What does Toronto Wildlife Removal mean? To us, it means saving our clients from unwanted visitors (a.k.a urban wildlife), and humanely bringing the visitors back to their natural habitats. Both in the City of Toronto and in the Greater Toronto Area, wildlife can be a nuisance to many residents, business owners, and industrial/agricultural environments.
What is Wildlife?
Wildlife traditionally refers to non-domesticated animal species. Wildlife can be found in all ecosystems, in both urban and rural sites. Common wildlife animals found in the GTA are birds, pigeons, skunks, snakes, raccoons, squirrels, opossums, and bats. Most times, these animals will behave in hostile manners when aggravated, and can be considered as dangerous and sometimes infectious.
Wildlife & Human Co-Habitance
In most cases, wildlife and humans can co-exist in urban areas. While everyone goes about their businesses, conflicts do arise at times. As weather gets cooler, urban wildlife starts seeking shelter. Raccoons, squirrels, pigeons, and bats may settle in attics, between walls, and chimneys; causing significant damage and health hazards to homeowners. Skunks could hide under porches or decks and spray house pets or unwary residents. Human-wildlife conflict does arise frequently in Toronto.
Fall is a peak season for Toronto wildlife removal needs as many animals start looking for food and shelter from the fast approaching cold weather conditions. This is the time to wildlife proof your property to avoid unwanted visitors. Usually finding warmth and food in or around a structure. Wildlife such as raccoons and squirrels easily get acclimated to their new habitats, often bringing their dependents with them. Removing wildlife in humane manner requires very specific skill-sets as well as in-depth knowledge of all the animals. Although there are many DIY solutions available for all wildlife removal needs, one can never predict the results of these projects. Trained technicians can understand animals’ behaviors, predict their motives, and even know their next moves. Trained technicians can also tell if wildlife has been breeding, where the babies may be, and if wildlife has or is suffering from any injuries. Most importantly professionals have the proper gear, equipment, and animal storage and removal tools to avoid any harm to you, to the animals, or to themselves. At SOS Wildlife Control Incorporated, we ensure your safety, as well as the safety of the animals. Our trained wildlife control technicians help relocate wildlife as per Environment Canada’s guidelines. We ensure the animals are injury and stress free during this process. We try to use one ways doors as our first solution. This involves no wildlife human interaction but if this option is not suitable we use wildlife friendly cages where animals are transported comfortable and free of restraints to their new, natural environments.
Toronto wildlife removal services have become a necessity for many home and business owners as urban wildlife number are on an increase. Due to the quick adaptability and fast- breeding nature, wildlife quickly adjusts to their new environments and they promptly pass this knowledge down to their offspring, creating a smarter generation of unwanted guests. Once an animal has established a home, they like to keep it. Any female offspring raised here, will also want to return to the same place to have their own litters. Given many of the wildlife are extremely intelligent, it is quite possible for this to take place. For many reasons aside from the simple attachment issues, it is very imperative to remove all wildlife as soon as possible before it becomes a matter of a serious infestation problem.
How to Avoid Toronto Wildlife Removal Services
Lock up all recyclables and garbage in animal proof bins, ensure lids are securely closed at all times
Take garbage and recyclables out often
Remove any and all uneaten pet foods from pets’ bowls, remove all bird feeders at night
Caution neighbors against wildlife feeding, contact your local council if problem persists
Survey the structure of your home regularly, be aware of all cracks and holes and ensure proper measures are taken to fix these deficiencies
Keep your home clean and organized, don’t leave opened packages of food out or overnight
Keep your yard tidy by removing all unnecessary items and debris. Mow your lawn, and rake leaves regularly
Ensure doors and windows are closed, as most wildlife are superior climbers
Screen entry points and maintain fencing
Our Approach to Toronto Wildlife Removal
While there are different approaches trained technicians can use such as no trapping, or lethal trapping; we like to use the One Way Door or the Live Trapping method at SOS Wildlife Control Incorporated. This method allows use to trap the wildlife to ensure successful captivity, but it also allows us to inspect the animals to ensure they are uninjured before releasing them back into the wild. If animals are captured at the time of birthing/nesting period, we place them in protected boxes and ensure they are located to a safe environment, no further than 1 km away from the location of captivity, as per provincial guidelines. We provide the Toronto and GTA residents, humane wildlife removal services.
Wildlife Fun Facts:
On the mammal IQ scale, raccoons rank higher than cats, and just below monkeys
Squirrels are extremely intelligent: they are known to put elaborate bogus food burying display to deceive onlookers. The purpose of this fake burial is to trick potential thieves: other squirrels
Skunks are nocturnal. They sleep during the day and look for food at night
Opossums have remarkable ability to find food and remember its source. When tested for ability to remember where food it, opossums scored better than rats, rabbits, and dogs. They can also find their way through a maze faster than rodents and cats.
At SOS Wildlife Control Incorporated, we provide superior Toronto Wildlife Removal services for residential, commercial, and industrial clients. Let us help you solve your wildlife problems. We easily be reached at 1-800-981-0330. Don’t wait and call us to schedule an appointment for a thorough inspection to help evacuate all your unwanted wildlife guests.
What do you do if you find a skunk under decking, or a skunk under a porch or even anywhere on your property? First step is to keep a safe distance as a skunk can spray up to 10 ft. The smell is vile and it is difficult to remove.
A skunk under decking is very common as it is a nice isolated area for them to make their home, but it’s important for you to remove them as they will keep returning to that den. You may first realize you have a skunk by it’s smell, its very potent, or you may see it entering and leaving at night, either way it’s best to call a professional for skunk removal.
How to know you have a Skunk Under Decking
Four ways to identify if you have a Skunk Under Decking is sight, damage or odor.
Sight
The easiest way to know you have a skunk is to spot it. You may see it entering or leaving however this could be rare as they are very skilled at staying hidden. Skunks are nocturnal and they enter and leave mainly at night.
Damage
You can also identify a skunk problem by the damage they cause. They often will destroy things that gets in their way in their search for food. They will knock over garbage cans, break glass, and destroy property. The longer you have a Skunk Under Decking the more damage they will cause. Having a skunk for two weeks will cause a lot of damage to your property.
What to do if you have a Skunk Under Decking?
Eliminate Attractants
Other ways you can resolve a skunk problem without trapping the animal is to eliminate whatever is attracting the skunk to your property – garbage, pet food, assess your house for weak points where they may enter.
There are several risks when conducting do-it-yourself skunk removal and you may spend a lot of time and money on gimmicks that work only temporarily. We really do highly recommend hiring someone to remove skunks professionally. We do not advise you to try live trapping.
Read our Skunk removal page to learn how we professional remove skunks. The most humane way is using a one-way door as there is little to no human-wildlife interaction.
Prevent future Skunk Under Decking
To prevent future animals entering your home, SOS Wildlife Control Incorporated provides wildlife prevention for your home. Wildlife Prevention will help keep them out and is a long term solution. Read our Wildlife Prevention page for more information.
Call SOS Wildlife Control Incorporated for Skunk Removal
Skunks are mammals known to spray a liquid with a very powerful scent if they are feeling threatened. Skunks are usually 40 cm to 94 cm long weigh about 1.1 lb which is 0.50 kg. They are usually brown and white but can also come in brown and crème, there are two different types of skunks there is a stripped raccoon and there is also a spotted raccoon both these are very popular in Northern America. Another difference between a stripped and spotted skunk is their weight, a spotted skunk is quite heavier than a stripped skunk a spotted skunk is usually 18 lb which is 8.2 kg. Skunks are able to cause damage to our homes and they can be dangerous for us health wise. Therefore you will have to do a skunk control once you spot any skunks inside your home. Skunk control is necessary however often people don’t realize that they have a wildlife animal such as a skunk inside their homes, so they don’t do a skunk control until they see the skunk in their home. Here are a few ways to know whether you know you have skunks inside your home or not!
Signs of skunk in yard
Holes
Gardens and backyards are a great way to find out whether you have skunks inside your home or not. Skunks usually damage gardens by making holes. If you see random holes in your backyard or gardens there is a high chance you have skunks living with you.
Scent:
As I already said skunks spray a liquid once they feel threatened, the liquid they spray has a very bad smell and the scent doesn’t leave for a really longtime. You will defiantly know by the smell that there are skunks living inside your home / on your property. Unfortunately it has a terrible scent and takes what feels like forever to rid of it.
Damages:
You will have to do a skunk control immediately after you spot them in your house since they can be very unpleasant guests due to their spray. Skunks however are not capable of creating lots of damage but you will still want to put some money into doing a skunk control since they can be very unpleasant. The only thing skunks are capable of doing is damaging our gardens and making them look ugly. They can make holes in the grass making it harder for us to enjoy our backyards.
Skunks under porches is bad because they might spray while they are under the porch making it ten thousand times harder to get rid of the scent. Therefore you will still have to have a skunk control done. If you see them near your home, you would want to ask a wildlife control technician to do a skunk control service for you to prevent you being sprayed.
Skunks are not capable of creating lots of damage that is why sometimes people don’t care as much and don’t do skunk controls once they see a couple of them near their house. However even though skunks are not capable of causing lots of damage they are still capable of transmitting very dangerous diseases to you. Skunk diseases are pretty similar to raccoons, squirrels, and many other wildlife animals.
Skunk Diseases
Rabies:
Rabies is a disease that causes inflammation of the brain in warm blooded animals and humans. Rabies can cause death if it’s not treated and if you don’t seek immediate medical attention. Please be cautious of all skunks, especially sick looking ones, acting strange or foaming at the mouth. If you have a skunk on your property it is advised to call a professional for a skunk control service immediately. If you touch a skunk or your pet does contact your doctor or vet for a checkup to make sure you or your pet are not carrying the disease. Some common symptoms of rabies are fever, sore throat, tiredness, stiff muscles, nausea, headaches, and itchiness and tingling. Some die because of cardiac arrests and respiratory failure. Please read further on our Rabies in Wildlife article.
Hantavirus:
Hantavirus is a very dangerous and fatal virus that you can possibly get from a skunk. You will never want to encounter this virus so do a skunk control done by a professional to make sure that you will not get infected. Some symptoms that usually comes with this virus is fever, vomiting, nausea, headache, lower back pain, and muscle pain. This virus usually comes from the feces and saliva of wildlife animals such as the skunks. This can be a deadly disease so take it seriously and do a skunk control immediately, and it’s highly recommended that you do a skunk control done by a professional.
Parasitic diseases:
Like many other wildlife animals, skunks can also have parasitic diseases that can be very dangerous. Skunks can potentially have a parasitic disease that they can transmit to you. Parasites are living bacteria that can live inside you and cause respiratory and neurological failure. Do a skunk control immediately so that you don’t encounter any of these problems.
Some people will want to save money and spend money on other things rather than a skunk control getting done by a professional. Some simply think it’s a simple job and want to do it themselves. However skunk is the worst animal that you can do a removal on, because of their liquid spray. It is highly recommended that you contact a wildlife control professional to do a skunk control for you since they can be very frustrating. SOS wildlife control guarantees all work done and we provide have a 24/7 service.
Inspect:
Inspect your home and research on where the squirrels made holes and came inside you home from. This way it will make it easier to do a squirrel removal since they would usually come back out from the same way they came inside your home, and it would be easier for you to catch the squirrels.
Seal:
Try to seal any holes that you find in the interior and exterior of your home. Sealing the holes will prevent the skunk entering. However you may want to leave one of the most popular holes they come in and out from unsealed so that the animals can go out of your home once you are doing a squirrel removal. Only seal the final hole once you are sure all skunks are out. If one dies inside the smell will be worse than the spray.
Traps:
You can purchase traps, and you can put the traps at the holes the skunks have made. You need to check for different size of traps and check the local law as it is illegal in certain areas to trap and relocate the animal yourself. Once the skunks are coming out of your home they will get trapped in the trap, then you will have to release the animal at least a kilometer away from your home so that they don’t come back inside. Also you will have to check your local law for trapping animals.
For information on how we remove skunks in yards, skunks under porches read our Skunk Removal page
Call SOS Wildlife on 647-994-9453 for Skunk Control
There are two main options to solving a wildlife problem – do it yourself or call a professional.
As a professional I will always advise using our services than doing it yourself, but that being said I do get a lot of phone calls from customers where it just ends up they only need advice as they can easily solve it themselves with the right knowledge. However this is the main reason I advise hiring a professional – knowledge.
As a professional, with the amount of times I’ve seen things done incorrectly or inhumanely, I would always recommend calling for wildlife removal services. That being said, it is a common occurrence that we receive phone calls from people requesting advice so that they can tackle it on their own. When conducting wildlife removal, it’s always safest to call a professional because one of the main differences between DIY methods and calling a service are two things main things, knowledge and experience.
Handling wildlife problems without experience or knowledge can be dangerous. As recently reported in the Town of Oakville were three dogs who died and three dogs were seriously ill after eating poison a neighbor planted carelessly to get rid of local wildlife.
The individual planted rat poison around trees to get rid of squirrels but unfortunately the neighbors pets were victim. As a huge dog lover and an advocate for the humane treatment of animals, I would be devastated if any animal (or human) got poisoned due to my neighbor’s carelessness.
Without knowledge or experience, anybody can fall victim putting their own and other people’s health and safety at risk. It is unfortunate that a decision made by their neighbor has devastated these houses which could have been avoided with proper research into more humane, non-lethal solutions. You can read more on the story on Global News.
In general SOS Wildlife Control Incorporated takes one of two approaches for wildlife problems (or a combination).
The main and preferred approach is to install one-way doors at entry-points to allow animals to leave the building, and to prevent re-entry.
The second is live trapping. We snare or trap the animal and then release back into the wild a kilometer away in accordance to Ontario rules and regulations.
These approaches sound very easy but it takes experience and knowledge of the animals to do it correctly. If there are babies involved separate precautions must be taken. The mother must be initially removed and later relocated with her babies, the humane method of wildlife removal with babies. If you have a wildlife problem, call us for advice or help – 647-994-9453 or email us at info@soswildlife.ca.
Do-it-Yourself Wildlife Removal Tips
As much as we recommend calling wildlife technicians, we are aware of the stride people take on their own. Below are a couple tips for Do-it-Yourself wildlife removal.
If the animals pose no immediate threat to health and safety, then residents may choose to wait until the adults and any young have left the home or property, and then close the access point to prevent re-entry. Residents taking this approach must ensure that all young animals have left the nest or den, which normally means waiting until the young are weaned.
Read up on your local animal legislation before attempting to do it yourself. Ontario has strong animal welfare legislation, enforcing strong laws and tough penalties. In Ontario it is an offence to cause or permit distress to an animal.
“Their goal is to ensure Ontario’s animals are protected and treated in the humane manner that our society expects”.
Ministry of Natural Resources, 2015.
It’s against the law in Ontario to even own a trap that can catch anything bigger than a rat. Any device big enough to kill a raccoon or any use of poisons to kill these wild animals could also snare the neighbor’s cat or worst case scenario a toddler. The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) recommends hiring a licensed professional to trap and remove the animal.
Trapping is a common tactic for urban wildlife management in Toronto, but the most effective way of controlling pests like raccoons, skunks, mice, rats, or squirrels is prevention. Preventing the wildlife from entering your home can be much more effective than live trapping. Please check out our video on wildlife proofing your home.
