for food. They usually enter through small holes in the roof foundation.
- Raccoons: These skilled climbers are notorious for being invasive in residential areas due to their curiosity and constant search for food. They typically like dark, quiet environments, so blasting speakers while turning on the lights is a good starting point in driving them out.
- Bats: Driven by their search for comfortable places to nurse their babies, bats can come inside your home and nest there. However, finding just a single bat is rare as they tend to stick together. Also, be careful when removing them, as most species are federally protected.
- Squirrels: Like bats, squirrels are looking for warm indoor environments to raise their babies until they are ready. In most cases, squirrels may leave on their own when they’re done nursing, and the babies can fend for themselves. They can also be driven out by keeping vinegar-soaked rags around the attic.
Hire a Professional Service
After identifying the type of animal invading your attic, the natural next step would be to attempt to remove the animals immediately. However, it would be dangerous to attempt the removal yourself as you’re dealing with disease-carrying wild animals that are rarely alone.
Additionally, you may be successful at removing the animal from your attic. However, by not dealing with the problem correctly, you also risk them returning to your property.
Instead, call for a professional animal removal specialist. Equipped with experience and expertise, these professionals can remove the critter using the appropriate method. Further, they are armed with proper protective equipment to keep them safe if the animals become aggressive.
Above all, these professionals are knowledgeable about humane removal methods and where they can be released, allowing you to comply with the law on animal removal.
Clean Your Attic
Once the professionals are done removing the animals from the attic, it’s time to clean your attic to ensure the animals don’t come back. This includes the removal of droppings, nests, and urine, as well as decontaminating air.
Follow these instructions below on deep attic cleaning:
- Wear rubber gloves and a face mask to protect yourself while cleaning.
- Dilute one part of bleach in nine parts of water to use as a cleaning and disinfecting agent.
- Sweep all dry droppings and nesting materials and place them in the garbage bag.
- Apply the cleaning solution on all areas with urine spots.
- Mop the floors using the cleaning solutions you’ve already made.
- Remove or cover any exposed insulation.
- Make sure to clean everything that’s been affected by the presence of the animals.
Seal Up All Possible Entry Points
Above all, the best way to avoid the re-entry of animals into the attic is by sealing off all their possible entry points. Thoroughly inspect your home’s interior and exterior for any small holes in the walls, under the windows, or on the ceiling and cover them up.
Call the Professionals at Quick Catch
If critters have made your attic their home, don’t wait to have them removed. Instead, call the animal removal experts to remove the animals from your premises and avoid any major infestation.
For fast animal removal in Florida, call Quick Catch today at 904-859-6585.
