Georgia has abundant wildlife. It is part of the beauty of the state. However, that beauty loses a bit of its luster when the beautiful, abundant wildlife take up residence on your property and destruction ensues. While it may be tempting to take matters into your own hands, this is usually not the best course of action. Wildlife control methods performed by a professional are usually a much better course of action all the way around.

Georgia has strict laws regarding nuisance wildlife; when an inexperienced person attempts to remove nuisance wildlife from their property, it often results in the person getting injured or the animal needlessly suffering – or sometimes both. On the other hand, hiring a professional may seem like an unnecessary expense. It might sound easier, faster, and cheaper to employ a little DIY wildlife control, but it isn’t. Here’s what the pros don’t tell you.

Wildlife control can be difficult and dangerous.

Dealing with wild animals can be a dangerous job, and when you have a stressed out wild animal in a cage, that only increases the potential harm that can be caused to both human and animal. What’s more, Georgia law has very stringent guidelines for wildlife handling and removal. A pro understands the law and knows how to abide within it.

Your best bet is to pick up the phone and call a professional instead of trying to do it yourself. Animals can bite when they feel threatened, and when they are at large, they are at a greater risk of carrying disease. If you get bit or scratched you could get sick too.

Professional wildlife control methods are more humane.

When trapped, a stressed animal can become frantic in their attempts to escape. A wildlife control professional can ease some of the stress that the animal experiences. They can reduce some of the trauma, making the entire process more humane.

Professional wildlife control methods follow the letter of the law while minimizing the risk of other animals, even pets, from being trapped. It gives you and your family peace of mind knowing that your home and property are being cared for and that the animals that are removed will be treated as humanely as possible.

Prevention can reduce your problem.

The biggest thing that the pros usually won’t tell you is that prevention could reduce your problem without traps or other wildlife management techniques. By taking simple steps to prevent your pest problem you can often make it go away all on your own. For instance, if you have a raccoon or opossum getting into your animal food, put the food in a sealed container.

An animal will select an area based on its ability to fulfill their three basic needs: water, food, and harborage. If you make your property less marketable to the wildlife, they are more likely to go elsewhere. Understand the wildlife you are dealing with, and you can get rid of it simply by removing the things it is seeking.