Virginia River Otter Removal Techniques

Your Wildlife Professionals, Inc. provides river otter removal services in Virginia.

Live trapping a river otter is possible, but can be costly and time consuming.  We prefer to use lethal traps when removing river otter because of their effectiveness.

Your Wildlife Professionals, Inc. provides river otter removal, river otter control, can get rid of a river otter, and river otter infestations in the counties, cities and towns of Alexandria, Arlington, Bedford, Blacksburg, Bristol, Charlottesville, Covington, Chesapeake, Danville, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Hampton, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Lynchburg, Loudon, Manassas, Martinsville, Newport News, Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke, Smith Mountain Lake, Staunton, Virginia Beach, Waynesboro, Williamsburg, Winchester, Wytheville, and Yorktown Virginia.

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Virginia River Otter Damage & Damaged Areas

River otter damage is very evident in most cases and can be very costly at times.  Their burrows in manmade earth dams can drain the pond and require renovation of the dam.  Their dens will typically cave in on the banks of rivers, creeks, ponds, and lakes.  Floating docks will float unevenly due to the removal of the insulation from the dock to create a den.  In and on top of floating docks you will find freshwater clam shells that have been eaten.  They will also leave an unsightly scat full of fish scales on boat docks that will leave a stain.  The mostly costly damage you will find is the leftover carcasses from stocked grass carp and catfish. 

Your Wildlife Professionals, Inc. can help prevent river otter damage by providing river otter removal or get rid of a river otter in your lake or pond in the counties, cities and towns of Alexandria, Arlington, Bedford, Blacksburg, Bristol, Charlottesville, Covington, Chesapeake, Danville, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Hampton, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Lynchburg, Loudon, Manassas, Martinsville, Newport News, Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke, Smith Mountain Lake, Staunton, Virginia Beach, Waynesboro, Williamsburg, Winchester, Wytheville, and Yorktown Virginia, we are here to help you.

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Catfish Eaten By A river Otter

River Otter Poop Left Behind On A Boat Dock

Virginia River Otter Identification

Your Wildlife Professionals, Inc. provides river otter identification in Virginia.  If you need river otter description, river otter body size, river otter average adult length, river otter average adult weight, weight of river otter at birth, river otter fur color, river otter tracks, river otter scat or poop, or river otter voice & sounds in Alexandria, Arlington, Bedford, Blacksburg, Bristol, Charlottesville, Covington, Chesapeake, Danville, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Hampton, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Lynchburg, Loudon, Manassas, Martinsville, Newport News, Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke, Smith Mountain Lake, Staunton, Virginia Beach, Waynesboro, Williamsburg, Winchester, Wytheville, and Yorktown Virginia, Your Wildlife Professionals, Inc. is available to solve your river otter problem.

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Description: 

A moderately sized elongated mammal.  The fur color is dark brown, their neck is the same size as their head, and they have a heavy flat tail that is “V” shaped to the end.

Body Size:

Males are bigger than females.

Ave. Length (Adult):  35” – 53” long.  Tail:  11” – 18”

Ave. Weight (Adult):  10 - 25 lbs.

Young at Birth:  6 ounces.  Blind, toothless, and dark brown. 

Young at 10 days:  1 pound

Young at 35 days:  Eyes open.

Young at 10 to 12 weeks:  Cubs come out of den.

Young at 4 months:  Cubs are weaned.

Voice & Sounds: 

Chirp, grunt, growl, snarl, whistle, and often scream.  They will also loudly blow air through their nose.  Chirping is usually communication among family members.

Other: 

River otters are a member of the weasel family, which also includes skunks.

They can swim up to 6 miles per hour and can remain submerged for up to 3 – 4 minutes.

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Virginia River Otter Reproduction

Your Wildlife Professionals, Inc. considers both the time of year river otters breed, when river otters are born, river otter gestation period, the number of river otters born, river otter weaning period, and the average reproductive age of river otters within their respective geographic region of Virginia prior to controlling river otters in your pond or lake in Alexandria, Arlington, Bedford, Blacksburg, Bristol, Charlottesville, Covington, Chesapeake, Danville, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Hampton, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Lynchburg, Loudon, Manassas, Martinsville, Newport News, Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke, Smith Mountain Lake, Staunton, Virginia Beach, Waynesboro, Williamsburg, Winchester, Wytheville, or Yorktown Virginia. 

Time of Year: Once a year.  December to early April.  Re-mate immediately after young are born.

Gestation:  Unknown.  Thought to be 9 -12 months.

Young Born:  January to May

Number of Young Born:  2 - 4                  

Average Reproductive Age:  Capable at 1 year.  Most breed in their second year.

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Other Information About River Otters In Virginia

Your Wildlife Professionals, Inc. provide removal and control of river otters in residential and commercial ponds and lakes in Virginia.  It is not always important to know everything about river otters, but often clients need to know other information about river otters in Virginia.  Below is some additional information about river otters, such as river otter habitat, where do river otter live, home range of a river otter, river otter food, river otter habits, average life span of a river otter, and river otter health concerns that you may want to know.  If you live in Alexandria, Arlington, Bedford, Blacksburg, Bristol, Charlottesville, Covington, Chesapeake, Danville, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Hampton, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Lynchburg, Loudon, Manassas, Martinsville, Newport News, Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke, Smith Mountain Lake, Staunton, Virginia Beach, Waynesboro, Williamsburg, Winchester, Wytheville, or Yorktown Virginia and would like to know more about river otter, please give us a call.

CLICK HERE to find Your Wildlife Professional in Virginia.

Habitat

They prefer streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes typically bordered by timber.  Areas with a lot of aquatic and shoreline vegetation .

Home: 

An above water burrow during the warmer months in a bank, under the roots of large trees, beneath rock ledges, thickets of vegetation, and sometimes an abandon den of a beaver, muskrat, or a woodchuck.  During the winter around water, their den entrance will typically be below water.                     

Home Range:

50 to 100 miles of shoreline

Food: 

Predominately on animal foods.  They will catch and kill most of their food.  In the wild fish and crayfish are their favorite food.  Typically in manmade ponds they will feed on grass carp and catfish.  Other foods may be frogs, snails, muskrats, shorebirds, aquatic insect larvae, and earthworm.  People will often find an abundance of freshwater clam shells on/in their dock or fresh water beach area that otters have eaten and left the shells behind.

Habits

Mostly nocturnal, but will occasionally come out during the day.

Average Life Span

Relatively long lived mammals.  Up to 19 years.

Health Concerns

Parasites :  tapeworms 

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How often do you check the river otter traps?
  • State law requires that the traps are checked daily.
  • We ask you as the customer to check the traps and notify us when we have an animal in the trap.
  • By the customer checking the traps, this will eliminate additional costs to the customer and it will also speed up the removal process.
Can the river otter get out of the trap?
  • No.  
Where do you set the river otter traps?
  • As close to the damage area as possible.
How many river otter traps will you set?
  • We set a minimum of two traps, more if available.
  • See our Trapping page for more details.
What types of bait do you use for river otters?
  • We use specialty paste baits that are formulated for river otters designed by professionals in our industry for professional use.
What if a river otter is trapped when you come out to re-bait?
  • We will call you or leave a note on your door that we picked up an animal.
How do you euthanize the river otters or put them to sleep?
  • There are several ways to euthanize an animal.  We use the most humane methods approved by the American Veterinary Medical Association.
  • The traps we use to capture river otter euthanize the animal for us in a humane way.
What do you do with the river otter after you catch it?
  • Our permit allows us to transport the live animals to another location to be euthanized.
  • Relocating a river otter removal may risk the chance of spreading disease to an uninfected area and creating damage to someone else’s property.
Where do you relocate the river otters?
  • Our permit only allows us to relocate squirrels.
How long does it take for a technician to pick up a river otter once I have called it in?
  • We will make every effort we can to pick up the animal and re-set a trap as soon as possible.
  • We often have two to three trucks out at a time and the office manager will notify the closest technician to your property. 
Will you pick up river otters on the weekend and holidays?
  • Yes, we work on the weekends.
  • We typically shut the traps down for holidays so that the customer does not have to be bothered with checking them.
We are going out of town next week and do not have anybody that can check the river otter traps daily?
  • We will make arrangements to have our technicians check the traps for you.
  • An additional cost may be incurred.
We live out of town and cannot check the river otter traps every day?
  • We can provide a complete service to you.
  • If this is a rental property we can contact the tenants and ask them to check the traps if necessary.
How do I get in touch with the technician once a river otter is trapped?
  • The contract has our office number on it as well as our business card.
  • Our office manager will notify the technician.
  • See the Contact Us section for more details.
Do you charge for river otter removal services?
  • Yes.  We are not funded by your local, state or federal government.  We are a private business and must charge for our services.
  • See our Services page or Contact Us for pricing.
How soon can you set the river otter traps?
  • We will typically set the traps the day you call.
  • We always have traps available.
  • We carry the necessary traps needed in our trucks daily on a seasonal basis to better service the customer the day they call.
  • We do not like to put anything off until tomorrow.
How often do you re-bait the river otter traps?
  • Every 1 to 5 days depending on the time of year and weather.
  • We like to keep the bait as fresh or not dried up as possible.  If you feel like the trap needs bait or you do not see the bait in the trap, call us and we will send someone out to re-bait it as soon as possible.
Why did you pull the river otter traps before 5 days?
  • Once the river otter have been captured and we have not had any captures or you have not seen any in a week we will pull the traps.  Leaving the traps set will only increase the chances of capturing non-target animals.
  • See our Per Animal Fee page for more details on non-target animals.
  • You also have the option of purchasing the optional service warranty.
  • See our Optional Service Warranty page for more details.
How long does your standard river otter removal service last once you pull the traps?
  • Our standard service fee is usually a minimum of 5 days.  Once we pull the traps or after the river otter have been captured, we will re-set the traps if another river otter is seen at your request.
How long is the river otter removal service fee good for?
  • Your contract will specify the time period that it is good for.
  • If the river otter removals have not been caught within the time period, which is rare, we will leave the traps out as long as it takes to catch them.
How many otter traps will you set?
  • We set a minimum of two professional grade humane lethal capture traps.
  • See our Trapping Services page for more details.
Do I have to sign a contract agreement?
  • Yes.  In order to protect you and our company a contract must be signed.
  • Our contracts spell out the services to be provided, as well as our guarantee and warranties.
  • You should not do work with a company that is not willing to back up their work in writing.
  • See our Contract page for more details.
What if the otter trap is stolen?
  • The customer is responsible for the trap.  If the trap is set in an area that you feel like it will get stolen, please let us know so that we can move it or anchor it to the ground.
  • There is a replacement fee for stolen traps.
Do you charge for non-target animals?
  • Yes we do.  We still have to come out, remove the contaminated trap and animal from your property, re-set a clean trap with fresh bait, disposal of the animal, clean and disinfect the contaminated trap for the next customer.
  • See our Per Animal Fee page for more details.
How do you prevent from catching non-target animals?
  • It is rare that we catch a non-target animal in our river otter removal sets.
  • We try our best to set the traps in the area where the river otter are traveling.
What does the price per river otter removal fee cover?
  • Cost effective to the customer knowing that we may not catch two or more river otters every trip.
  • The price per river otter removal fee covers us coming out, removing the contaminated trap and river otter from your property, re-setting a clean trap with fresh bait, disposal of the river otter, cleaning and disinfecting the contaminated trap for the next customer.
What does the river otter removal service fee cover?
  • The service fee covers us coming out, inspecting the damages, setting traps if necessary, and keeping them baited as long as it takes to catch the river otters.
Do you guarantee your river otter removal service?
  • We guarantee that you will receive the most courteous, honest, and professional wildlife management service in Virginia or its FREE!

Virginia River Otter (Lutra canadensis) Order Carnivera Removal & Control

Your Wildlife Professionals, Inc. provide river otter removal, river otter control, and river otter pest control in Virginia. 

The river otter can adapt to aquatic human environments easily and usually by choice.  In these environments river otter easily adapt due to the abundance of food, shelter and the lack of predators.  Urban landscapes around lakes or manmade ponds offer the ideal food supply and habitat that river otters will favor.  Once a river otter has found a prevalent food source it will look for a den site that is relatively close to that food source.  Their home or burrow can be found in a high bank of the stream, pond, lake, or in a floating dock.  These burrows will have an abundance of grass and twigs that cover the sub-surface entrance, which is typically an abandoned beaver den.  Increases in urbanization in river otter inhabited areas and the overpopulation of river otter in these areas will continue to pose a threat to urban landscapes.

If you need river otter control, river otter removal, to get rid of river otter, get rid of river otter in pond, or to get rid of a river otter infestation in the counties, cities and towns of Alexandria, Arlington, Bedford, Blacksburg, Bristol, Charlottesville, Covington, Chesapeake, Danville, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Hampton, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Lynchburg, Loudon, Manassas, Martinsville, Newport News, Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke, Smith Mountain Lake, Staunton, Virginia Beach, Waynesboro, Williamsburg, Winchester, Wytheville, and Yorktown Virginia. Your Wildlife Professionals, Inc. is here to help you.  Please Contact Us to help solve your river otter problem.  

CLICK HERE to find Your Wildlife Professional in Virginia.


Southern & Southwest Virginia

Blue Ridge Wildlife & Pest Management
Wildlife & Fisheries Biologists on Staff
Roanoke, Bedford, Blacksburg, Covington, Radford, Smith Mountain Lake Areas
Martinsville, Danville, Lynchburg Areas
Bristol, Marion, Wytheville Areas

Central & Northern Virginia

Blue Ridge Wildlife & Pest Management
Wildlife & Fisheries Biologist on Staff
Harrisonburg, Lexington, Staunton, Waynesboro Areas
Charlottesville, Richmond
Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Loudon, Manassas, 
Winchester, Washington D.C. Areas

Eastern Tidewater Virginia

Blue Ridge Wildlife & Pest Management
Wildlife & Fisheries Biologist on Staff
Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Sufolk, Virginia Beach,
Williamsburg, Yorktown Areas
 

Contact Us

Home Office
5131 Benois Rd. Roanoke, VA 24018
Toll-Free: 540-940-6489




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