Description
Rats are rodents that have stocky bodies with long hairless and scaly tails. Its fur on its back is of a greyish brown and is of a light grey on its abdomen. Rats are generally nocturnal animals and are very good swimmers. They have bad eyesight but have other developed senses. Rats communicate between each other by ultrasound or cries.
HABITAT
The rat is commensal like man. They are found in lower and humid areas of a habitation such as a basement and are also found in sewers, dumping grounds, ports, riverbanks, lakes, farm buildings and fields. When living outside, they will dig borrows of a depths of 30 to 40 cm situated near the proximity of food. Rats live in colonies which are driven by a hierarchy and they are very territorial.
DIET
Rats are omnivore. They will feed of cereal, vegetables, meat, eggs and fish. In cities, they can eat everything that is comestible in garbage but is very distrustful of all new sources of food. They will eat the equivalent of 10% of their body mass per day. If necessary, they will attack farm animals and even become cannibals.
PREDATORS
- Foxes
- Reptiles
- Hawks
PREVENTION AND COMPLIMENTARY INFORMATION
The grey rat can be the carrier of disease such as rabies. It can damage homes, pipelines and transmission lines.
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Description
The White-footed mouse has a tail that is either the same length of its body (with its head) or shorter. The colour of its back can vary from a brownish-grey to a cinnamon-brown. Its fur on its abdomen and paws is white. The White-footed mouse can easily be confounded with the Deer Mouse. In the fall, it will stock reserves of food for its survival during the winter.
HABITAT
The White-footed mouse lives where vegetal cover is dense and they can also live in all types of buildings.
DIET
Its diet is constituted of grains from diverse plants, fruits, nuts, insects and certain mushrooms.
PREDATOR
- Prey birds
- Squirrels
- Skunks
- Bears
- Grass snakes
- Crows
- Certain types of fish
It’s when they are travelling through the snow in the winter that they are the most vulnerable to predators.
PREVENTION AND COMPLIMENTARY INFORMATION
Blocking exterior openings is one of the best solutions in order to control the invasion of these small rodents inside a building.
Mice can cause a lot of damage to furniture and to a residence. They can gnaw at electric wires, cushions and can contaminate isolation with their urine and excrements. Mice can also be carriers of disease.
Even though they are useful outdoors by destroying many invading insects and pests, it’s not recommended that they be tolerated within a building.
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DESCRIPTION
The striped skunk has a black coat with two white strips on its back. It has short legs with non-retractable claws. They are short sighted but has an excellent sense of smell.
HABITAT
Skunks can be found in a range of different habitats such as forests, fields and underneath buildings. They can easily adapt to urban environments. Skunks are nocturnal animals and have the particularity of not defending their territory. A skunk will usually take up the abandoned home of a groundhog or fox.
DIET
Skunks are omnivore and they especially like small mammals. They also eat grain, nuts, fruits, larvae, insects, bridlings, amphibians and scavenger on carrion. They are useful because their diets are composed mainly of organisms that are considered pests to humans.
PREDATOR
- Great Horned Owl
- Bobcat
- Coyote
- Fox
- Fisher
PREVENTION AND COMPLIMENTARY INFORMATION
A skunk can damage lawns in search of warms to eat. Should this happen, this may indicate a problem related to beetle larvae in your lawn. Skunks can attack beehives, kill chicken and eat eggs found in coops. Skunks have a formidable weapon, but it will only be used in last resort. They defend themselves thanks to a smelly musk that they project from their anal glands onto their predators. They can spray their jet in a precise fashion from three to six meters in distance. A jet represents about 1 tablespoon of liquid and skunks have the capacity of projecting 4 to 5 jets. It takes a skunk about a week to produce 1/3 of an ounce of musk. Skunks can be the carriers of rabies and a careful attention must be brought to animals exhibiting strange behavior, appearing to be unusually trusting and is out in the daylight. Do not approach the animal if it shows these signs.
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DESCRIPTION
The racoon is a social, curious, intelligent and very agile animal. It has a short body and the colour of its fur ranges from grey to brownish-red. Its front paws have 5 fingers that resemble human hands. Its back paws also have 5 fingers and it’s able, like a squirrel, to orient these backwards when climbing down a tree. Raccoons have a black mask lined with white around their eyes. They have black eyes and their tails have 4 to 6 black rings. They are nocturnal animals.
HABITAT
Raccoons easily adapt to its environment. They enjoy living in forests near water, lakes and swamps. They are not scared of humans which in turn, enables them to be able to live in urban zones such as garages, sheds, attics or logs.
DIET
Raccoons are omnivore. They will eat small rodents, birds, insects, nuts, fruits, amphibians, reptiles and fish. In developed regions, they are attracted to diverse food sources such as garbage, pet food, corn and gardens.
PREDATOR
- Cougar
- Wolf
- Fox
- Coyote
- Great Horned Owl
- Fisher
- Marten
- Lynx
- Hawk
PREVENTION AND COMPLIMENTARY INFORMATION
Racoon can cause damages to lawns because they feed from larvae found in the ground. It’s recommended that you have your lawn treated by a professional in order to avoid the inconvenience of a greedy animal. In the spring, females sometimes settle in attics by ripping the soffite in order to have their babies. They can also take refuge in attics in the winter. Should this be the case, contact us. With the popular trend of city coops, chicken pens must be well solidified because raccoons can attack these and feed from them.
