Humane "Pest" Control Company

[Maggie Funkhouser]

911 Wildlife, a licensed pest control service located in Plano, Texas,
helps humans deal with any species of wildlife in a safe, humane way.

Licensed wildlife rehabilitator, Bonnie Bradshaw, started 911 Wildlife
two years ago after working with the Dallas/Fort Worth Wildlife
Coalition. The nonprofit coalition of wildlife specialists operates a
year-round hot line for people with wildlife problems to contact an
expert for ideas about getting rid of the animal.

Mrs. Bradshaw’s company will help clients in two ways. A technician
will perform a free inspection, looking for possible entry points and
provide suggestions for the homeowner to solve the problem, such as
putting wire mesh on a chimney or plugging a hole in an attic. Or
technicians will give a price quote to do the work, usually starting
at 150 dollars.

“Our main mission is to prevent animals from being injured or
orphaned, so unlike other pest control companies, we are willing to
come out for free and help a person solve a problem at no charge,”
Mrs. Bradshaw said. “If they pay us to do the eviction and exclusion
work, we give them a 10-year guarantee.”

Mrs. Bradshaw also teaches customers to use humane aversion techniques
that range from installing high-tech, motion-sensitive sprinklers to
simply shouting and waving at the animal.

“I think that their mission is one that is definitely needed. It is
partly education and it is partly service,” Texas Master Naturalist
Mark Branning said. “I think that those go hand in hand with helping
and working with wildlife.”

911 Wildlife responds regularly to calls about raccoons, possums,
bobcats, squirrels, armadillos, coyotes, birds, and other North Texas
wildlife, but the hardest calls Mrs. Bradshaw gets come from people
who take in these animals as pets and go to extreme measures to tame
them. Mrs. Bradshaw has seen animals with claws and teeth removed. “If
you have to mutilate an animal to make it a pet, that should be a
sign,” she said. “It becomes a very, very sad situation; they are
never tame.”

911 Wildlife offers these tips for dealing with and preventing
wildlife intrusions:

1. Don't leave pet food outside overnight.
2. Don’t leave birdseed in feeders or on the ground overnight.
3. Don’t put unsecured garbage outside overnight.
4. Cover crawlspace & attic openings with heavy gauge, rustproof wire
mesh (not chicken wire).
5. Carefully inspect your eaves & other areas where the roof & house
join. Repair deteriorating
boards, warped siding & loose shingles.
6. Trim overhanging branches that provide easy access to your roof for
squirrels & other
wildlife.
7. If you have a pet door, close it securely at night.
8. If you have a chimney, make sure that it has a secure cap. Chimneys
without caps are open
invitations to raccoons looking for “hollow trees” in which to
give birth & raise their young.
9. If you have a deck, you can prevent animals from digging underneath
it by creating an L-
shaped barrier. Attach heavy gauge wire mesh to the base of the
deck, sink it six inches into
the ground, bend it 90 degrees away from the deck for 12 inches
then cover it with soil.
10. Share this information with your neighbors!

For more information, please visit their website at http://www.911wildlife.com
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