Factors to Determine Presence of Babies
1. The babies are seen or heard.
2. If after the utilization of a one-way device, there is a sustained effort, by the animal, to re-enter.
3. When trapping is performed and a nursing female is caught
Birthing Periods
Gray Squirrels: Multiple birthing periods throughout the year. There is a possibility of babies being present at any time. The common times are; February-March and again June-July.
(Flying Squirrels: April-May)
Raccoons: Although the birthing season for raccoons are most common from March-July. There is the possibility that this time period may extend in either direction.
Bats: Late May-July let them fly. Bats are protected under the Endangered and Non-game Species Conservation Act. It is illegal to remove bats during the breeding and hibernation seasons.
Groundhog: Breeding season begins in mid-February, soon after the animals emerge from hibernation. Pups are born towards the end of March or early May.
Skunks: Late May through early June.
Service options if babies are present or status is unknown
1. Wait up to three months to have exclusion work done-After three months the offspring are following mom on a daily basis. Therefore, when the one-way device is installed, mom will exit and her young will follow.
2. Start with exclusion and monitor activity- If the animal is persistent on re-entering, during birthing seasons, it is assumed there are young that still remain inside. If this occurs, we can remove the one-way device(allowing the animal to access her young again) and re-install it up to three months later.
3. Trap- We can set and monitor traps for one to four days. After we catch a nursing female, we must conduct an inspection for the babies. This may require cutting into finished parts of the home (i.e walls, floors, ceiling, vents, soffits, etc.). Once babies have been located, they will be removed and reunited with mom. Fur Finder is not responsible for repairing damage necessary to gain access to babies. If offspring are not located we must release nursing female onsite.
4. Eviction Fluid application- (Applicable for raccoons only.) This is a pheromone application that has the potential to motivate a nursing mother to relocate her offspring to a new location. The effectiveness of this approach is around 50% due to many Variables.
All of these service options vary is cost and will be discussed with the client and agreed upon before any additional work is performed.