If you have a problem with wildlife in your Santa Cruz home, your best option is to hire a company that specializes in California wildlife removal only. This is a specialty business, and regular pest control companies do not use the proper techniques to solve animal problems. I have spent many years reviewing California and Santa Cruz, and I recommend the following:

Terra X Pest Services
Cell Phone: 831-585-1640

NOTE: If you have a dog or cat problem, call Santa Cruz County Animal Services: (831) 454-7200

Terra X Pest Services specializes primarily in removing animals from attics of homes and buildings - this includes squirrels in attics, raccoons, and rats or mice in homes. California also has a documented problem with bats in buildings, and Terra X Pest Services is specially trained in bat removal. They also perform general wildlife trapping services, such as the capture and removal of skunks or opossums on the property. Call 831-585-1640 to discuss your critter problem and schedule a same-day or next-day appointment. Click here to learn more about what prices we charge in 2022.

When hiring a company to solve your wild animal problem, you want these features:

• Specializes in wildlife removal, not pest control
• Fully California and Santa Cruz County licensed and insured
• Works 7 days per week (critters don't take weekends off)
• Performs full building inspections: enters and inspects attic
• Performs exclusion repairs, with guarantee against animal re-entry
• Offers cleanup of biohazardous wildlife waste



Terra X Pest Services is a full-service Santa Cruz wildlife removal company. This is very different from a regular Santa Cruz pest control company. The pest control companies spray poison to kill insects. This is not at all similar to wildlife removal. Terra X Pest Services performs a full inspection of the home or property, and determines why the animal(s) are there, and if inside a building, how the animals got inside. All animals (including rodents) are trapped and removed, or if possible, removed from the building using special exclusion devices. Once the animals are gone, preventative repairs are essential, and cleanup is sometimes recommended.

Santa Cruz wildlife trapping - it's not as simple as it may seem. It's illegal in California to trap without a license. Trap type is very important and there are many different types, bait is somewhat relevant, trap placement is vital, and there are dozens of small things that are very important to know. Safety is a concern. Then once the animal is trapped, it must be removed and dealt with in the proper manner according to California law. We offer Santa Cruz raccoon removal. Read more about how to get rid of raccoons.

Animals in attics - this is our specialty at Terra X Pest Services. Many types of animals like to live in attics. This includes squirrels, raccoons, rats, mice, bats, birds, and even possums. Critters like to go into attics for a safe place to live and raise their young. Removing animals from attics is very complex work, partly because of the presence of baby animals. If you need Santa Cruz squirrel removal, we can remove all the squirrels from your attic, and seal out any future ones. Read more about how to get rid of squirrels.

Rodent control must be done in a very specific way. First off, the most important thing is that all the openings that rats and mice can use to enter a house be sealed. Then all the rodents must be physically trapped and removed. Never, ever use poison! Most Santa Cruz exterminators will just use this lazy poison technique to kill rodents, and it causes more harm than good - dead stinky rats, and it doesn't solve the problem. Call us for correct Santa Cruz rat removal. Read more about how to get rid of rats.

Bat removal is a highly specialized task. California is known to have colonizing bats who often live in buildings. Bats love attics. If not removed, the colony can grow to a very large size over the years. The bat droppings are often corrosive and cause health risks. The same goes for bird droppings on or in buildings. We perform Santa Cruz pigeon removal and bird control. But our specialty is Santa Cruz bat removal. We remove 100% of the bat colony and seal the building so that it's totally bat-proof. Read more about how to get rid of bats.

If you have animals inside a house, no job is complete without proper exclusion repairs. If you simply hire a Santa Cruz trapper who only removes the critters, then the problem will return. You need to hire a Santa Cruz wildlife control company that identifies 100% of the animal entry points into your building, and seals them shut with professional repairs. In addition, in many cases animals have left waste or contamination behind, and you'll want a company that can provide professional cleaning services. Terra X Pest Services does both.

The above are just some of the services offered by Terra X Pest Services. We also trap and remove animals that destroy lawns, such as moles, or digging animals. Sometimes animals like opossums will live under buildings, steal pet food, raid garbage cans, etc. Read about how to get rid of opossums. Skunks commonly live under sheds or decks, and set up a den. We can trap and remove them without them spraying. Read about how to get rid of skunks. Terra X Pest Services also provides dead animal removal in Santa Cruz. If you need help with any other wildlife conflict, from a fox, beaver, groundhog, or any other critter, we can solve it. We also do Santa Cruz snake removal - most of the snakes in California are not venomous, but call us if you want safe removal, or read about how to get rid of snakes in Santa Cruz. And remember, we are a private business, not Santa Cruz County Animal Control Services, so if you have a dog or cat problem, call the County at (831) 454-7200. Santa Cruz County animal services does not handle any wildlife issues.


Terra X Pest Services: 831-585-1640

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Santa Cruz Pricing Info For Year 2022

Every wildlife removal situation is different, from the species of animals involved, the location of the animal inside a house or outside, the extent of repairs or cleanup, etc. It's impossible to give one-size-fits-all prices. Examples MIGHT include:

Small Job: For example, a one-stop job to remove an animal in the yard: $100 on up
Medium Job: For example, getting critters out of your house with minor repairs: $300 on up
Large Job: For example, a project involving many service trips and complex work: $500 on up

Give us a phone call now and tell us about your wildlife issue and we will be able to give you a price estimate over the phone. If you're cool with it, we can schedule a same-day or next-day appointment if you like. Our prices are fair, and a good value because we do the job right, the first time.

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Santa Cruz Wildlife Tip #1:
What kind of poison will kill a raccoon or groundhog? Extermination is a road that you probably aren't going to want to go down when it comes to removing a raccoon or groundhog from your life, although you would be forgiven for thinking about. As yet, there are no registered poisons that have been deemed safe and humane to kill a raccoon or groundhog, which is why you should look at other extermination methods, such as using kill traps. This is even more so the case if you want your raccoon or groundhog to have a somewhat humane death. Usually, rat poison is used to kill a raccoon or groundhog, and although it might work, it will generally take a long time, in some cases - 4 weeks or more. As you can probably imagine, this will be a long and painful death, with the animal suffering with related conditions of the poisoning, rather than the poisoning itself - blood loss, internal bleeding and even anemia. These are all things that have proven to be very painful - is it really worth it? You are already ending the raccoon or groundhog's life; do you really want to put it through that much pain beforehand? There are so many risk factors that you are going to need to put some serious thought into if you decide to use poison. Firstly, are your children going to be safe? Secondly, are you going to kill your dog or cat, or even other household pets in the community? Thirdly, could you be the cause of secondary poisoning? This is when a predator eats the carcass of the raccoon or groundhog that has died as a result of poisoning, thus transferring the poisoning residue to another animal. This could potentially kill wildlife that you may actively be encouraging into your garden. If you really want to get rid of that raccoon or groundhog, there are so many other options open to you that poisoning should really be a last resort, especially if you are not willing to put your time and effort into researching it first.

Santa Cruz Wildlife Tip #2:
What sound do baby opossums make? -When you have an opossum in your home, there4 is always the worry that baby opossums will have accompanied it, especially if you find the animal during breeding season, which unluckily for you, is a fairly long one that ranges from December right through until October of the next year! Lucki8ly for you, you are probably going to hear these animals before you see them which will point you in the right direction as to where they are hiding, and there are a couple of distinct noises that you should be on the lookout for: The first noise you are likely to hear is a sneezing noise, or one that sounds like a small animal going "che". This is usual a talkative opossum calling to its mother for food or attention, or even just talking to its siblings. After a while, if the rest of the house is in silencer, you are probably going to hear this from the depths of the attic or your walls! The second noise is one that you are probably going to want to back away from, and this is the hissing noise. This is usually a call made by a baby opossum when it feels threatened or scared, and the last thing that you are going to want to do is wake up an angry mother that is just looking out for her young! When you hear this noise, you are in trouble and this is a good sign that the local wildlife people should be called in to resolve the problem!

California Wildlife Information:

California State bird: California quail
State mammal: California grizzly bear and the grey whale
State reptile: Desert tortoise
State fish: Golden trout and Garibaldi
State insect: California dogface butterfly

California is home to the infamous redwood tree, a plant so large it could easily accommodate a road through the center of it. These trees make up one of the most spectacular national forests in the United States and provide shelter to thousands of different animal species. Like smaller forests around the country, the redwoods house raccoons, squirrels, porcupines, and rabbits. Prey and predator animals abound, and California has its fair share of grizzly bear sightings.

All of these animals can become potential pests for homeowners living on the fringes of such a massive nature preserve. Rural residents are accustomed to securing garbage cans and basements to prevent a curious skunk or gopher from moving in. But forest animals aren't the only creatures known to cause trouble in this coastal state. California has to do daily battle with marine and semiaquatic life.

While shy and often unapproachable, sea lions and seals are abundant on the beaches. These animals draw to them gulls by the hundreds, and the resulting piles of droppings are not what most tourists head to the beach to see. Restaurants also have issues with the bold and pesky seagulls. Special netting and bird spikes are the only practical way to keep diners free of bird poop without chasing away patrons.

California isn't just about being warm. While this state has steady, mild temperatures for most of the months of the year, there are high elevations which see frigid temperatures and persisting snow. Such a variable climate makes the state a perfect location for a diverse population of animals. Not only can creatures like coyotes and bears survive in the colder regions, salamanders and frogs abound in the areas where sun and warm are the norm.

As a tourist state, California has a large population, and such a significant amount of people means eventually having human-wildlife conflicts. The most common critters that have to be removed from California homes are raccoons, bats, pigeons, skunks, and a variety of birds including woodpeckers, swallows, and seagulls. Honeybees are also an issue for homeowners in California. If you think it's difficult to button up a home

You can always call Terra X Pest Services, any time of day, at 831-585-1640, for a price quote for Santa Cruz wildlife control services. I am confident that this is the best choice amongst wildlife removal companies in Santa Cruz, CA.