Q. What happens to the animals?
A. In the Commonwealth of VA we have only 2 legal options when dealing with nuisance wildlife:
- Release the animal on the property where it was trapped, or
- Remove the animal from the property and euthanize it. If anyone tells you they can just relocate the animal a few miles away, they are breaking the law! There are good reasons for not relocating wildlife. First, you could be moving a diseased animal to an area where the disease didn’t previously exist. Second, if you move an animal, you are taking him away from his food source to an unfarmiliar area and there is a very high chance he will not survive.
Q. What happens if you release the animal on my property?
A. If you have a mother and babies, this can be a very good option although the timing may be difficult.
If the mother can be flushed from the house and the babies found at the same time, the repairs can be done and the babies left close by. The mother will find them fairly quickly and take them to a better area. We at DWC are happy to release animals on site whenever it is feasible. If, however it is mating season, this is practically impossible since there are often many adult animals sharing the same area. Since there is no way to tell how many animals are, they must be trapped and removed from the area.
Q. How many animals are in my attic?
A. We can only make an educated guess based on experience and knowledge of the target animal and his habits.
Q. How long will it take to get rid of the animals?
A. We cannot guarantee how long it may take to finish the job, only that we will be dilligent to complete it as quickly as possible.
Many times, if an animal has been trapped before, it will avoid the trap and cause the job to last longer than normal. Rarely, however does a trapping job last longer than a week or two.
Q. Will I get animals again?
A. While we cannot guarantee you will not get animals again, we will guarantee all of our repairs for 3 years.
We do our best to find all potential entry points and give you the option of repairing just the entry point (not recommended) or performing all repairs or pick which repairs you want done. Again, we can only guarantee the repairs we perform. If you choose not to perform a repair, there is a greater chance of another nuisance problem especially if the animals have been there for a long time. The longer an animal is in an area the more scent is left, especially if the animal was a female during mating season.
Q. What is in my attic and how can you tell?
A. Many times we can tell what is in the attic just by knowing the biology of the animal and his habits.
For example, if you are hearing something at night, it could be a colony of bats. In the winter, however, bats generally leave for caves where the temperature is a steady temperature. Flying squirrels, by contrast, cannot stand the summertime heat of our attics and don’t usually enter attics until around October and leave in mid-April when the attic gets too warm again. We can also tell by the smell of the animal. If bats or raccoons have been in the attic for any amount of time, the smell is unmistakable.
Q. What is in my attic and how can you tell?
A. Many times we can tell what is in the attic just by knowing the biology of the animal and his habits.
For example, if you are hearing something at night, it could be a colony of bats. In the winter, however, bats generally leave for caves where the temperature is a steady temperature. Flying squirrels, by contrast, cannot stand the summertime heat of our attics and don’t usually enter attics until around October and leave in mid-April when the attic gets too warm again. We can also tell by the smell of the animal. If bats or raccoons have been in the attic for any amount of time, the smell is unmistakable.
Q. Can my local government Animal Control service help?
A. Below is a list agencies are your local government agencies.
- Alexandria 703-838-4774.
- Arlington 703-931-9241
- Fairfax County 703-830-1100
- Loudon County – East 703-777-0406
- Loudon County -West 540-882-3211
- Prince William County, 703-792-6465
They can remove animals from your living space and do not charge for it. If the animal is in the attic, on the roof, in the chimney or any place other than the living space they may simply loan you a trap (with a refundable deposit) and tell you to check it every hour.
They are limited to the removal, and can not help figure out where the animal got in nor can they help with exclusion services (keeping animals out). If they don’t find the animal and you still feel you need emergency help, feel free to call us at 703-303-1015, but know that we must charge a higher than normal price during non- business hours.
Raccoons also roll newly laid sod looking for grubs and worms. Skunks dig moles out of their tunnels.
Q. What is tearing up my yard?
A. In the fall, raccoons and skunks dig for grubs in the yard making your beautiful yard look as if someone ran over it with a plow.
Raccoons also roll newly laid sod looking for grubs and worms. Skunks dig moles out of their tunnels.
