Squirrels in Richmond Attics: Get Rid of Squirrels in Homes: Squirrel Trapping & Removal: Trapping Squirrels in Richmond, VA Attics

Squirrels In Attics – Richmond and Charlottesville, Virginia, VA – (434) 270-0488 or toll-free at (888) 893-1975

There are squirrels in my attic. Yikes! It is actually extremely common for squirrels in Richmond or Charlottesville Virginia to enter houses, primarily in attics. Virginia Professional Wildlife Removal Services has the professional solutions necessary to get squirrels out of attics and keep them from re-entering the attics of your home. Squirrels in attics can cause damage if the problem remains unaddressed.

Why Do Squirrels Go in Attics?

squirrels in atticsSquirrels in Richmond and Charlottesville Virginia currently have litters of newborns two times a year, once in the springtime and once in the fall season, they are continuously hunting for protected areas to make their nests. Squirrels get in the attic simply by chewing holes from the outside, typically above gutters, or at building gaps where dormers meet the roofline. They may also attain entry to attics by simply chewing corners of trim or almost any other weak area that enables them entry into the attic space. Contact us to humanely trap, remove , capture and control squirrels that have entered your Richmond or Charlottesville, Virginia home or business.

Contact us today at (434) 270-0488 or toll-free at (888) 893-1975 to safely & humane trap, remove, capture and control squirrels in attic. We can also repair the squirrel damage to keep them out! Visit us on the web at Virginia Wildlife Removal & Animal Control.

Virginia Professional Wildlife Removal Services – It’s who we are and what we do

Virginia Wildlife Removal, Animal Trapping & Pest Control

(434) 270-0488 or toll-free at (888) 893-1975

virginia wildlife removalVirginia Wildlife Removal Services was started due to the increasing need for nuisance wildlife to be humanely removed from homes, commercial properties and other areas. Our goal has always been to safely remove wild animals and restore your Richmond and Charlottesville Virginia home or business to its normal condition, whenever possible.

Our Professionalism, Education and Integrity sets us apart.

Professionalism:

We arrive on time and are clearly identified by our uniforms and trucks. We provide you with the highest level of customer service every time. We try to clearly explain everything we are going to do before we do it and we are always available to answer questions. If we do not feel we can effectively solve your problem we tell you this BEFORE we start, not after!

Education:

Many animal removal technicians have very little training, experience, or education. Here at Virginia Professional Wildlife Removal Services we put a high priority on advanced education because we believe it enables us to better understand animal behavior, provide effective solutions to various problems, and maintain lifelong scientific learning in this field. Just because your dad or your dad’s dad were trappers DOES NOT make you an effective nuisance wildlife removal and control technician. We are not just trappers, but problem solvers.

Integrity:

We charge a SET fee for trapping and exclusions, which we quote to you UP FRONT. We do NOT charge per trap or per animal caught! Some unethical companies can charge you per animal, and then proceed to trap and catch the SAME animal numerous times costing you much more than it should.

Our normal procedures include checking the live traps to monitor progress, change trap locations as necessary, and changing bait to keep it fresh. We always maintain constant communication with you about our progress. Our customers are what make us successful. Our goal is 100% satisfaction from our customers — they are, after all why we have a thriving business. We love what we do! We provide bat removal, beaver removal, bee control, bird control, deer management, foxes, flying squirrel removal, groundhog removal, mice control, mole removal, opossum removal, raccoon removal, rat removal, skunk removal, snake removal, squirrel removal, vole removal and more. Call us today at (434) 270-0488 or toll-free at (888) 893-1975.

Rabies, it happens in Charlottesville & Richmond too. – Raccoon found in Egg Harbor Township tests positive for rabies

Raccoons in Charlottesville & Richmond Are Also Occasionally Found to Have Rabies

From Press staff reports pressofAtlanticCity.com | A raccoon found on Wharf Road in Egg Harbor Township had the first confirmed case of rabies in Atlantic County this year, Health Officer Patricia Diamond said Friday. No humans were exposed to the disease.

The raccoon was seen running in circles Dec. 31 at a residential property, and was picked up by the local animal-control officer, Diamond said. It was confirmed rabid Wednesday by the state laboratory in Trenton.

Rabies, which is usually fatal if not treated, is most common in raccoons and bats but also has been found in foxes, skunks, cats and other animals, Diamond said.

Residents are reminded to have their pets vaccinated. A free clinic will be held Jan. 23 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Atlantic County Animal Shelter on Old Turnpike Road in Pleasantville.

People should not approach or play with wild animals, Diamond said. Anyone who is bitten, scratched or exposed to a strange animal’s saliva should get immediate medical attention and report the incident to the county Division of Public Health at 609-645-5971.

Elaine Rose

Virginia Professional Wildlife Removal Services, LLC, provides raccoon control, raccoon trapping and raccoon removal for the Charlottesville and Richmond, Virginia areas. Additionally, we provide pest control, pest removal, animal control, animal removal, critter control, critter removal, wildlife control and wildlife removal in Charlottesville and Richmond, Virginia. Licensed and insured. Residential and commercial services available 24/7. Some of the critters we handle include squirrels, raccoons, beavers, bats, skunks, snakes, groundhogs, birds, opossums, moles, voles, foxes and coyotes. Call us for an appointment at (434) 270-0488 or toll-free at (888) 893-1975.

Masked Marauders Mix It Up With Mutts

Written by Eric Turowski,

Published: Thursday, 16 December 2010

The sounds of mammalian combat broke the still early morning air at 3 a.m. on Liberty Avenue Dec. 9.

Two dogs discovered masked bandits entering the home via a dog door, and a melee between two canines and four carnivores ensued.

Victim dogs, one a lab mix weighing 54 pounds, the other a dachshund mix weighing less than 10 pounds, got the worst of it, with the larger dog receiving the brunt of the injuries.

Both pets were rushed to an animal hospital in San Leandro.

The dogs, both current on their rabies vaccinations, are currently under house quarantine.

The raccoons in question were described only as wearing masks. They fled in an unknown direction.

Police suspect that dog food and water were kept near the dog door, and the masked bandits were aware of the goods and the easy access.

A source at APD believes that a scout raccoon discovered the food and returned with the entire pack for an early-morning feast — a meal that was interrupted by the dogs defending their territory.

However, entry via dog door is not only a raccoon standby.

Human bandits frequently use dog doors as a means to burglarize a home.

APD recommends not having a dog door at all, or if you must have one, it should feature a lock.

CHARLOTTESVILLE AND RICHMOND VIRGINIA SQUIRREL REMOVAL AND SQUIRREL CONTROL – VIRGINIA PROFESSIONAL WILDLIFE REMOVAL SERVICES, LLC – (434) 270-0488 or toll-free at (888) 893-1975
www.VirginiaProfessionalWildlifeRemovalServices.com

Raccoons Invade Alameda Home Through Doggy Door and Attack the Family Dogs

By: Rob Hugger
12-16-10
www.examiner.com

A month ago, DawgHugger told you about a raccoon dog walker attack in Alameda on an unsuspecting lady out for an evening walk with her dog. That was the sixth such incident in several months.  Now there are ten. And the raccoons appear to be increasing their level of aggression. Four people have been bitten and several dogs hurt.

Now the raccoons have taken their ‘Procyon terrorism’ streak to a new height – they have discovered doggy doors – and use them to invade homes.

In the latest incident, a group of four raccoons entered a home through a doggy door and helped themselves to the pet food and attacked and injured two family pet dogs when they confronted them.  The injuries were not life immediately life threatening, but the two dogs are now under rabies quarantine for the next 30 days

Alameda police are warning residents about vicious raccoons who are attacking people and animals.
It’s the 10th such incident in the last six months, and the police and animal experts are urging homeowners to keep any pet doors shut.

There have been reports and incidences of  raccoons out at night in Alameda over the last six months, looking for food in garbage and recycling cans . Now that they have discovered doggy doors, they’re going into homes to help themselves to any available foodstuffs – or the family pet when they don’t find easy food readily available (Check back on Saturday about this disturbing fact)

Raccoons may be targeting dogs as potential food competitors. This has animal control people concerned as the intensely aggressive behavior exhibited by these Alameda raccoons increases. One suggested reason for the heightened raccoon viciousness is that Alameda is an island, so an increased raccoon population has added stress in the competition for food (More on this on Saturday).

Daniel Wilson from the Alameda Vector Control  has advised residents to make sure their trash cans are well sealed when they put them out for collection – and to start keeping doggy doors closed at night.

And, when walking your dog, especially at night, be aware of your surroundings, because raccoons can come out of nowhere and attack.

CHARLOTTESVILLE AND RICHMOND VIRGINIA SQUIRREL REMOVAL AND SQUIRREL CONTROL – VIRGINIA PROFESSIONAL WILDLIFE REMOVAL SERVICES, LLC – (434) 270-0488 or toll-free at (888) 893-1975
www.VirginiaProfessionalWildlifeRemovalServices.com

3 Raccoons Found with Distemper. Be Sure to Vaccinate Pets!

December 17, 2010 | by Nickie Lewis | Chicago Metro

Wildlife officers at Chicago’s Animal Care and Control recently responded to calls about three raccoons suspected of having contracted distemper, a highly contagious disease that can affect several species, including domestic pets. Humans cannot contract the distemper virus.
“We want people to know that prevention is the best opportunity here,” said Animal Care and Control Executive Director Cherie Travis. “Vaccinating pets against distemper is very important to prevent the spread of the disease.”
Animal Care and Control is offering low-cost vaccine clinics at its facility located at 2741 S. Western Avenue on Tuesday, December 28 from 9 a.m. – noon, and on Wednesday, December 29 from 4 p.m. -7 p.m. The cost of the vaccine is $7 and no appointment is necessary.
Additional Vaccine Clinics will be available on January 15, February 5, February 26, March 19, April 9 and April 30 – all from 9 a.m. until noon.  Rabies vaccinations will also be available at a cost of $15.
Distemper attacks the nervous system and symptoms of the virus include: trembling, seizures, twitching, partial or complete paralysis, and eye and nasal discharge.

The public is encouraged to call 311 to report sightings of wild animals that appear infected and to take pets immediately to a veterinarian if they are exhibiting symptoms.
In 2004, the Chicago area experienced an outbreak of distemper virus that affected over 120 dogs and may have been transmitted to unvaccinated pets through exposure to infected wildlife.

CHARLOTTESVILLE AND RICHMOND VIRGINIA SQUIRREL REMOVAL AND SQUIRREL CONTROL – VIRGINIA PROFESSIONAL WILDLIFE REMOVAL SERVICES, LLC – (434) 270-0488 or toll-free at (888) 893-1975
www.virginiaprofessionalwildliferemovalservices.com

Is Prospect Park Covering Up a Rabid Raccoon Problem?

Posted by Henry Stewart on Tue, Dec 7, 2010 at 4:18 PM, www.thelmagazine.com

Last week, officials tested a dead raccoon found near the lake—and the Vanderbilt Street Playground!—on the southwest end of Prospect Park and found it had rabies. This, ten months after a rabid raccoon was discovered in Boerum Hill. It might not sound like cause for alarm, but these were the first cases of rabies discovered in Brooklyn raccoons in almost twenty years! Could there be more rabid raccoons afoot?

It doesn’t seem farfetched—so why are Prospect Park officials disposing of raccoon corpses without first testing them for rabies?

Anne-Katrin Titze, the Prospect Park upstart who performs the park’s goose census for the Brooklyn Paper every week, told the Times‘ City Room blog that she photographed a dead raccoon in Prospect Park in April, but that the city has no record of that a rabies test was performed on it, even though such a test is required. (Though, the article notes, such a test cannot be performed past a certain stage in decomposition.) Central Park has had such a problem with rabid raccoons that it now vaccinates them. Is Prospect Park worried about a similar fate?

Or are they just not collecting dead raccoons until they’ve decomposed? A horse recently shit in the short, sylvan passageway that connects the Long Meadow to the Nethermead, steps from the popular Dog Beach; it went uncleaned and uncollected in the last several weeks, until it has dissolved into brown spots in the pavement. Is this just the way Prospect Park handles all of its messes? Whatever it can’t gas in the cloak of night it leaves to fester?

Virginia Wildlife Removal & Pest Control Services – (434) 270-0488 or toll-free at (888) 893-1975

Expert: Snake could have climbed door

NEW ORLEANS, Dec. 4 (UPI) — A herpetologist says a Louisiana man who claims to have been bitten by a snake hiding in a wreath hanging on his door may be telling the truth.

David Steen, a Florida graduate student and author of a blog on reptiles, told The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune he thinks the snake that bit — or did not bite — Marc Jones of St. Tammany Parish could have been a Texas rat snake. The snakes, despite their name, also live in Louisiana.

Steen said Texas rat snakes are excellent climbers, famed for their ability to climb vertical brick walls looking for food. One could have gotten to the wreath.

Jones says he was bitten on the head in October when he opened the door for a parcel delivery. The story has gone viral online.

“In contrast to many ‘unbelievable’ stories I receive via e-mail, I actually believe this one,” Steen said.

Call us at (434) 270-0488 or toll-free at (888) 893-1975 for expert Snake Removal, Snake Control and Snake Trapping in Central Virginia including the Richmond VA and Charlottesville VA areas.

Squirrels nesting in your Charlottesville or Richmond Virginia home for the winter?

As we turn up the heat to beat the cold temperatures, squirrels are trying to do the same thing. Squirrels will leave their leafy homes behind in the wintertime and go somewhere warmer like a hollow tree or your Richmond or Charlottesville Virginia house.

Squirrels don’t realize that they are going into your house. They see a weak/rotten spot in the house, and in the eyes of the squirrel that’s a really good hollow tree to make home for the winter.

The best way to prevent squirrels from getting into your house is by taking care of the structure of the house and doing regular maintenance. If you’re already having a problem with squirrels, or other pest control problems, contact Virginia Professional Wildlife Removal Services at (434) 270-0488 or toll-free at (888) 893-1975.

Rabid Skunk Attacks Family’s Dog

From http://www.thepilot.com/news/2010/nov/24/rabid-skunk-attacks-familys-dog/

By John Chappell – Wednesday, November 24, 2010

A rabid skunk attacked a family dog near Robbins in the early morning hours last Monday.

Animal Control officers had to put down three beloved pets whose inoculations were out of date after tests confirmed that the skunk did have rabies.

“I woke up hearing barking,” David Sanders said. “A skunk was in the dog pen fighting Sandy. She was a white Pekingese. They fought for 45 minutes, but she would not let go. All I had was a shotgun.”

Sanders said he couldn’t get a clear shot on the skunk that wouldn’t also hit his pet. Two other dogs were in the pen, but not in the fight.

“Cookie, also a white Pekingese, who was her pup, and our male Rue-ru,” he said. “It was about 3 in the morning. I went out and my first thought was, ‘What is that terrible smell?’ It was still in my nose the next day at the ER.

“Everywhere I went for three days I could smell it. I still don’t know how that skunk got in. There was no break in the pen.”

There was a shepherd dog in a second lot, but the Sanderses lost not only Sandy but also both the other Pekingese once rabies was confirmed.

“Animal Control had to put all three down,” he said. “It was a hard lesson. If you want to keep your dogs, get them a rabies shot.”

Moore County Animal Control makes house calls to administer rabies vaccinations for a $5 charge. Preventing the dread disease is one thing at the top of Al Carter’s list. He is director of operations at the center.

Rabies has been on the wane in the county of late, down to only four instances in 2010.

“Two skunks and two raccoons,” Carter said Tuesday in a telephone interview. “Rabies is somewhat of a cyclical disease. When an animal gets it, it dies. We have been on a down side the last couple of years. That’s good. It is a terrible way to die.”

A rabid dog got into the compound when Carter was in Special Forces. Soldiers had to get the shots. The Army showed them film of people dying from rabies.

“Even sedated, they were in agony,” he said. “It’s real. It’s a dangerous disease. The virus attacks the nervous system, jumps from synapse to synapse slowly until it reaches the medulla.”

That’s the part of the brain of a suspected infected animal that is sent off to be checked. In this case, tests showed Sanders’ invading skunk was rabid. Animal Control advised him to go to an emergency room or be checked by his family doctor right away.

“We went the next morning,” Sanders said. “They checked me over and didn’t find any cuts or any scratches where I could get infected.”

He didn’t have to take the shots. They are very costly.

“There have been improvements,” Carter said. “It isn’t the ones they used to have to give in the stomach. I think the first one now is strongly prophylactic, and there are four to six more after that. It’s not cheap. It costs around $8,000.”

All three of the Sanderses’ pets had to be destroyed. Their alternative would have been to have them boarded for observation in a clinic for six months. That runs about $2,500 per dog, Carter estimated.

Had Sanders himself needed the shots and had he had all four of their dogs boarded, that skunk attack would have cost about $20,000, according to Carter.

“We have very little wiggle room when the tags are out-of-date,” Carter said. “The only other option is to board them at a licensed veterinary clinic.”

Even that would not guarantee survival, as one or more would still have to die if the disease developed. The slow growth of the disease can take months before symptoms can be seen.

“It comes out in saliva,” Carter said. “We say it ‘sheds’ through the saliva.”

Even though 2010 has seen fewer instances, Carter wants local residents to be aware of the danger, be cautious around wild creatures such as foxes, raccoons and skunks, and get their pets protected.

“Rabies is dangerous,” he said. “It is real, and it is in Moore County.”

Call us at (434) 270-0488 or toll-free at (888) 893-1975 for animal removal, animal trapping, animal control and pest control services in Central Virginia including Richmond VA and Charlottesville VA.

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