Pests generally defined as any animal whose behavior has no benefit to a community or piece of property, but instead damages it and acts as a nuisance due to its eating habits, its bites and nest formation, or antagonism toward people or pets. Some pests are small, such as cockroaches and ants, and bigger pests include such mammals as mice, rats, gophers, and squirrels. Even if they look harmless, the bites and destructive ways of these animals labels them as pests by most standards, but the good news is that there are ways to trap them, drive them away, or even kill them to prevent further problems. Ground squirrels traps, squirrel bait poison, and more are available from a gopher removal service or squirrel control services. How can one tell if gophers are present, or if squirrels are in the home? Ground squirrel traps and other baits and poisons are most effective after a pest population is found.

Gophers, Squirrels, and More

Pocket gophers come in some 34 different species in the western hemisphere, and 13 species of them can be found in the United States in particular. They eat a lot, up to 60% of their body weight daily, and they will eat vegetation found around the home such as trees, shrubs, grasses, flowering plants, and roots, and this can mean garden damage. How to tell if you have gophers is often a matter of finding the extensive flora damage they cause, although spotting them directly is also possible, especially if a homeowner’s pet dog gets excited upon seeing them, and may even bark. Gophers can also be detected by seeing their burrows in the yard, which connect to many underground tunnels, and gophers may be seen going in and out of these burrows. And according to Pests, gophers should not be confused with groundhogs, which are much longer, heavier, and have darker fur. They may also chew on underground pipes or cables to wear down their ever-growing teeth, as well as damage crops by chewing their roots.

Tree bound squirrels and ground squirrels, meanwhile, may be caught in traps such as ground squirrel traps, but until they are, they can cause further damage to a property. Squirrels can leap from tree branches to a home’s roof, and from there, they will chew their way through the wooden walls and into the attic. Adults will often build nests in air ducts, which can interfere with heating and cooling systems, and these pests will chew on phone and cable lines, electrical cords, and more. The holes they chew in the roof may let in rainwater or melting snow, and this can short out electrical components and cause water damage to drywall. The squirrels may also spread smaller pests such as fleas or ticks, as well as diseases if they bite people or pets in the house.

Control of Pests

Ground squirrel traps are just one option for an amateur or professional pest exterminator. Contractors can be hired to remove squirrels and their nests from roofs and air ducts, and once the holes are repaired, special paint and sealant can be applied to the roof’s wooden walls to deter squirrels from trying to chew their way in again. On farms, in particular, wire mesh or hardware cloth can be installed at least one foot deep into the ground to create a perimeter that blocks gopher digging, and using raised plant beds, which are affordable and easy to use for anyone, block any access gophers would have to a home’s plants. Having pet dogs or cats loose in the back yard may also deter gophers, since these pets may chase and attack them on sight, and even the smell of the pet’s urine or fur might discourage gophers from intruding on a property.

Ground squirrel traps may be laid by hired pest exterminators, and trapped animals may be relocated somewhere safe and taken far from the property. Poison pellets, meanwhile, are an option for fighting squirrels or rats that have broken into a home or commercial building, killing any pest that ingests the pellets. Those who opt to using such pellets are strongly cautioned to not allow pets or children anywhere near the pellets, as they can be a serious poison hazard.