If you’ve heard scratching in your attic, found droppings on your deck, or watched a raccoon disappear under your shed in the last few weeks — you’re not alone. Late April through July is the busiest stretch of our year for inspections and scheduling, because spring brings babies into nearly every active situation.
This post explains why — and exactly what you can do right now if you have wildlife in your home.
What’s happening in Ontario homes May through July
Across Grey, Bruce, and Huron Counties, every species we work with is raising young somewhere in or near a house, barn, attic, deck, or shed. The timing is roughly:
- Bats: maternity colonies form in late spring; pups stay flightless for six to eight weeks
- Raccoons: kits are born late March through May; they stay in the den for eight to twelve weeks
- Skunks: kits are born late April through early June; they stay in the den for six to eight weeks
- Squirrels: the spring litter (eastern grey and red squirrels) starts emerging in March-April and is mobile by late May
That overlap means almost any home with active wildlife in late May has babies inside. And that changes how — and when — we can do the work.
Bats: seasonal timing matters
Bat work follows seasonal timing. Mothers roost with flightless pups in the warmer months, and the standard humane-exclusion method uses one-way valves that let bats leave the structure but prevent them from re-entering. If those go in at the wrong time of year, the mothers leave to feed at dusk, can’t get back in to nurse, and the pups are left inside the wall or attic.
We book the inspection now and schedule the exclusion for the right time so the whole colony — adults and pups — exits together. Read more about our bat removal process.
Raccoons: mother and kits cannot be separated
If there are kits in the den, we will not separate them from the mother.
Our approach when we get a spring raccoon call: we inspect, document the access point, write the quote, and schedule the actual exclusion for the moment the kits are mobile (typically late May to mid-June). More on raccoon removal.
What you CAN do during baby season
Schedule the inspection now. We do inspections year-round. Booking the inspection in May means you have first pick of the post-season scheduling slots.
Don’t try to seal entry points yourself. Sealing an active entry during baby season traps the mother, the babies, or both inside.
Don’t use ultrasonic repellents, mothballs, scent sprays, or bright lights. None of these work and many push wildlife deeper into the structure.
Document what you’re seeing. Photos and videos save time during inspection.
If you have wildlife in your home this spring, get in touch. We’ll come out, identify what you have, walk you through what needs to happen and when, and give you a written quote.