What Great Hearing You Have

Mother squirrels are extremely maternal, when they hear their babies crying they come running FAST!

When born, baby squirrels are deaf and blind. Their hearing will develop around the 3 week mark, which is sooner than their vision. It is not until approximately week 4 that their eyes will open and their fur will start growing making them look more like a squirrel.

Once fully developed, squirrels have an excellent sense of hearing. When their babies cry out for them, they will come running from over 2 blocks away. In comparison to humans, squirrels can hear a frequency range that is 2 and a half times greater than ours and can hear a higher frequency than we can. This makes sense as baby squirrels vocalize by emitting a very high pitched cry.

Squirrel Central!

We have been busy removing lots of litters of squirrels over the past two weeks. Typically at this time of year, we would be seeing quite a few litters of raccoons but it seems there are a lot more squirrel litters than raccoons at this time.

This picture was taken of the baby squirrels inside our heated reunion jug. All babies were relocated by their mother.

Imagine You Are A Raccoon: Week 10

A weekly series by Brad Gates, B.Sc. Stay tuned each Wednesday for the continuation of this story!]

The homeowners, while realizing there had recently been noises above the master bedroom, they thought the activity was originating from the outside, possibly from something on the roof. This time however, the noises sounded alarmingly different, rudely awakening them in the middle of the night. By now the adrenalin rush has the homeowners wide awake, standing beside their bed and staring at the ceiling. Their initial thought is to make noise to scare away whatever is in the attic. Quickly, a broom is retrieved from the closet and used to hit the drywall ceiling where the unsettling sound is resonating from. Much to their dismay, the chittering sound becomes even louder. Upset and frustrated from the lack of their success, the homeowners return to bed and ponder what to do. Having already lost 3 hours sleep, anxiety becomes even greater as they hear something being dragged across the ceiling. Suddenly, all is quite again as you bed down with your offspring.

During the past few weeks we have been receiving calls from a few worried residents that have seen raccoons out during the day. Most people believe that the raccoon must be sick or injured to be seen during daylight hours but that is not always the case.

This raccoon had been hanging around this townhouse complex for a few days, finding different locations to sleep each day. Upon approaching the raccoon, he started climbing up the pole to the roof top, indicating that he was completely healthy and not injured in any way. We proceeded back down our ladder and let him be.

It is non entirely uncommon for raccoons to be out during the day if their night time foraging takes them far away from their den. Mother raccoons will also leave the den during the day on occasion to get away from their babies for some much needed sleep.

Our recommendation is to keep an eye on the raccoon if it is on your property such as on your deck or in your backyard. It is more than likely that they will move on at night fall.

Photo taken by Gates Wildlife Technician Cassandra.

We are very excited and honoured to have received the HomeStars Best of Award for the 6th year in a row!

We would like to extend a BIG thanks to all of our customers who wrote such wonderful reviews about our services.

To read our reviews please visit the HomeStars site and search Gates Wildlife Control. If you haven’t had the chance to write a review for us and would like to, we’d love to hear from you!

Thank you HomeStars for creating such an amazing platform for homeowners to review service companies.

Accidentally Locked In

Shortly after our customer had repaired an entry hole on the roof, they realized they had locked a raccoon in. Gates Wildlife Technician Blake responded to the call and set a trap in the garage to catch the and release him outside.

Congratulations! It’s A Litter Of Pinkies!

Gates Wildlife Technician Chris came across our first litter of baby squirrels on Tuesday in Mississauga.

All of the babies were placed in one of our heated release jugs for mom to find. She relocated each baby one by one to an alternate den site.

These structural components were strictly developed from a functional perspective. Even today, animal prevention is not a vital part of their design.

Therefore, to make them animal-proof they need to be reinforced with galvanized screen covers. The pressing need to secure these components cannot be over emphasized since nearly sixty percent of all animals identify them as an easy point of entry.

By Brad Gates, B.Sc.

Brad Gates is the owner and president of AAA Gates Wildlife Control. He has over 35 years experience in the humane wildlife removal and prevention industry.

Mostly birds and the occasional squirrel will use wall vents as ready-made nesting boxes. The existing plastic vent cover presents no obstacle whatsoever against animals seeking entry.

Once inside the vent pipe starlings will construct large nests, sometimes 1 meter in length, often blocking the air flow. With up to 6 fledglings defecating in this confined space, breeding insects and obnoxious odours are a most undesirable consequence.  An easy solution to prevent these intrusions is to fasten galvanized screen on top of the plastic vent cover. The screen installation must, however, not interfere with the normal functioning of the vent flaps.

Warning: Dryer vents should not be screened, as this would cause the accumulation of lint against the screen and inside the pipe, thus presenting a fire hazard.

Call Gates Wildlife Today. We are able to install screen on your Stove and Bathroom vents as a preventative measure. Our Stove and Bathroom Vent Screens are guaranteed for 10 Years.

By Brad Gates, B.Sc.

Brad Gates is the owner and president of AAA Gates Wildlife Control. He has over 35 years experience in the humane wildlife removal and prevention industry.

In our Canadian climate roofs are exposed to a wide variety of weather conditions. Strong winds, freezing and hot temperatures, heavy rain and snow all take their toll. Furthermore, animals looking for den sites will break off shingles resulting in exposing roof boards to the elements.

Conducting a minimum of two inspections per year will reveal areas where the roof repair is needed, thereby avoiding water damage and potential mold. Wildlife has the innate ability to locate and exploit areas where damage went undetected and water has caused the rotting of roof and fascia boards.

In this context, eavestroughs need to be cleaned before winter sets in to assure unimpeded water flow away from the building. Twenty percent of all wildlife entry holes are created where water from clogged eavestroughs has caused the fascia board and overhang to deteriorate.

By Brad Gates, B.Sc.

Brad Gates is the owner and president of AAA Gates Wildlife Control. He has over 35 years experience in the humane wildlife removal and prevention industry.