Home Services

Protect Your San Jose Attic with Vent Guards

Your San Jose attic is a common nesting area for a number of wildlife animals, including bats, birds, raccoons, and more. These wildlife animals can get into your attic for a variety of reasons, including their small size, their chewing or ripping ability, and more. Once these animals get inside your attic, the damage can be incredibly costly, from insulation stains and odors, structural beams and wires being compromised, which can lead to electrical wires.

Damaged Vent Covers

Over time, the vent guards on our home degrade. This leaves holes and openings for wildlife to enter. Animals like mice can squeeze through a hole the size of a dime, so even the tiniest holes in your vent cover can allow animals inside. Once the wildlife has entered your home, they start their destructive behavior. From ripping insulation to soiling the space with urine and feces, wildlife in your San Jose home can cause a lot of damage. 

Keeping bats and birds out of attic vents can also keep them out of your home. From attic fan vent guards and roof vent guards to gable vent closures and soffit vent repairs, our team of San Jose professionals will handle every aspect of your attic vent protection efficiently and effectively. Call Critter Control of San Jose today at 408.915.2172 to protect your San Jose attic.

Getting Rid of Dead Animals in Your Home

The removal of dead animal carcasses in your home is an often overlooked step. It's more than possible that an animal has died while making itself comfortable in your San Jose home, and you might not have any indication other than an unpleasant smell you cannot locate. Animals may also have babies that get left behind and they can create additional problems in your chimney, attic, or walls.

Some signs of a dead animal in your San Jose home include:

• Unpleasant odors
• Stains on ceilings or walls
• An increase in insect presence, like flies or parasites that can lead to diseases in humans

What do you do if you find a dead animal on your property?

If you find a dead animal on your property, proper disposal is essential for the health of you and your family. It's also important to avoid unpleasant odors lingering for days or weeks. It's common to find dead mice, squirrels, opossoms, raccoons, and skunks around San Jose homes. If the animal dies in your yard, it can be disposed of through various means according to the regulations of your area. The team at Critter Control of San Jose can assist in the removal of the dead animal in the yard. 

If an animal dies in your home, more sanitization is necessary after the removal. Deceased animals release fluids that create a stench that lingers. If the animal starts to degrade against your drywall or in your insulation, the fluids can soil the area. Dead animals also carry diseases. If you find one of these animals has died in your home or yard, call our team of experts for proper removal and sanitization of the area. After we remove the animal(s), we incorporate special deodorizers, neutralizers, and air purifiers to get rid of the smell.

How do you get rid of dead animal smell?

When our team comes to remove a dead animal, we will also eliminate the odor left behind. We have special pet-safe odor eliminators that eliminate the odor. We also disinfect the area to remove the lingering germs that could cause more odor. 

If other critters like bugs, flies, or worms smell the dead animal in your home, they will come to eat it. It's important to remove the animal and the odor so these critters don't flock to your home to consume the dead animal. 

How do you know if an animal has died in your home?

The first sign that an animal has died in the house is usually the odor. If you follow your nose, you can usually find where the deceased animal is. Keep in mind, the dead animal could be in a vent or behind the drywall. Other spots a dead animal could be living include under floorboards, under the porch, in the attic, in the chimney, or in the crawlspace. 

Call or Contact Us today for more information on solving all your animal problems. 408.915.2172

Protect Your Chimney from Animal Intruders

Critter Control of San Jose provides a wide variety of animal prevention products and services that will cover all your wildlife prevention needs. After we remove the offending wildlife animals, we will fix the damage and install cutting-edge prevention techniques. Sunnyvale and Santa Clara residents need to protect their chimneys so animals like bats, birds, and raccoons won't be drawn inside homes.

How to Keep Wildlife Out of Your Chimney

• Repairing vents

It's easy for our chimney vents to degrade over time. Motivated raccoons will rip right through these damaged vents if they're given the opportunity. To keep your home and chimney safe from San Jose wildlife, the professionals at Critter Control will install the right vent covers for your home. 

• Installing chimney caps and screens

Chimney caps and screens are important for keeping wildlife and the elements out of your San Jose home. If you're missing a chimney cap or screen, or the one you have is damaged, call the experts at Critter Control of San Jose. 

• Closing entry holes

Animals like mice can fit through a hole the size of a dime. It's important for your home's wildlife maintenance to ensure all holes are sealed. The team at Critter Control of San Jose will use their trained eye to ensure your home is sealed tight from unwanted visitors. 

What animals get into your chimney?

If your chimney isn't properly sealed, animals can get inside and make their nests. Common animals to get into your chimney include raccoons, birds, and rodents.

Raccoons in the Chimney

If your chimney has a missing or damaged cap, raccoons will get inside to get away from the elements and have their babies. Even if your chimney cap is on but unsecured, raccoons can get inside. They have great dexterity in their paws and will rip the chimney cap off if they want to get inside. You might hear the baby raccoons in your chimney making a mewing noise. 

Birds in the Chimney

If you have a missing chimney cap, it's common for birds to find their way inside. They will cover the chimney with droppings which can spread diseases. 

Rodents in the Chimney

Rodents can sense warm air leaking out of your home from afar, and if your chimney isn't properly sealed, they will sneak into your house through the available spots. A properly fitting chimney cap will keep your home protected from these mice, rats, and squirrels. 

These prevention and repair methods will decrease the opportunity for troublesome animals to get into your home. Call or Contact Us today for more information on solving all your animal problems. 408.915.2172

Preventing Future Wildlife Damage in San Jose

Foundation vents are an important part of a wildlife control system. Your foundation provides a safe and warm home for animals to make their nests and have their babies. It takes a physical barrier to keep them out.

Animals that Live in San Jose Foundation Vents

Raccoons

Raccoons are the biggest threat to your San Jose foundation vents. They will use the space to have their babies, which makes the situation even more dangerous to handle. Attempting to remove raccoons and their babies is not a DIY project and should be left to professionals. If you come face-to-face with a mother raccoon, the situation will likely not end well. 

Rodents

Part of your seasonal home check should be to see if rodents have chewed your foundation vent cover. If the cover seems damaged, you may have mice or rats living inside. Rodents have very sharp teeth, and they are always chewing, so the cover over your foundation vent is a common spot for damage. 

If rodents get into your foundation vent, they will likely infest your crawlspace. Their droppings will soil the area, including the insulation in the space. If you think there may be rodents in your foundation vent, it should be a top priority to take care of the issue. 

Opossums

Opossums will use your foundation vent as a safe space to den as they frequently change their den location, especially in the winter. They may also have their babies in your San Jose foundation vent, which can create quite the mess. Foundation vents are essential to keeping these marsupials out from under your home. 

Once we've removed the problem wildlife from your crawlspace, we repair and prevent any future damage. By screening foundation vents, installing chimney caps and screens, and closing entry holes, you are reducing the opportunity for wildlife animals to return to your property. Call Critter Control of San Jose for more information on solving all your animal problems! 408.915.2172 or Contact Us

Inspection Services

Critter Control is a full-service company. When we come to your home, we’ll inspect your property inside and out using our copyrighted AEW (Animal Entry Worksheet) so we can locate any and all problem areas and offer you the safest and most cost-effective solutions.

We specialize in critter removal as well as prevention to ensure you won’t worry about unwanted animals damaging your home in the future. 

We provide our services to: 

• homeowners
• property management companies
• industrial and commercial clients
• municipalities
• Fortune 500 companies

How much does wildlife removal cost?

When you hear those strange noises in your San Jose home, you may be wondering how much wildlife removal costs. This will differ based on your home, how in-depth the wildlife problem is, and what animal is causing the problem.

A full wildlife inspection will allow us to evaluate the wildlife issue and make a plan to eradicate it.

What services does Critter Control evaluate for? 

Our office offers many services to cover any wildlife problem you may be facing, including:

• Attic Vent Guards
• Carcass and Dead Animal Removal
• Chimney Cap and Screen Installation and Repair
• Foundation Vent Installation and Repair
• Soffit Vent Repair and Installation

How do you remove wildlife in your home?

The experts at Critter Control of San Jose have a variety of techniques we use to remove wildlife from your home safely and humanely. Some of the techniques we use include trapping, one-way doors, and animal-specific repellents. 

We understand that every wildlife situation is unique, and to humanely remove the animals in your home, each situation requires a unique solution. We create a custom plan for every wildlife problem. Some of the questions we ask before starting a wildlife removal process include:

• What species is causing the problem? It is a problem at all or an immediate danger to you or your family?
• How serious is the wildlife problem? We look at the health and safety concerns to your family and pets to understand the sense of urgency the problem requires. 
• What steps can we take to take care of the problem in the must humane way? Not all methods of wildlife removal are best for each animal. We take care to ensure we remove the wildlife problem with as little disturbance to the animal as possible. 

Call or Contact Us today for more information on solving your animal-related problems and damage. 408.915.2172

Entry-point Repair

Each home has a plethora of entry points to seal, including the various vents on your San Jose home. Soffits, attic vents, louvres, and fan vents can all be damaged by the wildlife in the area and need to be taken care of to keep the home sealed from unwanted guests. 

Let us keep unwanted critters out of your attic by installing animal-proof screens in/over existing vents. Roof vent guards are durable and are sure to keep squirrels, bats, mice, birds, and more from entering your attic. We also provide animal-proofing materials to keep the rest of your home sealed. 

Why do Entry Points Attract Animals?

Animals are always looking for a safe and cozy place to make their home. The heat that is released from the vents in your home makes for a warm spot for animals to invite themselves into. Animals can fit into smaller holes and spaces than we would think. For example, mice can fit into a hole the width of a pencil!

Squirrels will take advantage of worn-out soffits because the soft wood is easy to break through in their hunt for their next meal. This is when soffit vent replacement is important--it will ensure your home is protected from them. 

Raccoons can't fit into quite as small of spaces. They will use the dexterity in their paws to rip through any weak vent covers. Attic vent mesh is a tool we use to prevent raccoons from ripping apart vent covers. We also perform soffit vent replacement if raccoons have already done their damage!

Rodents will wiggle into the tiniest holes, so it's important that all holes around your attic vents are sealed. Rodent-proof soffit vents, attic vent mesh, and gable vent mesh screens are all essential to keeping your home free from infestations. 

Implementing the correct preventative measures, including animal-proof screens and rodent-proof wire mesh, can save you a headache from infestation down the road. 

Attic Vent Screens

Attic vent screens add a layer of protection to your home beyond the attic vent itself. Because the gaps in the attic vent screen are so wide, birds and other animals often make their way into your attic through the vent. Adding attic vent mesh protects your home from wildlife invaders.

Soffits are another common place for wildlife to enter without proper screening. Rodents can fit through holes the size of a dime, and have sharp teeth that allow them to chew their way inside your home if it's not properly sealed! Our experts can install rodent-proof soffit vents to ensure these critters don't disrupt you and your home. If you have a soffit vent that has been damaged from weather or an animal, we offer soffit vent replacement as well. We will ensure the soffit vent is in good shape before screening it!

Keeping wildlife out of your home means sealing all the vents to your home, including attic, soffit, and gable vents. Gable vent mesh screens are another part of keeping your home protected from critters. If you are looking to keep critters out for good, it's essential to ensure all your home vents are sealed! 

How to Repair Soffit & Vent Covers

Repairing soffit and vent covers involves adding critter-proof materials to the holes in the home. An expert from Critter Control of San Jose will identify current and potential wildlife entry points. Animals like rodents can fit through a hole the size of a dime, but luckily our experts are trained to spot and seal all these little holes!

 Call Critter Control of San Jose today for all your wildlife prevention needs. 408.915.2172