Overview: Wildlife Removal
This category is for the animals that are too big to spray: raccoons in the attic or the chimney, squirrels chewing through a soffit, skunks denning under the deck, opossums in the crawl space, birds in a dryer vent and bats in the roof. It is a different trade from insect and rodent work, and it needs someone who can get on a ladder and repair the building.
The sequence matters. Find the entry hole, work out what is using it, check for young, then fit a one-way door so the animal leaves on its own and cannot get back. Sealing first is the mistake that ends with a dead animal inside a wall. Once everything is out, the hole gets closed properly with steel mesh or flashing, because an animal that has lived there will come back and test the repair.
After that comes the cleanup. Soiled insulation, a raccoon latrine or a pile of bat droppings is a health problem and is usually removed rather than sprayed over. Bats are protected, and state law decides whether a trapped animal may be moved at all, so ask what the plan is before anyone sets a trap.
Use the state and city lists below to find companies handling wildlife around you. Each city page shows hours, listings and customer comments.
Frequently asked questions
How do I tell what is in the attic?
Listen to when it moves. Squirrels are busy at first light and again before dusk, and they scamper. Raccoons are heavy, thump around after dark and make chittering noises. Mice scratch inside walls all night. Bats leave together at dusk and you can watch them exit from outside the house on a warm evening.
What does humane removal actually involve?
A one-way door mounted over the entry hole. The animal pushes out to feed and cannot get back in, so nothing is trapped, handled or hurt. The door stays up for several nights, then comes off and the hole is repaired. It only works once the young are accounted for, which is why the inspection comes first.
What if there are babies inside?
That changes everything. Through the spring and early summer a female is usually raising young where you hear the noise. Seal the hole then and you wall in a litter that cannot leave, which means a smell, flies, and a mother tearing the roof open to get back. The young are removed by hand and kept where she can collect them.
Are bats treated differently from other animals?
Yes, and the rules are strict. Bats are protected and they cannot be trapped or killed. The only lawful approach is exclusion with one-way devices, and never during the weeks when flightless pups are in the roost, since that leaves them to die inside. Anyone offering to spray or trap a colony is not someone to hire.
Is the animal moved somewhere else?
Not always, and the law decides. Some states forbid moving wildlife off the property because of disease spread, so an animal that is trapped rather than excluded may have to be released on site or euthanized. Exclusion sidesteps the whole question by letting the animal walk out under its own power.
Who repairs the hole they got in through?
Ask, because a removal that stops at the animal leaves the building open. A proper job closes the gap with steel mesh, hardware cloth or metal flashing, caps the chimney, screens the roof vents and fixes the chewed soffit. Get the repair and any warranty written into the quote rather than agreed on the doorstep.
