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Pest Control For Homeowners

Posted on July 26, 2021
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It’s that time of year again. Maybe you’re cleaning out your garage, attic, gutters or just taking the cover off your air conditioning unit, and you find an animal nest. How do you identify what kind of animal has been nesting on your property? How do you clean it up and ensure the pests don’t return to nest on your property next winter? We’ll touch on three of the usual suspects, signs of their nests, and what you can do.

Identifying Mouse Nests

Mice build nests to raise their young in, and often they’ll form their nests in or around your property. So if you’re noticing mouse droppings or the telltale sound of mice scratching or running around inside your walls, it may be a sign that there’s a nest nearby. Mouse nests are very distinctive in appearance.

Mice like to form their nests into rough, ball-like structures and use any materials they can get their hands on. Mice typically collect insulation from their nests and shred up paper, straw and more for their nests. The materials end up looking like thin strips, grouping into circular clumps.

Where To Find Mouse Nests

When you’re looking for mouse nests, remember that mice generally keep to a small radius. So wherever you see mouse droppings, you’ll usually find them in their nests relatively close by.

Mice love to build their nests in relatively undisturbed areas, like drawers, under kitchen appliances, or they will sometimes chew holes into drywall and live in the walls. You’ll want to check spots that you don’t usually clean to ensure mice aren’t nesting in there.

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Mice breed extremely quickly and will continue to breed if given a chance. The best way to prevent a mouse infestation is to make sure your house isn’t a welcoming place for their nests. This means keeping it clean, not leaving open food out, and making sure you regularly clean in all the nooks and crannies.

Cleaning up a mouse nest can be difficult if mice currently inhabit it. Additionally, even if you clean up the nest, they may just build a new nest, and you’ll have to repeat the process. That’s what it means to have a mouse infestation. Calling in a pest control professional is often the best way to handle an inhabited mouse nest. Our team at Martin’s Pest Control is ready and willing to help you with your mouse infestation.

Bird Nests

The chirping and singing of birds can bring joy to your day, but what do you do when birds start building nests where they shouldn’t? There are guidelines in Canada preventing the removal of non-active migratory bird nests year-round, so make sure to look into the guidelines before attempting any removal yourself.

Typically, if the nest is inactive and located in a dangerous and highly active spot, you should move or remove the nest. For example, if there are no eggs or brooding adults in the nest and it’s been built in your gutters or a dryer vent, you should be okay to remove it.

Contacting a professional pest control company is the best way to figure out if you’ll be able to move or remove this bird’s nest without risking a fine.

Squirrel Nests

Are you struggling with squirrels nesting in your attic? If you find them making a home in your attic, it’s usually a female squirrel that’s looking for a place to nurse her young. Unfortunately, squirrels can damage the wood and wiring in your attic, so it’s essential to deal with the squirrels sooner rather than later.

It would be best if you didn’t try to remove the squirrels or the nest from your attic on your own. A pest control professional will have the experience to safely and quickly remove them from your attic. If you attempt to remove them yourself, you could be creating hazards by not having the right equipment and procedures.

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Once the nest is removed, you will have to get the attic looked at and repair the entry point. Otherwise, you might have another squirrel infestation before long.

Bringing In Professionals Might Be The Best Call

Handling animal nests can be overwhelming when they’re currently being inhabited. While uninhabited nests just mean a clean-up job and making sure your home isn’t an alluring spot for pests to come back, evicting pests from their home can be much more complicated. Leave it to the pest professionals.

Our team at Martin’s Pest Control can help you determining if you need professional pest services and help you remove the nest. We can also help trap or exterminate any remaining mice or squirrels so you can continue living in your home pest-free.

Are you looking for a pest control professional in the Calgary or Airdrie area? Martin’s Pest Control is extremely professional and experienced and can help you get your pest problem under control. Contact our team today for more information.