Ottawa is home to many species of wildlife. And, when you are living in Ottawa, it’s not surprising to see these animals visit your home unexpectedly. These animals are not aggressive and harmful, but sometimes they can be a nuisance. Especially if there’s an infestation. Here’s a list of wildlife animals that you may find in your home and how to keep them away from your home.
Top 5 Wildlife You Might Find In Your Home
1. Beavers
Beavers have an important role in our environment. They help establish and maintain our wetlands. But they can also be a nuisance, especially if they come close to your home. They can be dangerous too as they carry certain diseases such as rabies and parasites, which can prove to be harmful for us humans.
The best way to prevent beavers from living close to your home is to make it hard for them to live around your property. To do this, try installing some traps around the trees or streams within your property. Beavers don’t like to stay in an area that is inhospitable to them and doesn’t meet their living requirements. If a beaver doesn’t leave your property, you may call a wildlife management professional to remove the animal.
2. Raccoons
Raccoons are known for their curiosity about a lot of things and are willing to explore their surroundings. As a result, they can sometimes find their way inside your house. They can get in and out of your house without you knowing. Although, there are circumstances where a raccoon can become a real nuisance for homeowners, as they can leave trash, urine, or feces inside your house.
These animals are not aggressive. Raccoons don’t often seek confrontation with humans. They will only attack when they feel cornered or threatened. The best way to deal with raccoons is to avoid confrontation as much as possible. You can just let them be since they will eventually leave your house on their own, though you can call professionals if they refuse to leave. You can also ask the professional to give you further information about raccoons, especially on how to make traps to prevent them from entering your house in the future.
3. Bats
Another species of animals that likes to enter Ottawa homes are bats. Bats can get inside your home by squeezing through the small gaps found on your roof. Since most bat species are small, they can squeeze their bodies through the smallest gaps. Once they squeeze through the gaps, they will keep crawling until they reach the attic and stay there.
If you don’t want bats to get inside your house and use it as their home, you have to find those small gaps and patch them up. Keep in mind that bats have the ability to find different gaps around your home just to get inside. So, if you really want to keep them out, you’ll have to keep an eye on all the possible entry points around your house.
4. Skunks
Skunks are another species of animal that can oftentimes find their way inside your home or property. Seeing a skunk inside your home is usually not a cause for an alarm. They are easy-going and they don’t intentionally bother humans. They will only become aggressive if they feel threatened and usually put up their defense: the spray. A skunk’s spray has a robust smell and it can also cause discomfort if it gets in our eyes.
It’s easy to tell if there’s a skunk inside your home or property. In fact, you are more likely to smell it instead of seeing it. If there’s a persistent, musky smell lingering around your home or property, it’s most likely that there’s a skunk. To prevent skunks from entering your home or property, make your yard brighter by installing some lights. Skunks don’t like bright lights and it should deter them from entering your property.
5. Snakes
Seeing a snake inside your home is a nightmare for most people. It’s not a surprise since snakes can be very threatening to humans, especially if they are venomous.
Snakes can enter homes accidentally (for instance, they may be washed in because of a flood) or intentionally if they are looking for prey or shelter. If you want to remove the snake and are not afraid of it, you can gently herd it outside using a broom or a stick. But to ensure your safety, you can call a wildlife removal expert to remove the snake out of your house. You can also try to snake-proof your home so no more snakes can get inside in the future.
Final Thoughts
Ottawa has a large population of these wildlife and they are usually found in their natural habitat. But due to the expanding suburban areas, their natural habitats are slowly destroyed, which forces them to unintentionally invade houses.
In case you find any one of these animals inside your home, please contact a wildlife removal expert immediately. These people are experienced in trapping and removing these animals outside residential and commercial properties without endangering them.
I haven’t come across any of these wildlife, but the raccoons come out at night. Not sure what I would do if one of these found their way into my home.