Yellow Jacket Stings Hurt

image of yellow jacket

Yellow Jacket Bees Are Different Than Honey Bees

Yellow Jackets, unlike honey bees, can sting repeatedly without harm to themselves. You’ll usually find them in underground burrows or tree hollows. They build their nests of a paper like substance from chewing wood pulp. And their nests can be huge in size.

Yellow Jackets Are Aggressive

When agitated, they can get very aggressive. We recently had a technician completely covered from head to toe in a beekeeper suit, yet he was stung repeatedly through a tiny opening in his hat that he did not know about.

If you encounter yellow jackets on your property, do not try to handle them yourself. Call an expert. We recommend  checking out this website for more information, and then CALL us.

 

CALL 866-263-WILD (9453)

Nuisance Wildlife Removal

Hogs Gone Wild

image showing destructin by wild hogsHogs Routing And Rutting Will Destroy A Beautiful Area

If wild hogs start digging up your lawn, don’t try to deal with it on your own. Let the experts at Nuisance Wildlife Removal take care of your pig problems.

Hog problems usually begin in the spring but are worsened by heavy rains. The rains push the hogs from low-lying creeks and swamps into residential areas in search of food.

Wild Hogs Are Public Domain

The hogs are considered domestic livestock and become property of the landowner once they wander onto their property, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

“It’s up to the people what they want to do with them, as long as they’re not violating any animal cruelty,” said Joy Hill, FWC spokeswoman.”

Some wild hogs have tusks and will occasionally charge at humans, especially if someone comes between a sow and her babies, said Bill Giuliano, a University of Florida wildlife conservation professor and extension specialist.
Hogs are “opportunistic” eaters, he said, and will eat just about anything, plant or animal. No one knows for sure how many feral pigs live in Florida, he said, but it is estimated to be at least 750,000.

Do Not Panic – Call The Experts

If hogs show up in your yard, give Nuisance Wildlife Removal a call at 866-263-WILD. We’ll set traps, then haul away the intruders.

CALL 866-263-WILD (9453)

Nonnative Wildlife In Florida

Green Iguana

South American Animal Kingdom Has Moved To Florida

The powers that be in Marco Island Florida hired a wildlife trapper six months ago to catch and kill their nuisance Iguanas. There are a list of complaints. They dedicate in pools.  Eat up shrubs and flowers. They are able to undermine foundations and seawalls. The State of Florida requires the trapper to kill them because they are a nonnative species, and as such, cannot be released back into the wild once captured.

 

 

There Is More Than Meets The Eye With Nonnative Species

Iguanas are just one example of non-native species in Florida becoming a nuisance.

Brown Anole
Brown Anole

Some others are:

  • armadillos
  • foxes
  • hogs
  • rats and mice
  • European rabbit

That is just some of the mammals that have made it into the Florida ecosystem.

The reptiles on the list include:

Don’t know what an Anole is? Ever seen those cute little lizards that stand on the side of a tree and make their throat stick out to warn others and attract a mate?

We won’t even get into the debate here about Africanized Honey Bees in Florida.

 What Does Belong In The Florida Wildlife Kingdom?

Here is a good idea of how diverse Florida wildlife really is without all the nonnative species moving in on our territory.

The point is that practically everything in Florida is nonnative, including most of the people.

Our job here at Nuisance Wildlife Removal is to trap and remove the animals and insects that have become nuisances to people. Now you know why we can’t just move some species to another location and let them go.

 

CALL 866-263-WILD (9453)

Avoid A Snake Encounter

rattlesnake preparing to strike - Don't put yourself in this position.

 Snake Are Predictable Until You Step On One

This is the perfect time of year for people to cross paths with snakes in Florida. It has been extra hot, we’ve had a lot of extra rain lately, and there is always more construction during the warmer months. All of these things can combine to cause snakes to move around more during the day.

They may be looking for relief:

  • from the heat
  • from the wet conditions
  • moving to wetter conditions to cool down.
  • construction projects may also cause the snakes to look for a more stable place to hide.

Avoid The Snake Encounter

What ever the reason, they are more likely to encounter human interaction. Aside from the unfortunate little girl in Central Florida killed by a family pet python, there have also been at least 3, possibly 4 snake bite victims in Florida, in just the last few weeks. All of these were reportedly rattlesnake bites. The latest was a child.

If you encounter snakes on your property, don’t take any chances. Call an expert to remove the serpent before there is a tragic event with your pets or family. Call Nuisance Wildlife Removal of Florida at 866-263-WILD.

Our expert wildlife technicians will find and trap or capture the snake, determine whether it is poisonous, and either relocate it or euthanize it after that determination.

Don’t take chances with the well being of your family.

CALL 866-263-WILD (9453)

Hurricane Season

Wild Animals May Seek Refuge In Your Home To Survive

Once again as of June 1st, we are in the start of the Atlantic Storm Season. Here in Florida we usually just call it Hurricane season. Part of your hurricane preparedness plan might be to have your home checked for places where animals and wildlife can enter your home. Here is why.

Rodents And Nocturnal Animals Run On Instinct

When a storm like hurricane Charley, Wilma, or Katrina hits, its not just human habitats that are affected. Even a medium sized storm will knock down thousands of trees, even where no humans live. That forces the wildlife to seek refuge somewhere else. If the only things left standing are human structures, well that is pretty inviting to rats, squirrels, raccoons, bats and many other wild creatures.

 

Even a medium sized storm can decimate a large portion of Florida forest, and force wildlife to seek shelter elsewhere

These squirrels found an easy access to their new home after being displaced by a storm.

 Call Up For A Inspection Of Your Home

An expert like those at Nuisance Wildlife Removal will show you where those access points to your home or business are. He will carefully inspect your roof and attic areas inside and out, and offer to fix the flaws in construction or earlier damage caused by animals. The time to prevent animals from taking storm refuge in your home is now, before the storms hit.
You can reach us at 866-261-WILD. Call today for a FREE inspection and cost estimate. Don’t let your house become a storm shelter for homeless and displaced animals.

CALL 866-263-WILD (9453)

Wildlife Invades Florida Homes.

abandonned raccoon babyAlways Seek A Qualified Person For The Job

Would you ask your plumber to fix your car? Of course not. He has his specialty, and so do we at Nuisance Wildlife Removal. We remove animals such as raccoons, snakes, opossums, bats, and bee hives, when they invade peoples’ spaces. Do it yourself people often think they’ll save money by hiring a handy man or even doing the job themselves, but often that can cause a bigger problem.

How Do We Get A Raccoon Family Out Of Your House?

The baby raccoon on the right would have died if the homeowner had gone ahead with his plan to wait until the raccoon in his attic left at night, then seal up the entrance.

  1. First of all, a mother raccoon would have just frantically made a new entrance to get to her babies, causing even more damage to the house.
  2. Secondly, if she had failed, then the owner would have the foul odor of rotting dead raccoons in his attic to deal with.

Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed. His wife called Nuisance Wildlife Removal services for a FREE assessment of the situation. We showed the owner that there was indeed a nest of babies in his attic, and that momma had more than one entrance to his house. We went to work by first convincing the mother raccoon that she should not stay any longer. To do this, we sprayed a predator scent, which alerts her to constant danger to her and her babies. In exiting the only route that we had left her, she stepped into a trap we had set.

Once the young family was evicted, we fixed all the places on the home where the raccoons had done damage to get in. Unfortunately, it was also obvious that this was not the first time this house had been used as a raccoon nursery. We ended up having to do a complete attic restoration for this home owner. We pulled out all the old insulation and disinfected the entire attic area, and sprayed for the thousands of fleas we found there. We then replaced all the insulation, and even had some crushed vent work repaired.

By the way, this was covered by his home owner’s insurance.

The raccoons were taken to an animal rehab facility until the babies can fend for themselves in the wild.

 

CALL 866-263-WILD (9453)

Africanized Bees

State Seeks To Eradicate Colonies

Africanized bees are over taking the wild populations of European bees in Florida. That is why the state advises africanized honey beeresidents to exterminate feral colonies found on properties close to people.

“Public safety is ultimately our goal,”

said Jerry Hayes, chief of the apiary section of Florida’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

“Three or four years ago, the bees we were finding might show 20 to 30 percent Americanization. Now it’s 60 to 80 percent.”

Bees Feel At Home In Southern Florida

Southern and southwest Florida has a higher density of the bees than other parts of the state, he said. That’s probably because the area resembles Central and South America, where Africanized bees started in this hemisphere.

“Beekeepers are not part of the problem,” Hayes said. “We don’t want them zoned or ordinance out of being. But having more managed colonies will not stop Africanized bees from expanding.”

 

information was used from
http://www.news-press.com/

CALL 866-263-WILD (9453)

Bee Removal Rising

 Bee Hives Are Becoming Commonplace These Days In Florida

We often get calls here at Nuisance Wildlife Removal Inc. about bees invading a home or other structure on a property. The unseen hive usually has the iceberg effect, where you only see the

entrance, and not the main colony.

On this call, the bees were spotted going in and out of a hole up near the rain gutter of a two story house. Once the gutter and drain pipe were removed, you could see the damage and rotted wood, which

allowed the bees to enter the structure and start their hive.

We Had To Peel Back The Structure

Our trained technician removed some fascia board, and the hive combs a were pretty big. This hive was not a new one. It had been there for more than one season. The deeper he dug into the damaged wood, the worse things looked for the home owner.

Why Some Bees Must Be Destroyed

First things first, the bees need to be eliminated. Some people don’t understand why this is necessary, considering the world wide distress that domesticated bees are in due to CCD or “colony collapse disorder”. Bees are dying off by the billions due to everything from infections, to mites, to lack of food, pesticides and even the stress of being trucked all over the country at harvest time.

The bigger danger is that the healthy domestic bees would be contaminated by cross breeding with the AHB or Africanized Honey Bees which have now invaded our part of Florida. We can’t take the time to try and recognize whether we are dealing with the AHB or just wild honey bees. We exterminate the hive to help the Florida bee industry keep its good hives intact. In the past, a licensed bee keeper may want to take the wild hives that we find, but not any more.

Taking Out The Hive

Now that the bees have been “dusted”, we start the removal process. You can’t just leave an empty hive in place, or it will attract maggots which would feed on the dead bee larvae. Also, all that honey may eventually start running down the inside walls. That is a mess you don’t want to ever have to deal with. Bees and humans are not the only creatures who like to eat honey.

Our technicians will make sure that all traces and remnants of the hive are cleaned away, and the area is left ready for the contractor to repair any structural damage left behind by the bees.

 

CALL 866-263-WILD (9453)

Storms Bring Animals Inside

Storms Drive Wildlife To Your House For Shelter

The official Atlantic storm season is from June 1st to November 30th. What we see here a lot at Nuisance Wildlife Removal is animals driven into people’s homes by high winds and flooding of their natural habitat. It is only natural to head for high ground as water encroaches.

If you’ve ever looked in your attic or upper crawl space, you can see that it is dark and dry. This is very inviting to a rat or raccoon trying to keep their babies safe and dry during a storm or it’s aftermath.

Prevent Unwanted Animal Visitors From Homesteading

Nuisance Wildlife Removal Inc. offers free inspections to your home and property, to assure that all possible entrances to your home are covered or excluded, to prevent any non-intended habitation by wildlife during the coming storm season.

Contact us by calling 941-729-2103 or through the contact form on this website.

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CALL 866-263-WILD (9453)

Africanized Honey Bees

A nest of africanized honey bees on tree limb

Africanized Bees Stake A Claim In Florida Territory

According to a 2005 public advisory from the Florida Department of Agriculture, Africanized Honey Bees (AHB) have been present in the Tampa Bay area since 2002. They probably arrived through ports, on ships from Guatemala.

Over the last several years, numerous attacks on humans and animals have been reported in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Emergency response agencies in these states have implemented first responder training programs as well as public education efforts. While there have been no attacks on humans reported in Florida, farm animals have been attacked.

Future encounters between Africanized Honey Bees and humans is considered inevitable, so the best course of action is the education of the public, especially as we move into warmer weather when outside activities are more frequent.

Bee Alert- What To Watch Out For

Here are some Africanized Honey Bees safety precautions suggested by the Florida Department of Agriculture.

  • Be attuned and alert to buzzing in your environment – this may indicate a nest or swarm of bees.
  • Use care when entering sheds or outbuildings where bees may nest.
  • Examine work areas before using power equipment such as lawn mowers, weed cutters, and chain saws – the noise excites bees.
  • Be alert when engaged in all outdoor activities.
  • Do not disturb a nest or swarm of bees, leave the area immediately, and contact Nuisance Wildlife Removal Inc., or your county extension agent.
  • If attacked by aggressive bees, run as fast as possible to a safe area. Aggressive Africanized Honey Bees may pursue for up to ¼ of a mile.

If Stung By Africanized Bees

Takes these precautionary steps.

  •  Go quickly to a safe area.
  • Remove stingers by scraping – use a flicking action with a finger nail or credit card. Do not squeeze or the stinger may stay in and get infected.
  •  Apply ice.
  • Seek medical attention immediately if breathing becomes labored.

If a large volume of bees are present on your property the wise course of action may be to have them removed. If for no other reason that that fact the hive will continue to expand and could become a danger to children in the area.  If that is the case call Nuisance Wildlife Trapper for a free evaluation of removing the hive.

 

CALL 866-263-WILD (9453)