It’s not unusual to find a squirrel or raccoon in your garage or attic but what happens when you spy small critters making themselves at home in your office? Animals don’t differentiate between residential and commercial buildings, all they want is a safe warm place to nest with their buddies and whether it’s a basement, warehouse, walls or porch makes no difference. Bats and otters in the home is one thing but when pesky critters get into a workplace environment this can be a very dangerous situation. Many office workers panic at the sight of a mouse so just imagine the reaction you’ll get when someone in your office spots a bat, raccoon or skunk. As an office manager or building owner you are responsible for the safety of your employees and dangerous animals roaming the premise is a lawsuit waiting to happen.
In a decent size office you’ll have employees who think it’s cute that a squirrel is in the building and others who will leave and won’t come back until they are convinced the animal is gone. Regardless of what your staff thinks it is your responsibility to remove the animals from the grounds and take the necessary steps to ensure no other critters find their way in. However, dealing with small animals can be tricky and dangerous. Trying to catch a raccoon or otter on your own can be an exercise in futility and may even involve a bite that could be carrying rabies. The first thing you should do when encountering small animals in the workplace is to contact a professional animal removal specialist.
The next step is to determine how serious the situation is. One skunk roaming the basement isn’t that big a deal but if you have a nest of bats in the ceiling panels then you may need to evacuate the office until an animal removal specialist arrives. You have no way of telling who is allergic to what and should the animals become frightened or threatened chaos will surely ensue. Before your office turns into a scene out of Gremlins, be proactive in safely and quickly getting your staff out of harm’s way.
