Massachusetts Animal Removal Blog|BatGuys Wildlife Removal LLC

About 3 weeks ago around 9pm my wife told me that she heard some scratching in the ceiling of my son’s bedroom as she was putting him to bed. I responded as a typical husband/homeowner, I just shrugged my shoulders and told her she was hearing things. Then about a week later she wakes me up at 1am telling me that she heard the noise again in the ceiling of our bedroom. Sure enough I hear the tell-tale noise of an animal scurrying around in my attic. I mumbled something to the effect of “this animal picked the wrong house” and went back to sleep.

So the next morning my wife is asking me all about it.

Her: Is it a squirrel?  

Me: No, there aren’t any openings in the roof big enough for squirrels to enter. It’s probably just mice.

Her: No way! The sounds were way too loud to be mice! (at least 50% of our mouse customers say this exact phrase)

Me: You sound like one of my customers!! (we both laugh) I’ll go take a look at it when I get home tonight.

About two weeks later (that’s how long it takes me to respond to things around my own house) I ventured up into my attic and found a couple of mouse droppings and some little mouse tunnels in my blown insulation directly over these bedrooms. Now I own a big, old house with two chimneys and balloon construction (hollow walls with no insulation) so it didn’t surprise me that I could have a few mice in my attic.

So I started to think about what I was going to do. Having mice in my own attic gives me a great opportunity to test out some new mouse traps. I have several different types of live-catch mouse traps that have been sent to me by different manufacturers from all across the country.  I have always wanted to try them but like any live-catch trap they must be checked daily. Since this is not a cost-effective way of solving a mouse problem we have never used them at any of our customer’s houses.

On Friday I went back up to my attic armed with 4 different types of traps and set them in the areas where we have been hearing the noises. I didn’t catch any over the weekend.  I will continue to check them every morning and hopefully I will get a feel for which trap works best. I will post an update once I have finished my research.

In the end i’ll undoubtably end up having to mouse-proof my own house. You can imagine how excited I am about that.

Matt Grady

www.BatGuys.com

Now I have seen it all. The town of Orleans (Outer Cape Cod) has installed Ultrasonic Sound emitting devices in parking lots to prevent teenagers from loitering. Don’t believe me? Read it for yourself in this morning’s Cape Cod Times. If it wasn’t bad enough that the Ultrasonic manufacturers are polluting the pest control industry with their phony devices now some clever company is marketing a product that will drive away teenagers? Maybe i’m a bit sensitive to the subject as I remove these foolish devices from attics on a weekly basis. The scenario we usually see goes something like this:

Customer notices that they have an animal problem in their attic. Goes online and finds these wonderful devices that claim to “drive all animals out of their home using ultrasonic sound and not injure a single animal!” Customer then spends anywhere from $60-$200 on these devices and sets them up in their attic. After putting up with the animals for about two weeks they realize that their miracle devices don’t work and then they call us. So the customer is out $60-$200 before they even begin to get their problem solved. After that they usually just throw these things away or ask me to do it. I wish I would have started saving these foolish devices years ago because I would probably have a pile of them the size of a school bus by now and it would make for a pretty cool picture.

Don’t take my word for it. After all I have a vested interest in this situation. Visit this link and see what the Federal Trade Commission has to say about these fraudulent Ultrasonic devices.

I’m truly sorry if this post offends the Ultrasonic Device Community. Hopefully you will still reap enough profits from your “Burn fat while you sleep!” line of products and my little rant won’t effect your bottom line.

Matt Grady

www.BatGuys.com

About a month ago I had a journalist from the Boston Phoenix contact me about an article that he wanted to write. The article would be about a typical “day in the life” of a wildlife removal technician. It would require that he ride along with me for at least a day to conduct some research, to ask me a bunch of questions and most importantly to get a first-hand look at exactly what I do. The journalist’s name was James Parker. After a few emails I agreed to his proposition and we setup a day to get together.
In the days before he came out to work with me I had several ideas on how I would mess with him. Mike and I talked about several different things I could do to scare the crap out of this poor guy that had no idea what he was getting into. First I was going to release several squirrels inside my van so that we’d be driving down the highway and a squirrel would jump up on his lap. Then I thought that I would stack up about two dozen empty beer cans against the passenger side door so that when he opened the door to get in they would all fall at his feet. I was also going to fill up a flask with water and start drinking from it at 7am as we were doing 80mph on rt 128. “Want a swig James?” ;o)

In the end I decided against all my sinister ideas and i’m glad I did. I think that the joke would have been on me as I doubt that James would have been taken back or shocked by any of it. Ya see James isn’t the stereotypical journalist. He is a young guy in his mid 30’s and was not at all what I expected. Would you expect a journalist to stand beside you in a tight crawlspace while you wrestle and angry and violent raccoon into a trap that is only a few feet from him? Well that’s exactly what he did…….twice! James also asked some very intelligent questions and to my surprise he didn’t get on my nerves at all during the course of the day. I enjoyed working with him and he even bought my lunch at The Purple Cactus in Jamaica Plain. What more could I ask for?

When it was all said and done James took in everything that he saw that day and turned it into a great article. I was very impressed with his ability to write. The article can be found here:

http://thephoenix.com/Article.aspx?id=59459&page=1

Matt Grady

www.BatGuys.com

On Wednesday March 26th we encountered our first juvenile raccoons in an attic in Sandwich Ma. It’s nice to see the raccoons in this area making a comeback. The Cape Cod Canal region has been hit very hard with the rabies virus in recent years.

I’m looking forward to more of these jobs in the upcoming months. Raccoons are by far the most challenging animals that we deal with.  Check out our raccoon removal page to see some photos and videos from last spring.

Matt Grady

www.BatGuys.com 

Last week I was inspecting a large cobblestone chimney at a home on the ocean when I bumped into an interesting creature, a Silver-Haired Bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans). I was looking into the cracks between the cobblestones with my flashlight when I noticed some type of animal with jet-black fur. I nudged the bat out of his hideout, took a few pictures of it and gently placed it back. Below are some pictures of this fascinating animal.

After doing some research I learned that this species is considered to be somewhat common in our area. However, encounters with this species are not common. The reason for this is because they are a forest bat and generally do not roost inside houses.

Its not often that I encounter a new species of animal in our area so this incident was pretty cool. I will post more photos and information about this bat in the future.

Matt Grady

www.BatGuys.com

Our office receives some crazy phone calls from time to time.  Most often it is due to the fact that the caller did not research exactly who they were calling or because they are a bit “misguided”. Other times it is because these people are crazy and probably have the paperwork to prove it. From calls for dogs barking to injured beaver to people calling to see if we have their cat, we get some real beauties. Any call that starts off with “I’m calling to report” is usually going to be a good one. I usually just laugh and shrug it off when these calls come in. Sometimes………I even enjoy them.

For reasons that I won’t try to understand this past month has been really good for funny/crazy phone calls.  With that said I’m going to list the top 4 crazy phone calls/voicemails we have received.

4. Deer on the loose! A woman from Weston Mass called me last year to report a “Deer on the loose!” in her front yard. To those of you aren’t familiar with the town, reporting a deer sighting in Weston is like reporting a seagull sighting in Boston Harbor - They’re everywhere! After talking to the woman I found out that she had just moved here from England. I informed her that deer roamed freely about the town and that she should get used to it.

3. A man once called to report a “Water buffalo stuck down in the hole” on my voicemail. I was pretty sure it was just a lame prank but he left a phone number and even an address. I did not return his call.

2. A man from Newport RI called to tell me that he saw a seagull on Ocean drive that had fishing line wrapped around one of it’s feet (I get these calls all the time). He then told me that the bird was “last seen flying toward block island”????. I asked him what exactly he would like me to do this situation and he said that he’d like me to go catch it and unwrap the fishing line. Who did he think he was calling? Did he picture a team of guys hanging around a helicopter waiting for such a call to come in? Come on guys lets go!

and the winner…

1. Last Thursday a man from SE Massachusetts called to let us know that he saw 3 men throw a dead goat into a dumpster! He was pretty sure that this was an illegal practice and he wanted us to respond to the scene to make things right.

I hope you enjoyed this latest entry and be glad that you don’t have to answer our phone!!

Matt Grady

www.BatGuys.com

On August 2nd and 3rd 2008 I’ll be riding in my first Pan Mass Challenge. This ride is the largest cancer research fundraiser in the world and I am honored to be a part of it. For those not familiar with the event you can click the link at the bottom to check it out. I have wanted to participate in the event for a few years now but injuries have always prevented me from doing so. This year I seem to have all the kinks worked out and I’m looking forward to the 200 mile bike ride.

I am actively running a fundraising campaign in order to raise the $4000.00 minimum that is required of all riders in the PMC. I have several fundraising campaigns in the works and I’m hoping to blow away the $4000.00 minimum set by the PMC.

If you’ve stumbled onto this area of my site you probably got here because you have some sort of animal problem. I have setup BatGuys.com to be a resource website. Visitors to my site often find the information they’re looking for and it helps them in solving their problem. If nothing else they are entertained with some of the pictures and videos that I have posted for anyone to use and enjoy. I also help people from other states with referrals. Not a day goes by that I don’t put someone in touch with the best bat removal company in thier state. All this and I have never asked for anything in return. Well now i’m asking.

If you’re a homeowner and I took the time to give you a referal in your area, if you’re a wildlife removal company and I’ve sent you yet another job, if you’re just a curious web surfer and you’ve spent an hour on my site clicking pictures and videos, if you came here looking for very specific information and found it, if you’ve ever had a loved one that has battled Cancer I am asking for your help. Using the EGIFT button on my PMC page you can make a direct donation to my fundraising campaign.

I realize that not everyone has the ability to make a donation. I also realize that a 1/2 hour of entertainment, a bit of information or a referal isn’t worth very much. Whether its $1000, $500 or $25 every bit of it helps toward my goal.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post about something that is very important to me. I will be writing more about this event here as well as other websites in the future.

Pan Mass Challenge - www.PMC.Org

Donate to my fundraising Campaign - My PMC Page

PMC YouTube Videos

Thank you,

Matt Grady

www.BatGuys.com

In this field we see some creative (and scary) work done by “do-it-yourself” homeowners. One part of the house that seems to get more than its share of crazy solutions is the chimney. When people have animals in their chimney they will try just about anything to get them out and/or keep them out. We see people light fires under animals, dump ammonia into their fireplaces and even install chimney caps while 4 or 5 raccoons are still inside the chimney. Yes we get called out to some pretty “interesting” situations, that’s for sure. I was going through some old pictures this cold, windy afternoon and found 3 chimney pictures that I thought i’d share.

This is obviously a bad idea. This is actually a commercial building next to a sub shop. I was parked in my truck one day eating lunch when I noticed this chimney.

The funny thing about this cap was that it seemed to be installed correctly. The bolts were tight and there was plenty of sealant used to hold the cap on. I’m not sure why the homeowner decided that it needed a rock on top of it.

And the winner of the best chimney solution award of 2007 is……

This is a very, very bad idea. This homeowner had an adult female raccoon and 4 juveniles living inside his fireplace. Then just before dark when he thought the female had left he went on the roof and covered his entire chimney with a tarp as shown above. The female raccoon then exited the chimney about 30 minutes later and tore a big hole in the tarp (other side of chimney). The hole that the raccoon tore probably saved this guy’s life. If the chimney would have remained covered the house would have filled with carbon monoxide from the furnace. A deadly situation.

That wraps up todays article on “how not to cap a chimney”. Hope you enjoyed it.

Matt Grady

www.BatGuys.com

2008 has arrived and we’re off to a very slow start. We’re still getting calls for the usual winter animals but due to snow and ice we haven’t been able to complete many jobs. Its very difficult and dangerous to work on a roof that has 12 inches of snow on it! Hopefully we’ll get a short blast of warmer weather that will melt all the snow but its not looking good as the high for tomorrow is only in the teens!

We’re expanding our office hours for 2008. Our office will now be open from 7am till 5pm Monday through Friday and will also be open on most Satrudays.

Happy New Year!

Matt Grady

www.BatGuys.com

One hot summer day in July 07 I made an interesting discovery while bat-proofing a home in Bellingham Ma. I was walking across the roof, about to step onto my ladder when I noticed something strange on the home’s Direct TV dish. There sitting in the shade beneath the dish was a frog.

A closer look revealed a light gray/silver frog resting in the elbow of the Direct TV Dish. The strangest thing to me at this point was that were were both 30 feet in the air. I have run into tree frogs before on smaller homes and even once in the wild but never on the roof of a 3-story house.

I nudged the little guy out of his hideout so I could get a better look at him. The most interesting thing about this frog was his feet. Each foot had 3 toes with little suction cups on the ends of the toes to aid him in climbing. He got a little nervous and ended up jumping onto the roof below. I took a couple more pictures, placed him back in his hideout and went on my way.

When I got back to the office that day I looked up some information on tree frogs. I found them to be very interesting. They change colors throughout the year and are generally considered hard to photograph because they spend most of their time high in trees in the wild. The best information I could find about these critters was from the University of Rhode Island. Check out their web page about our native tree frogs for more information.

Matt Grady

www.BatGuys.com