Wildlife Control in Massachusetts

Bats

If you’re hearing flapping and chirping in your attic or walls, you may have a bat problem. Bats are winged nocturnal mammals. They often enter a home and roost in secluded places, like the attic. These animals can have wingspans of 6-15 inches, large ears and bodies covered with tan to black hair. There are three representative species of bats that cause a residential nuisance: big brown bats, little brown bats and Mexican free-tailed bats.

Bats can be dangerous. They carry rabies and histoplasmosis (lung disease)—just their droppings can spread disease. If you suspect bats in your home, call a pest company immediately.

As bats are protected in the state of Massachusetts and we are a licensed Problem Animal Control (PAC) company, we abide by very strict guidelines when it comes to bat removal:

• Bat removal can only be completed during the month of May or from August 1st to October 15th.
• We will not kill bats during the eviction process—our removal process is completely non-lethal.
• We report all bat colonies found during the eviction process to MassWildlife (Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife).

Big Brown Bats

This type is usually brown and glossy with pale bellies and no fur on their wings. These bats are found in southern Canada and the United States. The females roost separately from males in the spring when they nurse their young. These bats are most likely to roost in attics, church belfries or behind loose boards/shutters on a building.

Little Brown Bats

These bats are usually a glossy brown with a belly buff and moderately long ears. These bats are found throughout Canada and the United States. Little brown bats feed on flies and moths followed by rest in which they hang to digest. Their flight patterns are erratic and they make their homes in places similar to caves or mining shafts. 

White-Nose Syndrome (WNS)

White-nose syndrome is a disease found only in bats; it's a fungus that colonizes the bat's skin. Before white-nose syndrome (WNS), little brown bats were the most common and abundant bat species in Massachusetts. Since the arrival of WNS in Massachusetts during the winter of 2008, our little brown bat population hibernating in caves and mines has declined by more than 99%. Our big brown bat population was not seriously affected by WNS because most hibernate in cold, dry attics where the fungus that causes WNS does not grow. Since little brown bats were one of the species most affected by WNS in Massachusetts, we are interested in understanding their post-WNS status and distribution across the state, including knowing the size and location of maternity colonies. This information is courtesy of MassWildlife.

Birds

Birds are a division of vertebrate pests that cause a nuisance due to their property damaging nesting habits and disease/parasite carrying bodies, nests and droppings. Birds have a high metabolism and spend most of their days searching for food to support themselves, or materials to maintain their nests. A variety of control measures can be taken for bird abatement and an F&W Pest Control professional can identify the proper techniques for your particular bird problem.

Here is some information on the most common nuisance birds for the area:

Pigeons

As soon as you notice a pigeon problem call a pest control company. Pigeons droppings cause a mess and have been known to cause a mess. The problem will typically will grow worse if not dealt with quickly. Call F&W for a Free Inspection. We set up a series of deterrents and repellents that will end your pigeon problem humanely.

Originally bred from European rock doves, pigeons are now an average of 13 ounces with fan-like tails and their colors range from snowy gray to black with reddish feet. They are nuisances in almost every urban and rural area in the United States because they have been known to carry over 50 diseases on their bodies and in their nests/droppings.

Sparrows

This type of bird is small at about five inches long and noisy with their shrill chirping. Males have brownish wings and chestnut marks, while the females are a dusky brown/gray color. Sparrows are a problem because they take the homes of desirable songbirds, and their droppings not only deface property but also carry diseases and parasites.

Woodpeckers

Adult woodpeckers can be six to 18 inches long with black and white bodies; some males have red markings on their heads. Their bills are stout and sharply pointed to help them peck at wood for food, nesting and territorial drumming. While federally protecting, these damaging birds are a nuisance in the United States and can be properly and legally abated.

Starlings

These birds are stocky, short-tailed and black (with white specks in winter) with small yellow bills. They are nuisances in both rural and urban areas in the southern half of Canada and throughout the United States. Starlings roost in large numbers that cause problems due to their noise, livestock feed consumption and disease carrying droppings that can affect both humans and livestock.

Opossum

Opossums are marsupials that range in size from four to 15 pounds with pale grey bodies and long, fleshy tails. These animals are active at night and feed on a variety of foods from pet food to garbage. Opossums can make their dens beneath porches or in attics where they cause a nuisance by upsetting dogs and raiding garbage. Opossums have been know in rare cases to transmit diseases: tularemia, relapsing fever and murine typhus.

If opossums have invaded your property, call now to schedule an inspection

Skunks

The first sign of a skunk problem on your property is usually when a well-meaning and protective pup comes into the house reeking of a urine-like rot. Aside from their offensive defenses, skunks can cause havoc and disease spreading on your property.

Skunks range from six to ten pounds and are easily identified by their black bodies with thick white stripes running from their heads to bushy tails. This mammal usually gives birth to around five young and feeds on meats, insects, pet food and vegetables. Skunks become a nuisance to homes when they borrow under porches, decks or sheds. A skunk may damage a lawn by grubbing for beetles and this pest has been known to carry an array of disease that may be harmful to humans, including rabies.

A certified F&W Pest Control professional may use a variety of trapping, exclusion or repellent methods to deal with your skunk problem.

Raccoons

Raccoons are mammals that range in size from five to 35 pounds and are easily identified by their grey bodies, black-ringed tails and pale faces with black markings over the eyes. With litter sizes as big as 7 and nocturnal habits, these sneaky pests can become a big problem in a short amount of time.

Raccoons make themselves a nuisance in the following ways

• Wounding humans and dogs when feeling threatened
• Tearing up property with grubbing behavior
• Damaging carpentry or vents to gain access to attics, fireplaces, basements and crawlspaces
• Carrying ticks and fleas into the home
• Accumulating feces in the home cause odor and disease spreading
• Endangering humans and pets by carrying rabies

If you suspect a raccoon invasion in your home, call an F&W Pest Control professional for extermination services to protect your property, family and guests.

Rodents

Our trained technicians will conduct a thorough inspection and plan a rodent control program that will be effective and responsible in order to protect the health and security of your home and family.

Seeing a tiny black silhouette with a fleshy tail creeping along the walls can send chills down the spine of any homeowner. Thoughts of their well-known disease carrying and quick-multiplying populations can be overwhelming in considering rodent control for your home, but F&W Pest Control has the expertise to rid your property of these harmful invaders.

Rodents are a small class of mammals with stout legs that keep them low to the ground, long tails roughly the length of their bodies and long incisor teeth. These animals are attracted to a variety of foods and will gnaw into structures to build their nests and breed wherever food is plentiful.

Rats

The house/sewer species of rat is most common to this area of the United States and can identified by their shaggy brownish black hair and blunt muzzle. This type of rodent prefers to nest in soils or rubbish, but can gnaw their way into basements or merchandise stored near the lower level. While they will eat just about anything, this type prefers to eat meats and fish; they consume and soil food and can spread disease.

Mice

Found throughout the United States, the House Mouse is a common invader to the Massachusetts area. This rodent is typically two to three inches long with dusty gray fur. Signs of an infestation include rough gnaw marks, scratching or scurrying sounds in walls, the presence of tiny dark droppings, small borrows and damaged goods such as cereal. With an average litter size of six, these vermin are quick to multiply and threaten not only damage to your property or goods but also your family’s health in due to their disease spreading.

Chipmunks

A chipmunk is a roughly five inch long rodent with chestnut colored fur that has two white stripes along its back. This creature is found in forests throughout the United States and feeds on things like nuts, tubers and fruits. Chipmunks can damage a home when they gnaw borrows into a residence and eventually cause stress fractures in the structure of the property. Exclusion by closing up entry points is the best way to prevent chipmunk invasion, but an F&W exterminator may use other means of elimination.

Squirrels

Squirrels are members of the rodent family, which means they are mammals that give birth to live young. These animals are low to the ground with their short legs and a bushy tail that is roughly the same length as the body. Squirrels are nuisance animals because their nest building can damage a home or outside cables while their bodies and droppings may carry diseases. An F&W Pest Control professional can determine the proper abatement system for your particular squirrel problem after a free inspection.

Red Squirrel

This rust colored species of squirrels averages a weight of 8 ounces. They can be found in any kind of forest as their diets range from bird eggs to berries. Like other species of squirrel, while these critters are of a minor medical concern, they make themselves a nuisance when nesting in residential or commercial buildings.

Gray Squirrel

A common mammal in New England, this type of squirrel is gray in color with a paler underside and bushy gray tail with white tips. Gray squirrels can be found around their favored wooded forests where they feed on tree nuts year round.

Northern Flying Squirrel

These gliders (not actual flyers) are small at around 5 inches long with either rich brown or gray fur along their bodies and loose folds of skins from their front to rear legs. Northern Flying Squirrels are of minor medical concern, but their nocturnal habits and odor while taking roost in attics can be a nuisance to homeowners.

Woodchucks

Woodchucks are chunky, ground-dwellers with grizzled rusty-brown fur that have an average weight of seven pounds. In their natural habitat, woodchucks eat leafy vegetation and live in borrows. Woodchucks become a nuisance when they borrow under sheds, porches, decks or walkways, which causes damage to the property. They also can cause havoc in flower or vegetable gardens around your home.

While certain prevention methods like fencing can be effective, an F&W Pest Control professional with proper trapping and repellents should treat an invasion.