Critter Control

A few weeks ago my husband came into the living room from his office upstairs and said, «I think we have squirrels in the house.» My blood ran cold. Those f@#$ers had taken over our (admittedly already pretty shoddy) garage and now they were coming for the house. «Not on my effin’ watch.» I said. And I immediately called Critter Control. The woman on the phone was super pleasant and had someone out to our house the day after next.
Greg came out and calmed my fears, explaining it would be easy enough to get them and that this was pretty common in our neighborhood. He gave the roof a once over and found the entry and exit points and set two traps to get those little bastards. It took a few days for the squirrels to get used to them and get curious enough about them but little by little we caught them, one by one. It took about a week and a half but in the end we caught 5 (1 adult and 4 juveniles) and they took them out of our hood 7 miles away where they will hopefully never find their way back to our humble abode. After a few days of monitoring the entries to make sure there weren’t any others, they sealed up the holes and we were good to go. This last part was about a week ago and we’re still squirrel free so fingers crossed no new families find their way in, but if they do we’re under a 30 day «guarantee» so they’ll take care it for us.
In general the visits were fairly low key, the CC folks came and went quietly and without needing us to be home. They checked the traps every day and I would call them whenever I would see we caught one to let them know to come gather them. They fixed the holes without needing to come into our house or for us to even be home, so it was nice and convenient. The price was a base price that included the capture of up to 6 squirrels and then a little extra for the repairs. It was more than I had hoped to spend (and by that I mean I wish I didn’t have to spend anything at all but that’s what we get for living in a fairly wooded area) but it was less than I thought it was going to be so I guess I can’t complain!
Overall we had a great experience and hopefully we’ll never need to call them again but if we do have a critter issue I’d hire them again without hesitation.

We gave these guys a call yesterday after hearing some seriously disturbing squeaks and rustling in our chimney. As horrific images of bat colonies and guano piles filled our heads, they suggested that we might not have bats after all. Our squeaks and flapping noises were simply birds (chimney swifts to be exact) which don’t do damage to your home. Critter control offered to still send someone out to investigate, but recommended that we look up the birds online, listen to their calls, and see if that’s what we were hearing from the chimney. They were right! Thanks to the honesty of this company we successfully identified what was making the noise, and didn’t have to pay $ 150 for someone to come out and tell us that. I appreciate their honesty!

Our home inspector reports that when he arrived at our new house there were two groundhogs «frolicking» on the driveway. In addition, there was a groundhog-​sized tunnel leading through our stone (!) foundation wall nearby, undermining our foundation. They chewed through the porch. They potholed the lawn. They used one of our crawlspaces as a dining room. We needed help.
The result? Groundhog #1 (who our daughter named «Thomasson» for some reason), Groundhog #2 («Wide Load»), and Groundhog #3 («Baby») are now living fulfilling lives in the county park, along with Opossum #1 («Dignified Opossum») and Opossum #2 («Young Opossum Doesn’t Like It»).
Mr. Nonchalant Raccoon, trapped twice, continues his carefree life ambling around our property, as we released him and he appears tame. Excitable Red Squirrel was also freed but we have never seen him again (he’s excitable!).
The service was excellent. The staff was knowledgeable, humane, and competent (one was also a wildlife rescue volunteer on the side, and was nursing various crippled wild things back to health when he got home from work). The prices were well-​justified by the outcome.
Among the things I learned: Groundhogs love a tasty apple and they have terrible B.O.

I had a bat in my apartment. Twice. In both instances I had good experiences with Critter Control employees, all very nice and helpful. The first time (a few years ago), they were able to find the bat and remove it. The other time (today), they were unable to find it, and a friend ended up coming over to help that evening when it was flying around again.
Which gets me to my only complaint about Critter Control: the hours. They have an emergency answering service, but don’t seem to dispatch anyone after business hours. An employee gave me a call in the evening and came the next morning each time. When it comes to bats, this is unfortunate, since you know, they’re nocturnal. So while everyone I’ve dealt with there has been perfectly pleasant, this seems to be a flaw in the service.
Also worth noting– it’s pretty expensive, more than $ 100, even if they don’t catch the bat, $ 30 more dollars if they do. The service call is valid for 30 days though, so that’s nice. So I’ll give them four stars because the employees are so nice and my complaints are probably mostly relevant for nocturnal animals only.

Once we had a racoon in the chimney. The Critter Control guy walked up our steep roof, pulled her out, and walked down holding her in such a way as to avoid being attacked. What a skill!!! When wild animals invade your space, there’s no choice but to remove them.