In almost all cases, wildlife intruding on your personal space, your home or its surroundings can be prevented easily through a few simple steps. These prevention methods not only get rid of the risks of finding wildlife on your property, but they can also save you a lot of money in the long run, as pests can and will usually do a lot of damage. By employing a few, common sense and easy to set up methods, you’ll be spared a lot of headache, expense and health risks down the road. If, however, these do-it-yourself wildlife prevention tips don’t help your particular case, it’s best that you contact a wildlife removal expert immediately to help you deal with the problem.



Food and garbage
The most common factor which attracts wildlife to your home is a free meal for them. Be it raccoons, opossums, rats and all kinds of other creatures, they all look for just a few basic things: safety, nesting space, and most importantly, food availability. If you have dogs or cats and you leave their food out in the open, you shouldn’t be surprised that other animals might get a craving for dog or cat food as well. After all, it’s free, it’s easy to access, and the supplies are in most cases renewed regularly. Same goes for storing your dog or cat food in easy to access locations – keep them in safe spots and use at least some form of basic security, like a closed door or a hinge. Keeping your pet’s food indoors should keep it safe for the most part from wild animals coming and eating it, but the best practice would be to simply feed your pets portions of food instead of allowing them to eat however much they want to at any time. Not only will that be healthier for your pets, and will keep wildlife at bay, but you’ll also save up on a lot of pet food in the process, you’ll reduce waste, and you won’t overfeed your fury companions.

Another popular source of food for wildlife is your garbage. Now, if you live in a house in the suburbs, you should already know it’s common sense to keep your garbage away from open spaces where anyone and anything can get to it. By doing that you’ll avoid the smell, a possible health risk and, most importantly, wildlife coming and making a feast out of it. That’s because most people who keep their garbage out in the open don’t really bother to secure the lids either. That means that raccoons, stray cats and other wildlife can come and knock over the garbage, make a mess, and even take residence nearby due to there being food readily available at all times. Next thing you know they’re raising their babies around your home or, in worst cases, inside your home – and you’ll be forced to call a wildlife removal expert to deal with the problem. And while these services are humane and make sure the animals are safely removed and relocated with minimal stress, it’s best to simply avoid the situation from developing in the first place. Keep garbage behind closed doors, preferably, or at least employ some basic security to keeping the lids closed. Remember, though, that raccoons can be really smart, so a simple locking mechanism like a hinge may not be enough to keep those lids down.

Securing the perimeter
When it comes to wildlife taking residence in your attic, which is the most common case when talking about invasive critters, you need to consider one thing before anything else – is there a tree or multiple trees with branches that touch your roof? If so, immediately proceed to cut off those branches in order to avoid an easy, free and safe access path for wildlife to crawl into your attic. The attic is a safe haven for most wildlife, and in a vast majority of cases it’s the place that pests will infest, too. That’s because it’s usually warm, there are no people coming in there on a regular basis and, in some cases, they’re near free food sources like garbage or pet food. They also find in there the perfect materials for building nests, like insulation, wood, cardboard and plenty of wires. Check your attic regularly for animal infestations in order to keep yourself and your family safe. Rodents can chew on electrical wiring, and with insulation material usually found in most attics, a fire risk can easily develop quickly.

Second thing to consider in terms of securing the perimeter is proper fencing. Depending on where you live, and what kind of wildlife usually makes their way in people’s homes or backyards, you may need different types of fences. Wood fences, especially small, frail picket fences won’t do much but beautify your home. And while that’s great and all, if you’re scared of getting overrun by wildlife, you need to go for something more practical. Taller wooden fences will keep most animals out, but it depends on whether they really want to get in and how strong they are if those wooden fences will be enough. For the most part though, chain fences or concrete ones will pretty much do the trick as long as they are buried a significant way down as well. Moles, for example, can dig quite a long way down, easily going under most fences and ravaging your beautiful lawn. And while you may not want your front lawn or even your backyard completely cut off like a maximum-security prison, you may consider using these sorts of fences for your garden where wildlife can really cause significant damage. If you live in an area where wildlife infestations are commonplace, then you should also consider these otherwise drastic measures.

One last thing when it comes to your home’s surroundings – don’t give wildlife any chance to settle in unless you specifically want them to. So, while creating a small pond where small frogs can come and settle in may be something you’re looking for, leaving old empty wooden logs around may just attract some kinds of animals you won’t be a fan of. If you enjoy watching birds and have installed some birdfeeders with this purpose in mind, you should consider securing the feeders with baffles, and using poles that make it impossible for squirrels and raccoons to climb on. Also, you should properly secure the area under your porch, and fix holes in the walls or cover openings in your home’s foundation or roof. All these access points are apt to attract animals at any point, so make sure you deal with these things as soon as possible after moving into a new home, or after noticing any type of damage to the home you already live in.

What not to do and how to deal with extreme cases
Never, ever use poisons for wildlife. These can pose risks not only to your kids, but to innocent animals as well, including your pets. Deadly traps, while efficient if you know how to use them, when used by a non-expert will most commonly just hurt the animal when your aim is not to do so, but to make it leave your property. In most states, you can even be fined or charged with setting up traps and snares too close to a human residence, out of security concerns. Whenever you notice wildlife on your property, revert to calling professional wildlife removal services instead. They’ll not only humanely deal with any kinds of wildlife or pests, but will do so in an eco-friendly manner, and will not harm the animals in the process. They’ll relocate them and then help you deal with the aftermath, along with guide you towards taking the necessary precautions to keep further animals at bay.

But if you follow the above-mentioned do-it-yourself wildlife prevention tips, you and your home will be kept safe from unwanted visitors for the most part. And while there’s always the chance that an animal will find itself on your property – don’t immediately panic. It may have just strolled there, and in most cases, it’ll be on its way shortly if it doesn’t find a good enough reason to stay. However, if you see the animal getting in and out of your home, or if you frequently notice tracks or signs of it being in your yard or garden, don’t wait for the situation to escalate in order to take the necessary measures.