As every homeowner knows, critters are a big problem when it comes to your home. They can infest and destroy almost everything in their path as well as spread diseases that could lead to major health problems for you and your family. If you hear noises in your attic, or think there might be animals living in your attic, investing in a high-quality animal removal partner will provide a handsome return on your investment.
Pests don't discriminate between residential homes and other buildings like restaurants so they're not just an annoyance - but rather a threat to food security too! You may think pest control sounds pricey at first glance; however there's no price tag on keeping out nasty critters from getting into places where they shouldn’t be (like inside walls). If only half-measures were taken against them then all the time
If you take nothing else away from this article, know that nipping a critter problem in the bud can be one of the best financial decisions you make all year! If animals in your attic are left untreated, they can destroy ducting, electrical wiring, HVAC components, and / or make the insulation so unsanitary that it must be removed. Each of these repair work items are often many times more expensive than animal removal services.
Critter Stop recently helped a customer with a ~2,500 sq ft 3 bed, 2 bath home that was hearing noises in her attic. We investigated and found a severe rat infestation in her attic. If the homeowner had contacted an animal removal services company as soon as they heard scratching noises in the attic, they would have lowered their total cost of remediation by 86%! “Exclusion,” or the sealing all of the entry points around a house or commercial building that a rodent can use to gain access, trapping, and sanitation were a fraction of the customer’s total out-of-pocket expenses because they also needed to remove and replace their insulation and replace all of the ductwork due to rodents’ chewing through it in various spots.
Critters can be a homeowner's worst nightmare. Not only do these unwanted visitors often cause structural damage, but they can also carry potentially life-threatening diseases into your home! Diseases such as Hantavirus, Leptospirosis, Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis (LCMV), Salmonella, and Rabies are all transmitted by critters.
While most critters avoid human interaction and are even considered cute by many, the diseases they can carry should be taken very seriously. While modern science has provided a solution to many diseases, such as the bubonic plague, which infamously killed 30-60% of the European population in the 14t century, not all diseases carried by critters have cures. For instance, 36% of hantavirus cases – a disease that can be spread simply by inhaling air exposed to infected rat feces – in the U.S. result in death.
Other diseases, such Leptospirosis, Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis (LCMV), Salmonella, and Rabies can be treated, if diagnosed early enough, but are still very unpleasant illnesses to come down with. For instance, in the first phase of illness, individuals infected with LCMV can expect to experience any or all of the following: fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, smaller appetite, muscle aches, and headaches. In the second phase of illness, following a few days of recovery after the first phase, symptoms can include meningitis, encephalitis (drowsiness, confusion, and sensory disturbances), or meningoencephalitis (inflammation of both the brain and meninges). According to the CDC, it is estimated that ~5% of house mice throughout the U.S. carry LCMV.
With the health risks present with rodent and larger animal infestations, homebuyers often require sellers immediately address their critter issue, sometimes requiring a full attic restoration, depending on if it is a “buyer’s market” at the time. If immediate remediation is not required, buyers will often place a discount on homes with past animal infestations and / or animal removal service needs. This should come as no surprise, given the preference any reasonable person will have for a clean, critter-free attic over one that has a history of critter activity.
With the structural damage and health risks present with rodent and larger animal infestations, critters can lead to a loss of property value. Rats and squirrels in particular are notorious for gnawing on just about anything, including ductwork and electrical wiring. A current or past rat problem can equate to chewed wiring, which may require replacement of electrical systems, or even worse, causes fires via short circuits!
Additionally, if it is a “buyer’s market,” buyers are more likely to require a full attic restoration. This can cost sellers ~$2.50-$2.80 / square foot to full remove and replace their attic insulation, quickly costing thousands of dollars.
The idea of hiring a professional animal removal services company might seem like an expensive and unnecessary step to take when a perceived alternative is setting out rat poison and / or rat traps. There are many benefits that come with working with a professional team like Critter Stop, with the largest being guaranteed results.
In our experience providing animal removal services, we have found that if critters are in your attic, there are at least one, and likely many, cracks, crevices, and holes on the exterior of your home that they are using to get into the attic. They may only be using a few spots to get in now, but if you find and seal those, there are dozens of other spots they could use to get back in – often with just a little bit of chewing. If you do not find and properly seal these holes, the critters usually avoid the traps since they have other food sources accessible to them. If sealed in, however, it will be their only food source, and they will be forced to go for the food on the traps, regardless of whether they know better or not.
Even if you did catch all of the critters currently in your attic – which is increasingly difficult if you are dealing with rodents – simply trapping the critters does not address the root of your problem. Without “exclusion,” or sealing all of the potential entry points to your home, critters will just keep coming back in and out of your home at will.
Another benefit of hiring a professional is the sanitation and attic remediation services they can offer. At Critter Stop, we use a blend of sanitation chemicals that aim to:
When we provide animal removal services, we have found that critters are persistent and can cause significant damage to your home, if left untreated. The longer animals are in your attic, the higher the likelihood they can cause thousands of dollars of damage, whether that is to your HVAC unit, your ductwork, electrical wiring, or insulation. As such, getting a professional animal removal services company near you to quickly address the issue can save you significant time and money.
Whether you are considering selling your house or not, choosing the right professional to help with your animal removal service needs is critical. Not all animal removal service companies are created equal, and not all of them will have the same level of experience providing a permanent solution.
We regularly help customers who originally chose another company that simply sealed the most common entry points then were unsure what to do next when the animals got back in. Many customers will instinctively call their pest control company about their rodent or critter removal needs, only to find out the long and expensive way that many pest control companies are not well-suited to permanently solve their animal removal needs. Without experienced exclusion technicians who are continually sealing up houses from animals and receiving the benefit of constant feedback, seeing what works and what doesn’t, it is difficult for a company to permanently eradicate the animals in your attic.
A good strategy for finding the best animal removal services company near you is to contact a few companies nearby and ask if they will provide you an estimate so you can learn more about their process. Critter Stop provides free estimates for customers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. This includes Dallas County, Tarrant County, Collin County, and parts of Denton County. With these in-person estimates, our customers can often tell which companies have experience with the issue they are dealing with and who can provide them the best service and value that they are seeking.
At Critter Stop, we are confident in the value we provide relative to our competition and encourage all of our customers to get more than one estimate and make an informed decision on which animal removal services company they want to partner with. Call us at (214) 234-2616 and we will be there for you!
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