Tag: nuisance animal control

How to Handle Nuisance Pests in Your Home

Posted on October 11, 2023 by Katie Bourg - Nuisance Animals

As the leaves change color and the air gets a bit crisper, fall is a magical time in Louisiana. But, it’s also the season when some unwanted visitors may decide to make your home their own. Nuisance pests and wildlife can become a hassle during this time, and it’s important to know how to deal with them.

Squirrels

Squirrels are adorable when they’re playing in the trees, but they can become a real nuisance when they find their way into your attic. In the fall, they’re busy gathering food for the winter, and your home may seem like a cozy hideaway.

Raccoons

Raccoons are known troublemakers, and they love rummaging through trash cans. During the fall, they’re on the lookout for food, and your garbage cans might be their first stop.

Mice

Mice are small but can cause big problems. They can squeeze through tiny openings and make a mess in your kitchen. In the fall, they’re seeking warmth and shelter just like us.

Creepy Crawlers

Spiders and insects often find their way indoors when the temperatures drop. While most are harmless, some can be a bit scary to encounter in your home.

So, how can you deal with these unwanted guests?

Preventive Measures

Seal any cracks or openings in your home’s foundation, walls, and roof. The Bug Man has decades of expertise in exclusion – we find every crack, nook and cranny and seal them up so these unwanted friends can’t re-enter the home.
Keep your trash cans securely closed to deter raccoons.
Store food in airtight containers to discourage mice.
Keep your home clean and clutter-free to make it less appealing to pests.

Humane Removal

If you find wildlife in your home, it’s best to contact a professional wildlife removal service to ensure they are safely and humanely relocated.
The Bug Man’s technicians are licensed to trap and/or remove animals such as raccoons, squirrels, possums, snakes, birds, bats, moles, beaver, nutria, foxes, etc from a dwelling.
We have many different methods and resources available to control nuisance animal infestations such as trapping, removal, chemical deterrence and sound devices while also offering odor control for unwanted animal scent at a property.

Stay Safe

Always exercise caution when dealing with wildlife. Even cute animals like squirrels can become aggressive if they feel threatened.
Wear gloves and use appropriate tools when removing pests.

While fall in Louisiana is a beautiful time, it’s important to be prepared for nuisance pests and wildlife looking for shelter and food. By taking preventive measures and seeking professional help when needed, you can ensure a pest-free and comfortable home during this lovely season.

The Bug Man has many Louisiana Department of Agriculture licensed trappers for animal removal or eradication. Call us today at 923-BUGS or request a free estimate online.

Protect Your Home or Business From Winter Pests

Posted on October 27, 2022 by Chelsea Stiebing - Nuisance Animals

Well, it’s that time of the year again. Yep, winter. And with cooler weather arriving, populations of pests that are normally active in the spring and summer tend to decrease. But don’t be fooled. These pests haven’t disappeared. They only have relocated temporarily. Most likely they relocated to your home or business to ride out the winter weather. Oddly, winter is when most home and business owners believe they no longer need pest control services only to be surprised later when they discover a rodent or other pest has entered.

Rodents, spiders, cockroaches, ants and numerous other pests will make it their goal to find shelter inside your home or business this winter. Don’t let them catch you off guard. Take a moment to review our 8-point winter checklist.

Foundation: Mice can enter your home or business through a dime-size opening. Sealing and securing any small openings can help prevent mice from getting in. They’re small and nimble.
Roof: Replace or repair missing shingles and roof damage to prevent rats, mice and other pests from gaining access to your home or business.
Vegetation: Trim back bushes or branches that are close to your home. Rats and mice can easily scale these to gain access to your attic.
Screens: Repair holes or tears in window, door, and porch screens to eliminate easy entry points for smaller pests.
Vents: Check vent covers, ensuring they are intact to prevent any pest entry.
Outside: Eliminate any trash or yard debris, including wood piles that can provide shelter and hiding places for pests.
Gutters: Remove any debris from gutters and downspouts to avoid standing water, a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Garage: A properly sealed garage will keep rodents, insects, and spiders outside.

If after reviewing our 8-point checklist, you discover areas of your home or business needing repair, or more specifically, areas showing definite pest activity, The Bug Man can help. We offer preventative treatments and a thorough inspection of your home or business that will address seasonal pests and reduce the likelihood of pests entering, especially those that are active during the winter. Call The Bug Man today to set up a free consultation.

How To Have a Pest-Free Home For The Holiday Season

Posted on October 20, 2020 by brewadmin - Nuisance Animals, Rodents

The holiday season is already here – families across the country are getting into the spirit by decorating their homes, carving pumpkins and will soon be stringing holiday lights and wrapping presents. Although this is all fun and games, there are some unwanted guests that also want to join in on the fun and spoil your celebrations. These unwanted guests are pests, such as spiders, ants, cockroaches and even rodents! Although there are many holiday items that attract pests, there are ways you can avoid them. The Bug Man has provided some tips on how to keep your home pest-free this holiday season!

Pumpkins

While carved pumpkins are the holiday symbol for October, they can be a breeding ground for pests. Whenever you are carving out the pumpkin, make sure you’re cleaning out all of its guts. (This also reduces the amount of mold growth.) The pulp inside the pumpkin is the most delicious part—both to rodents and bugs alike. Put simply: The less pulp, the fewer bugs there will be.

Additionally, make sure you dispose of the pumpkin early. Leaving your pumpkin out for too long leaves room for the ultimate critter feast with the possibility of an invitation into your home.

Boxes

Another way that pests can enter our homes during the holiday season is through the boxes of decorations, which are often stored in attics, garages and basements. Your decorations give food, shelter, and warmth to many of these pests and they are often left undisturbed for many months.

When homeowners unpack their holiday decorations, many may find live or dead pests inside. When it’s time to decorate for the holidays, unpack holiday items outside and inspect everything carefully for signs of pests, droppings or any other damage before bringing them inside your home.

Pro Tip: The use of cardboard boxes to store decorations is a big mistake. Many critters feed on starches like cardboard. This is an open home invitation to pests! At The Man, we suggest using heavy plastic containers that seal. Make sure you are not overpacking, which will lead to the containers not being able to shut properly.

Christmas Trees & Wreaths

Christmas trees and wreaths are also one of the most common ways in which pests enter into homes. Spiders, termites and ants are usually found in the crevices of wood or deep in the branches of trees. Some bugs may even lay eggs.

To avoid bringing insects into your home, make sure you properly inspect the trees before bringing them in the home. Deny critters this free entry by shaking the tree or wreath before bringing it indoors. A good shake will knock off the bugs clinging to branches.

After the holidays are over, it might be tempting to put your tree in the backyard. However, you should not do this. If your tree contains invasive species, you are introducing them to the neighborhood. In many areas in Louisiana, Christmas trees are collected from the curbside during the first two weeks in January. Many communities now recycle Christmas trees and use them for mulch, hiking trails, soil erosion barriers, bird feeders and much more!

During this busy time of the year, it’s easy to overlook signs of pests in the thrill of the holiday season. If you or a loved one sees signs of pests or suspect an infestation, contact a licensed pest professional to inspect your home so you can enjoy the festivities in a pest-free home! For a customized solution for your household, contact The Bug Man or give us a call or text at (225) 923-2847.

Your Worst Nightmare: Rodents in Your Attic

Posted on October 9, 2019 by brewadmin - Rodents

You’re on your couch, enjoying a spooky movie to get you in the Halloween spirit when you start to hear some suspicious noises. It only takes a moment to realize they’re not coming from your TV. Skittering and scratching echo throughout your home, and it can only come from one place: your attic.

Nervously, you climb the ladder through the attic door, the noises only growing louder as you do. Quickly as you can, you pull the string to the singular lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. You look out into the cramped space in horror, only to be met with not just one but many pairs of eyes staring back at you. No zombies, no vampires, not even masked face of Michael Myers could be as scary as this – an attic full of rodents.

Crucifixes and silver bullets won’t do anything to stop these little invaders from destroying your decorations, keepsakes and electrical wiring. However, The Bug Man has a few tips and a rodent story to share to keep the horror movie soundtracks and potential disease from rodent-dwelling parasites on-screen only.

If You Give a Mouse an Opening…

One of the more destructive pests is the common house mouse. While the name alone makes them sound quaint and harmless, these little rodents – along with their larger relatives, like rats – can breed quickly. For example, female mice can have between 5 and 11 litters each year, with each litter containing about five or six pups (or pinkies); in about a year, that can add up to hundreds of new mice to the little habitat brewing in your attic.

Like house mice, rats will wriggle through spaces you may not even notice and make themselves at home among your old photo albums, even using the paper and plastic to craft their nests. The damage won’t just be contained to your attic, however. These critters will nest in the gaps of your insulation and walls, likely near your plumbing lines in order to have access to water. They create little trails between their nests and the nearest food source – which is now your kitchen – in order to stay hidden while still eating their fill (and chewing up your linen, furniture and other decor in the process).

Ir-RAT-icate Their Chances

If your home is currently rodent-free, let us help you keep it that way! The Bug Man offers comprehensive exclusion work around your home to plug up the holes that act as doorways for mice and rats.

Keeping your home clean of food scraps and plumbing leaks is also key. Though both will eat just about anything, mice mainly prefer oats, cereals and vegetables. On the other hand, rats thrive on eating meat – including their mousy neighbors – as well.

If you know your problem is small and plan on setting a few traps, keep in mind that while mice are more curious, rats are cautious of any unnatural environmental changes. If a rat inspects a set trap and realizes that it’s dangerous, your chances of catching it will quickly diminish.

An Attic Nightmare Story

The Bug Man had a homeowner digging in boxes in their attic and heard some little squeaks in a corner. She quickly called The Bug Man to help come save the day. When our technician did an attic inspection, he found four baby raccoons in the insulation of the home. The mother had her babies in the attic but then went missing. The babies soon began to make a lot of noise because they were hungry. This was when the homeowner heard them squeaking.

We were able to remove all four raccoons before they got big enough to do any damage and reproduce in the attic. Raccoons, squirrels and rodents are very common in attics due to easy access from gaps in a roof and rafters. They will use tree limbs touching the roof to enter the structure as well as wiring on the side of the home to crawl up. This situation was a bit more difficult since the babies were buried under insulation so we had to follow their squeaks to get to them.

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Though they aren’t quite as creepy as Freddy Kruger, the potential damage caused by intrusive rodents is a real threat to your home and health. Don’t let these pesky rodents get the upper hand; call The Bug Man! Along with our exclusion work, we also offer a rodent program to deal with problems of any size. Like your own personal rodent Ghostbusters, our pest control professionals have the specialty tools and expertise to give you back your peace of mind.

Do you have any nuisance animals such as rats invading your home or just have questions about these unwanted guests? Request an in-home estimate today and we will help you solve all of your pest problems! Please contact The Bug Man for all your nuisance animal needs at (225)923-2847 or visit our Contact page.

Everything You Should Know About Bats In Your Home

Posted on August 15, 2019 by brewadmin - Bats

You hear something rattling and making noises in your home. Whenever you get closer to it, you hear that something is flying. Trying to remain calm, you check out the scene and stumble upon a bat! This is a creature most people are unfamiliar with. There are many questions and concerns many of our customers have regarding bats. Know that bats give birth in late spring and early summer because it is the best time of the year for nursing mothers to get the food they need. They thrive in places that are dark and warm. Sometimes a bat may accidentally find their way into your home. Please don’t be alarmed. Like any other wild animal, bats should never be handled if you are not a licensed trapper because you could get bit. Remain calm and under control, and follow along to find out more about these unfamiliar creatures in your home.

How Bats Fly

First things first – remain calm and keep pets and children away. The bat will tend to fly in a U-shaped path, flying higher near your walls and lower in the center of the room. In this case, try to keep near a wall to avoid physical contact. Make sure you close all interior doors and give the bat a way to get outside. A bat that has accidentally flown inside will likely fly in circles in search of an exit. Do not handle the bat if it lands to rest. If you have a bat colony living in your attic, you have a bigger problem. Often, bats will congregate somewhere dark and undisturbed with easy access to the outside, such as attics, roofs, and crawl spaces. Leave these bats alone and call a licensed trapper immediately.

Bat Myths

Bats are negatively looked at due to the fact that most people don’t have an understanding of them and the important role they play in controlling night-flying insects. They frequently eat moths, crickets, locusts, fruit flies, gnats, beetles, and mosquitoes. Each bat can eat between about 600 and 1,000 mosquitoes and other kinds of insects in only one hour. Additionally, Bats are not blind. As a matter of fact, bigger bats can see three times better than humans. Another myth is that all bats have rabies. This is not true either. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, only 5 to 6 percent test positive for rabies.

Bats Do Not Attack People

“I just got attacked by a bat!” This will almost never be true. Bats are not aggressive creatures and do not attack people. When people are outdoors at night, insects are attracted to us by heat and smell. The reason bats sometimes appear to be swooping towards us is due to the fact they are zoning in on the insects we attract.

The Bug Man understands that bats are an essential part of a healthy ecosystem, and our licensed and professionally trained wildlife technicians can humanely take care of any bat problem from start to finish. We are now providing removal and cleanout service for bat guano. The Bug Man offers a variety of Nuisance Animal Control services for just about any wild animal.

Do you have any nuisance animals such as bats invading your property or just have questions about these unwanted guests? Request an in-home estimate today and we will help you solve all of your pest problems! Please contact The Bug Man for all your nuisance animal needs at (225)923-2847 or visit our Contact page.

6 Tips on Preventing Unwanted Animals

Posted on June 19, 2019 by brewadmin - Nuisance Animals

If there’s one thing we all know about Louisiana, it’s that there is an abundance of wildlife creatures that live here. Have you ever had a nuisance animal intrude your home or property? We know it’s not fun!

We are here to provide you with all of the steps and precautions to take to safely and humanely remove your unwanted guests. The last thing we want is for you to get bitten by the neighborhood raccoon! Although this is merely a guide, we do insist you contact a licensed nuisance animal trapper that can handle this problem with ease. Remember, there are really only two reasons for these animals to invade your yard: food or shelter. Now, on to the steps!

Tip 1: Never feed wild animals.

According to The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, you should make sure food is not available around the perimeter of your home. You should never be feeding wild animals, even if your adorable daughter is begging you. You don’t want to attract wild animals you are not familiar with. This is how people get hurt.

Tip 2: Pick up all pet food at night.

If you have a dog or cat that is outside frequently, make sure you pick up their pet food at night as well. This is a raccoons dream come true.

Tip 3: Close your trash cans.

Make sure your trash cans are closed and secured so those pesky animals won’t eat your leftovers. Many types of nuisance wildlife are attracted to piles of trash left outside.

Tip 4: Eliminate areas of possible shelter.

There could be many places of shelter around your home or property that wild animals flock to. If your house is raised, you should consider installing chicken wire.

Tip 5: Seal any holes or cracks.

You should seal any holes or cracks that can easily allow wildlife to enter your home. There are many creatures that can squeeze their way through the tiniest holes. You don’t want a bat flying around your room at night… talk about a nightmare.

Tip 6: Clean up your yard.

You should also keep your yard well manicured so animals can’t use your lawn as shelter or protection. You should also eliminate piles of wood or debris that can be used as a shelter or even a permanent home for some animals, such as snakes.

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The Bug Man has many Louisiana Department of Agriculture licensed trappers for animal removal or eradication. For a list of animals we are licensed to trap and/or remove, please visit our Nuisance Animal Control page. The Bug Man also offers exclusion control, which is the first line of defense to prevent a pest invasion in your home or commercial property.

Do you have any nuisance animals invading your property or just have questions about these unwanted guests? Request an in-home estimate today before somebody gets hurt! Please contact The Bug Man for all your nuisance animal needs at (225)923-2847 or visit our Contact page.

Unusual Services

Posted on March 6, 2018 by brewadmin - Nuisance Animals

How Unusual?

Today we are focusing on some unusual services that we offer here at The Bug Man. In addition to protecting you against roaches and fleas and pesky mosquitos, we also provide a service called Nuisance Animal Control. This is a topic that several of our clients have asked me questions about lately so its fresh on my mind. I am a firm believer that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. This is especially true when it comes to Nuisance Animals like raccoons and snakes and nutria around your home. KEEP AWAY!! These little critters are seen in neighborhoods all throughout Baton Rouge…and who wants to deal with that mess? We are here to help you prevent these animals from invading your home to ensure that you have one less thing to worry about. And well…. if you are reading this and you DO have a problem, I know a guy.

Over the past several years, we have seen an increase in nuisance wildlife in our neighborhoods in southeast Louisiana, so much so that we had a need to open a Nuisance Animal Division in our pest control department to provide animal trapping of these critters. If you notice any critters creeping around your home, here are some tips to prevent them from coming back:

Keep trash properly contained. Keep tight lids or latches on the lids.
Pet food needs to be brought indoors.
Remove bird feeders from around your property. I know, I know.. I hate to be a downer. They are beautiful; however, they are also a huge attraction to rodents and animals.
Keep tree limbs and branches away from your home so animals and rodents don’t have an easy path right to your roof.
Close openings around the home where animals could gain access.
Animals like raccoons can pull off just about any vent cover if they so wish, so close them up and inspect your home regularly.
Install chimney caps on your fireplace.
Clear fruit from around trees that has fallen—Do not leave it there!
Finally…Stop feeding the animals! If you continue to put food out for animals, they have good reason to set up shop on your property.
Soak a rag in ammonia and place the rag in or on the trash cans or buildings where you are having problems. The smell will discourage repeat visits.
Moth balls placed inside of trash cans also help and achieve the same results. Moth balls will need to be replaced weekly.

Check out our recent posts to see recent removal of these unwanted animals! Nuisance Animals: Trapped!

Nuisance Animals

Nuisance animals like raccoons love to invade homes and garbage cans. They easily adapt to our environment. They are nocturnal, meaning that most of their activity is at night. These animals may sometime be seen during the day because food may be available and they may no longer have a fear of humans, especially if you haven’t stopped feeding them. Animals like skunks and raccoons will dig under your foundation and establish a den where they will nest and raise young. Typically, you will smell skunks, but may not detect raccoons. The main concern with these animals other than destroying your home or property is Rabies. Rabies is a deadly disease that can be contracted by any mammal. It’s most common in bats, raccoons, foxes, and skunks, and is passed along to others through nervous tissue saliva and Rabies is no joke. If you hire someone to handle your nuisance animal problem, make sure they have the proper trapping licenses. The Bug Man has Louisiana Department of Agriculture licensed trappers for animal removal or eradication. We are currently seeing animals such as raccoons, squirrels, possum, snakes, birds, bats, moles, beaver, nutria and foxes. We have many different methods and resources available to control nuisance animal infestations such as trapping, removal, chemical deterrence and sound devices while also offering odor control for unwanted animal scent at a property. We hope you enjoyed reading our blog. Until Next time! Remember, if you suspect you are having an issue, call The Bug Man and keep your peace of mind intact.

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Thanks for checking out our blog.

See you soon.

The Bug Lady,
Layne Salvant

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