Dunning Pest Control & Wildlife Removal

Pest Control in Dunning, Chicago

Dunning, on Chicago's far Northwest Side, takes its name from the land once occupied by the Cook County poor farm and asylum, a site now shared by a state mental health center, a City Colleges campus and a memorial park honoring those buried there. The rest of the community area is residential and suburban in character: Schorsch Village, Irving Woods, Belmont Heights and Belmont Terrace are filled with 1920s bungalows, 1950s brick ranches and Georgians on larger lots than you find closer to downtown. Several large cemeteries border the area as well. All that open, grassy land lets wildlife and burrowing pests thrive right next to well-kept homes.

Open grounds and cemeteries around Dunning

Few Chicago neighborhoods have as much open ground as Dunning. The campus land along Oak Park Avenue, the Read-Dunning Memorial Park and the surrounding cemeteries provide quiet grass and tree cover where striped skunks, raccoons and Virginia opossums can live without much disturbance. At night they move into nearby yards to dig for grubs, raid garbage and look for den sites under porches, sheds and decks. A lawn torn into small cone-shaped holes usually means a skunk has been foraging. Wildlife specialists can confirm which animal is responsible, humanely remove it and install buried mesh barriers under decks and stoops so another one does not move in.

Schorsch Village lawns, moles and field mice

The larger lots in Schorsch Village and Irving Woods mean bigger lawns, and bigger lawns attract eastern moles. Their raised tunnels and volcano-shaped mounds tend to appear in spring and fall when the soil is moist. Moles eat grubs and earthworms, so they are more of a landscaping headache than a health concern, but they can ruin a well-kept yard quickly. The same grassy habitat supports deer mice and house mice, which move toward homes and garages as the weather cools. A local pro can set mole traps in active runs and pair rodent exclusion at the house with bait stations near garages and sheds.

Ranches and bungalows along Belmont and Irving Park

Dunning's housing ranges from brick bungalows near Belmont Avenue to post-war ranches and raised ranches north toward Irving Park Road and beyond. Ranch homes with attached garages are especially prone to mice getting in along the bottom of the overhead door and then into the house through the shared wall. Pavement ants and odorous house ants are also common along driveways and patios in spring. In finished basements, wolf spiders and house centipedes show up in summer. A seasonal perimeter treatment, fresh garage door seals and weather-stripping on the house entry door keep most of these issues in check.

Areas served in Dunning: Schorsch Village, Irving Woods, Belmont Heights, Belmont Terrace, Read-Dunning Memorial Park area, Wright College area.