Critter Control of Seattle

Wildlife Removal Service
Call for Immediate Help
Click to call

Seattle has its share of unwanted wildlife in developed areas. King County reports there are some invasive species in our area. For example, European starlings and sparrows are aggressively taking over the nests of woodpeckers and other birds.

These same birds like to invade other things, too, like your home. They aren’t the only wildlife trying to find food, water, and shelter in your home. Snakes, squirrels, opossums, and skunks are just a few more examples of Seattle wildlife becoming a nuisance in developed areas.

Critter Control Wildlife Removal Process

Critter Control is here for you every step of the way in the wildlife removal process. From inspection to removal—and even exclusion and repair—we have the services you need to get rid of raccoons, rodents, and other nuisances fast. First, we identify the animal on the property, then use humane methods to remove the animal and secure weak points where more could enter. If damage has been done, we can make those repairs for a complete restoration.

STEP 1

Wildlife Inspection

During the inspection we try to ascertain how many animals there are, where they are located, and how they got in. Based on what you have seen, heard and smelled, we start the inspection where you have noticed signs of animal activity. Evidence of animals inside your home include nests, dens, feces, and animal tracks. We investigate the exterior of your home looking for possible entry points, any evidence of animal damage, tracks, fur, animal waste, or rub marks.

STEP 2

Removal

We use several methods to humanely remove the animal from your home. Depending on the species, the number of animals, and the condition of your property, we develop a custom wildlife removal plan. Humane wildlife removal strategies include animal traps, one-way doors, and repellents. Once we guarantee all animals are gone, we implement exclusion techniques. Exclusion techniques provide a safe, long-term solution to nuisance wildlife in your home. We create barriers to prevent animals from getting to resources. We only apply exclusions once we are sure all animals are gone from your home.

STEP 3

Exclusion and Repair

Wildlife will damage your home. Exclusion techniques repair any damage the animal causes getting into your home. Inside your home, animals build nests and dens out of readily available material. They will create runs through the insulation. Rodents will gnaw on anything including electrical wires and pipes. Animals can also spread diseases. We apply sanitation agents to clean up feces and urine. Mammals can host pests like fleas, ticks, and mites. Ectoparasite treatments exterminate those pests so you don’t become their next host.

Racoon Removal

Raccoons like to den near a water source, so frequent rainfall in Seattle provides a variety of comfortable habitats. Raccoons are well adapted to urban and suburban environments and attracted to unsealed trash cans and outdoor pet food. In colder months, raccoons will attempt to access a home through the chimney or den under a deck. These pests come with the risk of disease and property damage and should be removed immediately.

Before trying to remove a raccoon from your home by yourself, remember they can carry diseases, and if threatened, they may bite. Calling nuisance wildlife animal control experts is recommended. Critter Control’s three-step process works well for raccoon removal.

Inspection

Inspection

During the inspection, we determine the severity of the raccoon infestation. We look for physical evidence like footprints in or around the home, stains from raccoon feces and urine. On the exterior of the house, we look for damage like scratches on boards, broken vents and screens, ripped apart shingles, destroyed soffits, and every possible entry point.

Trapping and Removal

Raccoon Trapping

Live trapping is one of the most efficient ways to get rid of a raccoon. Depending on the situation, a one-way door or excluder valve can be installed. An excluder valve works by allowing the raccoon to leave but blocks its reentry. The choice of device is largely dependent on the season and location of the raccoons on your property. Direct capture is not commonly used because raccoons are a rabies vector species. If we must trap, we place traps strategically to safely catch the raccoons and we check traps frequently, based on state laws.

Repairs

Repairs

We provide a wide range of repair and restoration services. We can repair raccoon damage like broken screens on vents and chimneys and broken boards on decks and porches. It is essential to apply cleaning agents and ectoparasite treatments on areas inhabited by raccoons.

Squirrel Removal

Squirrels are so fun to watch. They fill up their cheeks with acorns and race up and down trees. It’s all fun and games until your bird feeders are destroyed, the siding on your home has been chewed through, and nests are built in your chimney. The Eastern Gray squirrel is a particular nuisance since it is the one to most likely enter your home. They are most active in the early mornings and evenings.

Native squirrels in our area include the Western Gray Squirrel, Douglas Squirrel, Red Squirrel, Northern Flying Squirrel. Non-native squirrels are the Eastern Gray Squirrel and the Eastern Fox Squirrel. Squirrels in Seattle have also been known to gnaw on wires lying on the roof of homes, causing power lines to droop, digging holes in your garden, and chewing holes in your attic where they may build a nest.

Squirrels mate from late winter to early spring, with litters arriving from March to June. All squirrels except flying squirrels and the western gray squirrel can produce a second litter in the Fall.

If you have squirrels on your property, call us for an inspection.

Inspection

Inspection

Wildlife specialists look for signs such as chewing on, in, or around your home, small openings leading to the attic or the crawl space, droppings, and debris like nuts or nesting material. Beams, wires, pipes, and insulation may all show signs of damage from squirrels.

Trapping and Removal

Squirrel Trapping

Live trapping or one-way doors are the most effective and humane ways to get rid of squirrels. One-way doors should never be used during birthing seasons (Spring & Fall), so our specialists will decide which is the best tool for the job. If we have to trap, we place traps strategically to safely catch the squirrels and check those according to state laws.

Repairs

Repairs

We can restore your home or office by squirrel proofing all entry points after we have removed the offenders. We can also clean-up the nesting sites and remove any debris, food, feces and soiled insulation.

Rodent Control in Seattle

The most common rodents to find in your home are Norway rats, roof rats, and the common house mouse.

Inspection

Inspection

During a rodent inspection, we thoroughly inspect your attic and provide a complete exterior home inspection. The most common signs of rodent activity are gnaw marks, feces, rub marks, nesting material, runs in insulation material, and small entry points.

Trapping and Removal

Rodent Trapping

A Critter Control wildlife specialist will create a strategic trapping plan to remove the rodents found in your home. Critter Control specialists may use snap traps and live traps to capture and remove mice and rats. Rodent trapping can usually takes between five to fourteen days.

Repairs

Repairs

The best way to reduce the possibility of letting unwanted rodents into homes is to seal possible entrances. Exclusion methods include caulking cracks in foundations, capping chimneys, and installing mesh covers over vents and crawl space entrances. We also strongly recommend a maintenance service. Rodents have front teeth that continuously grow, which means they can gnaw a new way back into your home.

Bat Removal

In Washington, bats are a year-round nuisance for homeowners. These critters look for places to hibernate during cold weather and roosts to rest during warmer months. Though some colonies choose trees or caves, others will enter homes.

Bats are a common sight in Seattle because they live in homes. The most common bats seen in the Seattle area are the little brown bat and the big brown bat, which could be living in your home now, damaging the structure of your home with their toxic feces and urine made of high levels of uric acid.

We must wait to block holes over a period of days early in the evening after the bats have left the structure to feed. We do this from mid-August to mid-October to give baby bats time to learn to fly. We also want to give them time to leave before colder weather arrives. Another window of opportunity occurs in early spring, before the birthing period in May.

If you have bats in your home or yard, call a professional at Critter Control for help.

Inspection

Inspection

We perform a full interior and exterior inspection and search for signs such as rub marks, guano, a strong scent of ammonia, and small openings. The most common sign is the accumulation of guano (feces).

Trapping and Removal

Bat Removal

The most effective and humane way to remove bats is by utilizing a bat valve in conjunction with a full home exclusion. A bat valve allows for bats to exit your home but not re-enter. We follow all local ordinances for humane bat removal. We will never abandon flightless pups in your attic.

Repairs

Repairs

After removing the bat valves, we seal the entrance hole(s) so bats can no longer enter your home. If there is substantial guano in your attic, you should consider taking advantage of our attic remediation services to remove the soiled insulation and replace it.

Skunk Removal

Skunks carry rabies and other diseases, making them dangerous to humans and pets. Female skunks seek a quiet, safe place to have baby skunks. Many find places underneath your home, porch, or decks. If the mama skunk feels threatened at any time, it will release an odor that repels any living creature.

Suppose they spray while living underneath your home; those odors can rise and enter your home, taking weeks for the odors to fade.

Skunks like to chew wood, tear screens, or burrow to find the right spot under your home. Don’t risk being sprayed by a skunk in trying to remove it by yourself. Call us instead.

Inspection

Inspection

In addition to noting any pungent odors that signal the presence of a skunk, we will inspect the condition of your landscaping, as skunks are known for tearing-up lawns and shredding grass while hunting for grubs and insects. We will also inspect the perimeter of your building’s foundations and under decks, to locate burrows.

Trapping and Removal

Trapping and Removal

Never try to remove a skunk from your property yourself. Getting sprayed is a very unpleasant experience. Furthermore, these animals may carry diseases that can spread to humans and pets, such as rabies. Our specialists will use live traps to capture and remove skunks for you, or they’ll use a one-way exclusion device to evict skunks from their harborage areas. The most effective ways to control a skunk problem is exclusion and habitat modification.

Repairs

Skunk Control

The most effective ways to control a skunk problem is exclusion and habitat modification. Methods like sealing foundation gaps, replacing and screening broken foundation vents and installing hardware cloth (rat walls) around unprotected sheds and decks are the most effective and permanent ways to keep skunks out.
We recommend keeping pet food inside and securing any trash bins.

Beaver Removal

The ponds, rivers, lakes, and marshes in King County are home to a variety of semiaquatic mammals like beavers, river otters, and nutria. Each animal can presents unique problems that require specific animal control solutions.

Nutria burrow into dikes and irrigation systems.Individuals should never try to trap and remove nutria on their own. As the animal may be carrying a variety of pathogens and parasites, mishandling can lead to serious health risks. Contact a trained wildlife specialist to remove and humanely relocate nutria populations.

River otters can disrupt a pond or lakes ecosystem by eating fish. Wire fences can keep otters out of private ponds and fisheries. Building walls along the shore may make it difficult for otters to exit bodies of water, which effectively traps the animal until removal is possible.

Beaver dams can flood your property, and beavers can destroy trees building their dams. There are several solutions for beaver control. There are engineering solutions to prevent beaver dams from flooding your property. Covering the base of trees and landscaping can protect them from beaver damage. Beaver trapping and removal should be used as a last resort.

Burrowing Animal Control

Trapping and removing burrowing animals from your yard can be challenging. Animals like moles, voles and mountain beavers can create extensive burrow systems with multiple entrances. In some cases, the animal has abandoned entrances and tunnels. It can be time and resouce intensive targeting a burrow the animal is no longer using.

Well-maintained landscaping, while pleasing to the eye, may provide the perfect living conditions for moles. They often build unsightly dirt mounds and raised surface tunnels, which can disrupt gardens, pavers, and plant root systems.

Mountain beavers  create extensive burrows in their preferred habitat of damp forests, ferny slopes, and damp ravines in urban areas of King and Pierce counties. They have an herbivorous diet and will eat a wide variety of plants, both above ground, and underground.

Northern Flicker Woodpecker Control

The Northern flicker is the most common woodpecker in Washington. Homeowners often deal with these pests in wooded areas. Woodpecker issues are especially frequent after storms or landscaping efforts displace trees. Birds that lose their habitats seek alternate shelter. Residents may hear them drumming on siding or gutters.

Bird netting is frequently used to stop woodpecker populations from damaging surrounding trees and buildings. Frightening devices also provide some protection. Such methods involve the use of shiny, bright, and mobile objects near potential drilling sites. Exclusion can be difficult if the birds are well established in the area, at which point pest control professionals may be the only solution.

Call to Schedule an Inspection

The Critter Control Difference

Trained Specialists Animal removal is a highly sophisticated job. As such, we vet and train our team members to ensure they have the knowledge and skill to remove any pest from your building. Our wildlife experts utilize advanced removal and exclusion techniques and damage repair.
Guaranteed Work Your satisfaction is always guaranteed. Critter Control® takes great pride in providing quality workmanship resulting in customer satisfaction.
Residential and Commercial Invading nuisance wildlife can wreak havoc on property. If left unattended wildlife and pests can cause costly property damage. Whether a residential property, apartment buildings, retail stores, office buildings, industrial plants, medical facilities, or warehouses, our trained professionals can handle any wildlife removal problem.