The Knoxville Pest & Wildlife Guide
How to Safely Manage Nuisance Wildlife in Knoxville Yards
Having wildlife in your yard isn't always a bad thing. It can be a lot of fun to watch rambunctious animals like squirrels and raccoons messing around in your yard. Certain wildlife species, like bats and birds, can even help out by keeping mosquito populations in your yard under control. Problems tend to arise when critters begin to see your yard as their territory, which may lead to them being destructive or aggressive.
There are several wildlife species in Knoxville that are known to become nuisances to local homeowners, invading yards and staking their claim. When this happens, it's important to safely and humanely restore control of your yard. Continue reading for some advice on how to safely manage nuisance wildlife in your yard.
Strategies to Prevent & Remove Wildlife in Your Yard
- When it comes to wildlife, just as is the case with diseases, prevention is always better than cure. If you've been having nuisance wildlife problems in your yard in Knoxville, your first step should be to make your yard less appealing to these critters. While there are many kinds of wildlife, most of them want the same thing: food. Bird-watching is a popular hobby but, unfortunately, bird seed will also attract squirrels, raccoons, and other wild animals to your yard. If you want to keep feeding the birds, position your feeders as far from your home as possible to reduce the risk that other wildlife will become a menace to your yard or try to enter your home. It's also best to avoid leaving pet food outside overnight, since animals like skunks and opossums will happily munch on it. If you have outdoor trash cans with food waste, place tight-fitting lids on them to keep nuisance wildlife at bay.
Beyond food, wildlife may also rely on your yard if it has a source of clean water such as a pond, fountain or pool. If you've noticed that your yard is becoming a popular drinking hole for local wildlife, consider making it more difficult for animals to get at the standing water in your yard. Place covers or fencing around pools and ponds to keep wildlife away. Unfortunately, smaller animals may still be able to slip through, but this should be enough to deter larger wildlife like geese and raccoons.
Another good way to keep nuisance wildlife out of your yard in Knoxville is to limit areas where they can hide. Because of predators, most animals don't like to be exposed and will always favor yards with lots of tree cover, brush, and other places to hide. There's not much you can do about trees, but you can trim back shrubs and avoid planting them near your house so that critters like skunks and snakes don't use them for shelter. It's also best not to keep piles of firewood or brush on your property, since rodents will often hide and nest in these.
For the best protection against nuisance wildlife in your yard, hire a wildlife control company in Knoxville. Professional wildlife management specialists can aid you with habitat modification to make your yard less attractive to local critters, and also set up barriers to keep wild animals out. If you have any particularly pesky critters that you want gone, these professionals can also perform wildlife trapping and removal services.
Knoxville's #1 Wildlife Prevention Company
When you're tired of wild animals making a mess of your yard, our technicians can help you manage their nuisance behavior. Get in touch with Critter Wranglers today if you're looking for wildlife exclusion services in the Knoxville area!
- Written by: Staff
Common Signs of a Pest Infestation in Your Knoxville Home: What to Watch Out For
Pests come in many forms and the problems they can cause in your home are wide-ranging. Some pests are very destructive to your home and everything in it. Other pests may be carriers of dangerous diseases.- Written by: Staff
Tired of Ant Invasions? Tips for Ant Control in Knoxville
It's estimated that there are 2.5 million ants on Earth for every one human, so it should come as little surprise that ants seem to live just about everywhere. Ants generally live in colonies of tens or even hundreds of thousands, so if they begin to rely on raiding your kitchen cupboards for sustenance, it can lead to a seemingly never-ending army of ants raiding your home in Knoxville each day.- Written by: Staff
In Knoxville and surrounding communities, many people live in close proximity to all types of wildlife. Ordinarily, humans and wild animals can coexist peacefully, but that fragile peace can end in a heartbeat if wildlife tries to invade your home. Since our homes offer free shelter from predators and the elements, along with easy opportunities to steal food and water, some critters just can't resist.
- Written by: Staff