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Foxes are primarily nocturnal, meaning you’re less likely to see one strutting onto your lawn in the middle of the day. However, daytime activity is more common if you have a female with her cubs on your property during the spring and summer. And you can see adaptable urban foxes at any time when regular food is available.

While you might want to cut corners by either borrowing or purchasing used live traps for catching rats, this can be dangerous because those traps could contain leftover viruses and bacteria that will enter your home. Always start fresh with new materials to avoid contamination.

Regular lawn care keeps snakes away because it eliminates common hiding places. You can deter snakes by trimming grass, shrubs, and trees and removing weeds from your lawn and gardens. Clear away leaves and other debris that could serve as a potential snake habitat. You can also seal entry points around building perimeters and install metal snake fencing.

Ticks are most commonly found behind (or even inside) ears, behind knees, in belly buttons, in the hair, and in your underarms. If you find a tick on your body or on your pet, use a pair of clean tweezers to grab the tick as close to the surface of your skin as possible. If you simply yank or twist it, you can leave the tick’s mouth parts lodged in your skin and will need to remove those carefully with the tweezers. 

Once you have removed the tick, flush it down the toilet and wash your skin with rubbing alcohol or soap and water. Know the signs of lyme disease such as fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, and a rash.