Best animal removal specialists near Markham, IL

Skunks spray as a defense mechanism to ward off predators. The active ingredient in their sulfurous, oily musk is n-butyl mercaptan, which evaporates into a powerful and smelly gas. Once the spray hits the skunk’s target, the stench can linger for days, and water and common cleaning kits aren’t enough to wash it away.

If you happen upon a skunk in your yard, try to back away slowly to reduce the chance of them aiming at you. Encouragingly, they don’t use their weapon casually, as it can take up to 10 days for their life-saving weaponry to refill. Paw stamping, hissing, lifting their tail, and arching their back are early signs they feel trapped or under threat and that it’s time to make a careful retreat.

While there are plenty of DIY home remedies for pests, trapping and fumigation costs are worth the investment when dealing with a serious infestation that is hard to get rid of, like termites,  bed bugs, or mice.

DIY traps and sprays might help eliminate a few ants or the occasional mouse, but they're no match for a full-blown infestation. Call an extermination pro to locate where pests hide, how to treat the issue at the source, and how to keep it from returning.

Although raccoons aren’t particularly picky regarding food, certain sounds, metals, and smells bother them. You can place these items around your home to keep raccoons away:

• Place wire mesh screens around and underneath decks and porches to prevent raccoons from nesting. 

• Put metal sheeting around the edges of your roof or at the base of trees to deter raccoons from coming close. 

• Place a loud battery-operated radio near the raccoon’s den to keep them from nesting.

• Keep a bowl of cider vinegar on your deck or porch.

• Remove old raccoon scents by thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting underneath porches and decks.

If the snakes in your yard are non-venomous species (like common Rat or Garter snakes), why not consider the live-and-let-live approach? Some benefits of not getting rid of snakes include:

• They’re great at controlling disease-spreading rodent populations, including rats, mice, voles, and moles.

• Some non-venomous species (like the common kingsnake) eat venomous species like rattlesnakes and copperheads.

• Species like the garter snake keep down populations of garden pests like slugs and grasshoppers.