We were trusted to inspect this beautiful home by the daughter of the elderly homeowner. The daughter informed us that there had been 2-3 different types of animals under her mom’s home in the recent 12 months, including a raccoon, skunk, and groundhog!!! Upon arrival at the property, we learned from the mother that indeed animals had been under the house, and a friend of hers from church had replaced the vents around the house to keep out the critters.

After a thorough inspection of the exterior and crawling in the slightly moldy crawlspace, I discovered three things. First, most of the vents were popping loose because they were the cheaper type bought at the local L’s, and installed with the inferior clips. There is even a picture I took of one vent being held with 3 little twigs…wonder how long that will stay in place? I commend the friend for their help, but glad we caught this problem so we can install them more properly.

Second, there was an unsealed hole under the deck, invisible to most, but large enough for skunks, mice, and snakes to still enter the crawl area. This will probably have to be sealed from the crawlspace because it is under a deck close to the ground. The third problem I found was amazing. All of the ductwork going into the guest bedroom had been ripped loose by one of the animals. No one knew this because a trained animal damage specialist had not been called in to assess the situation until now.

I relayed this to the mother, and noted that she would use about the same energy if she opened the window in the house while the air was blowing. These types of findings are very common for us to find. The animals were gone, so the homeowners thought all the problems were taken care of.

It is very important to have your home inspected closely by a professional wildlife control expert if you have ever had animal noises or activity either under your house, in the attic, or on the exterior walls of your house. This should be done whether or not the activity is current, or in the distant past, especially in light of the story above.

Further, it is often the case that past activity will also become current activity. For instance, if your attic has had squirrels in the past, there is a tendency for the attic to become reinfested, perhaps due to the smell of past squirrel activity. Sometimes they disappear for a season, only to reappear just the night you need to get a good long nights sleep.

Call us today for a whole house assessment. We can provide a thorough wildlife inspection of your home for $50-$95, and provide you with quotes and ideas for solving any problems found.