If you have a pet, whether it is a cat, dog, hamster, or lizard, you love it and want to keep it safe. This might seem like it presents a problem when you are trying to keep pest animals or other nuisance wildlife out of your home, or you are trying to catch them and remove them if they are in your home. There is no need to despair, however, as there are many different pet-friendly pest control techniques you can utilize. Continue reading for five pet-friendly pest control techniques and visit wildlifehotline.info to learn more about wildlife pests.
Think Before You Act
Since a pest animal infestation varies so much from home to home, and location to location, it is important to keep in mind that some pest control techniques are far better for certain scenarios than others. While each of these five techniques might sound awesome and highly effective, it is far better to actually effectively implement them one at a time, so you can be sure you are doing the process correctly. Simply sitting down and thinking about how each of these techniques applies to your unique situation is the best way to approach an effective pest control strategy. With all of that being covered, it is time to get into the five techniques.
Seal Up Your Home
This is hands-down the best pest control technique for any situation, not just if you are worried about keeping your pet safe. To seal up your home effectively, it is important to first take a complete “inventory”, if you will, of your home. To do this, begin by examining the exterior of your home. Pay special attention to the roofline of your home, checking the soffit, fascia, attic, and gutters of your home, as this is an excellent entry point for virtually every nuisance animal. Once you have checked the roofline, work your way around your house, especially inspecting the foundation and places where appliances meet the outside. Seal any and all cracks, gaps, or holes you find with all-weather sealant, aluminum sheeting, or whatever other material works for your situation.
Now that the exterior of your home is entirely sealed up, you need to follow the same process on the interior. The most important area of your home to inspect is the attic. The attic is the best entry point for virtually any pest animal, so it is of the utmost importance that special care is taken while examining it. Once you have checked and sealed the attic with your sealing material, then you can work your way around the whole house, looking for any odd holes or cracks that could potentially become an entry point for rodents or other critters. Seal up any and all holes with steel wool, all-weather sealant, or any other material you can find that will prevent nuisance wildlife from entering. Now that this is done, you are well on your way to keeping pests out, while keeping your pets happy and healthy.
Use Special Traps
If you have decided that your pest situation calls for the removal of the critters, you will likely want to use traps to remove them. Traps are a great choice for pest removal, as you do not have to babysit them, some models can catch more than one, and they provide an overall excellent solution to pest problems. Since you have pets, you may be wondering if there are any pet-friendly ways to trap nuisance animals. Luckily, there are several different pet-friendly options for traps. You will clearly want to keep away from snap traps and poisons, so some of your options will be discussed below.
If you are dealing with rats, mice, or other small rodents, there are many different pet-friendly products on the market. One of the most affordable and out-of-sight options is the simple glue trap. Glue traps do not kill creatures, they only cause them to be stuck in place. All that it takes to remove a pet’s paw if they accidentally get stuck on the glue is vegetable oil in most cases. Another option to deal with rodents is the repeater humane traps on the market today. These traps simply allow entry but do not allow the rodents to escape. Even if you have a pet hamster or rat, you can get them out of these traps with no harm done.
If you are dealing with larger nuisance wildlife, such as squirrels, raccoons, opossums, or similar animals, you have some great choices as well. An oft-forgotten remedy to a pest problem is the one-way door. Simply install this in the attic or wherever else the animals are living, and it will allow them to leave, but will not allow them back in. Another great choice is a cage trap. Cage traps are completely humane and you could remove your pet with no harm done if they would happen to wander in there. As can be seen, there are all kinds of pet-friendly traps for pest control solutions.
Essential Oils
While many people are skeptical of essential oils for pest control, they can actually be highly effective in many scenarios. Since the various different oils will not harm your pets, they are one of the most pet-friendly prevention methods you can find. A variety of different oils repel different animals, as the various animals have different dislikes. Spearmint and peppermint are very popular, as they repel a wide variety of critters. If you want to try using chili pepper repellent, that is also another great option. To use either of these, simply mix the essential oils or chili pepper solution with water in a spray bottle. Simply apply this to any potential problem area and you have a pet-safe pest control solution!
Clean It Up
It often never occurs to many homeowners that if their home and their yard were not so attractive to nuisance wildlife, they would not have to worry about pest control at all. The best way to keep pests away is to clean up your yard and home. Any easy food sources or good shelter areas can cause a massive influx of potential home-invading pests. Secure any pet food and any trash you have outside or in your garage. Be sure to clean up any debris, tall weeds, or woodpiles in your yard, as these are optimum breeding grounds for pest problems. Once your yard is good, make sure to focus on keeping your home clean, and always be sure to never leave food out. This is a very pet-friendly pest control technique, as all it requires is some time and effort.
Hire a Professional
While pest control seems like a do-it-yourself project, it can go beyond an amateur’s reach very quickly. If you have a pest problem that you do not believe you can handle on your own, be sure to hire a professional pest control company, as these companies know exactly how to take care of your problem, all while keeping your pet safe from the removal process. Actually, hiring a pest control service might be the best pet-friendly pest control technique, as they deal with pets in homes almost constantly.