ABSOLUTELY NOT - Pest control companies (also called exterminators) are licensed usually by the state department of agriculture in the control of insects through the use of pesticides. This practice is completely
unrelated to wildlife conflict resolution. Unfortunately, sometimes people confuse the two, and assume that a company that kills cockroaches in a house can also remove raccoons from an attic. Many companies don't want to turn
down business, so from time to time a pest control company will attempt wildlife control when a confused consumer requests it. The results are often terrible, because not only does the pest control company lack the knowledge to do the job properly, but they often
turn to techniques they DO know - namely, the applications of poisons.
USE OF POISON ON ANIMALS: - The use of poison for wildlife control is the very definition of ignorant, lazy, and inhumane - the very thing this website stands against. Poison is also just plain ineffective,
which is the other thing this site stands against. We want you to resolve your wildlife conflict! But poison is a horrible choice for many reasons. First of all, it's illegal to use for raccoon control. Second, it's no guarantee that
you'll get the raccoon to eat the poison. It's just as likely that a neighborhood cat (perhaps a pet), or dog, or opossum or skunk will eat it. Third of all, depending on the type of poison, there's a strong chance that the animal will
get very sick and suffer, but not die, and will recover. Fourth, if the poison does work, and you're dealing with a raccoon in your attic, walls, porch, shed, etc, that animal will crawl into a tight dark space to die. When that happens,
you may not be able to reach the carcass, and when it rots over the next two months, creating a horrible odor, you will regret it. People attempt to use warfarin, difenacoum, brodifacoum, bromadiolone, ethylene glycol, cholecalciferol, or even
strychnine, and the results are always terrible. Thank you for reading this.
WHO SHOULD I HIRE THEN? - First off, see if you can get rid of raccoons yourself for free! Often, the answer to the conflict is a simple modification or technique. That failing, you want to hire
an ethical and experienced wildlife control specialist, a person who deals only with wild animals. As them the right questions before hiring:
- Do you use poisons? (NO)
- Do you perform home repairs to keep animals out? (YES)
- Do you mostly use cages to trap and remove raccoons? (NO)
- Do you utilize exclusion methods whenever possible? (YES)
DO SOME PEST CONTROL COMPANIES DO IT RIGHT? - There are some pest control companies that use traditional poison application techniques for insects, and attempt non-poison wildlife control. But our experience is that these
companies almost always use rudimentary and non-humane tactics. Remember, it is common for almost all pest control companies to attempt erradication of rats and mice, through the use of poison. Mice and rats are mammals, rats often up to a pound
in weight, and they are sentient intelligent creatures. The pest control company wants repeat business. They want to sign up clients to a monthly or quarterly contract, in which a technician can quickly move from house to house, rapidly deploying
poison, and moving on. Wildlife control, and rodent control, does not work that way. Each case is unique, and it takes time. If done correctly, with exclusion and home repairs, a skilled wildlife professional can permanently solve a rodent
problem in a house in just two or three service visits, under a week total. The approach for squirrels, raccoons, and other animals is the same - the problem completely solved, not "treated" every quarter for years on end, with ineffective and
inhumane poison. We recommend that people never contact a pest control company for their wildlife removal needs, unless you can absolutely be sure, over the phone that they have someone on staff dedicated to wildlife,
who will address the pest raccoon problem correctly.
I WANT TO KILL THE RACCOONS - You want to solve the raccoon conflict. And you can do it cheaper and easier if you don't kill the animals! There's no benefit to hiring a raccoon exterminator when you can often solve the problem
yourself for free, or hire an ethical and humane wildlife specialist who isn't operating under a pure volume business model like a raccoon pest control company.
For effective ways to solve a raccoon problem yourself, or to find local help, click the below buttons:
