What to Do When Wildlife Gets Into Your Home
Discovering that an animal has gotten into your home is one of those situations that demands a calm head and the right sequence of steps. Whether it is the sound of something scurrying above your bedroom ceiling in the middle of the night, a raccoon that has made its way into your attic, squirrels that have chewed through a roofline vent, or bats that have taken up residence in a wall cavity, the impulse to handle it quickly is understandable. But how you respond in the first hours and days after discovering a wildlife intrusion matters significantly, both for your safety and for whether the problem actually gets resolved.
Here is what to do, and what not to do, when wildlife gets into your home.
Stay Calm and Do Not Corner the Animal
If you discover a wild animal actively moving through a living space rather than confined to an attic, wall, or crawlspace, the most important thing you can do is give it space. An animal that feels cornered or threatened will defend itself. Raccoons, squirrels, opossums, and bats can all scratch and bite, and any bite from a wild mammal carries potential disease risk, including rabies. Open a door or window to give the animal an exit route if possible, remove yourself and your family and pets from the immediate area, and contact a professional.
Do not attempt to pick up, trap, or chase the animal on your own. You can hire a nuisance wildlife control operator, remove the animal yourself during regulated hunting and trapping seasons, or obtain a nuisance wildlife control permit from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, but the Georgia Department of Natural Resources emphasizes eliminating attractants and working with professionals as the safest and most effective approach to resolving wildlife conflicts. Georgia Wildlife
Identify What You Are Dealing With
Before calling for help, try to gather as much information as you can about what type of animal is involved and where in the home it is located. Is the sound coming from the attic, the walls, the crawlspace, or a chimney? Are you hearing it during the day or at night? Day sounds often indicate squirrels, while nocturnal sounds are more commonly raccoons, opossums, flying squirrels, or bats. If you have seen the animal directly, note any identifying features.
This information helps the professional who responds assess the situation accurately and arrive prepared with the right equipment and approach.
Understand the Damage Wildlife Causes
One reason not to wait on a wildlife intrusion is that the damage accumulates quickly and some of it creates serious hazards beyond the structural.
Rodents like squirrels, mice, and rats often chew on electrical wires, while wildlife such as raccoons, bats, birds, opossums, and rats spread several diseases that humans can contract, including Histoplasmosis, Salmonella, and Leptospirosis, and most of the damage inside a house or attic from a wildlife intrusion is unseen until a full inspection is conducted.
Squirrels gnaw on electrical wires leading to potential fire hazards and create nests in chimneys clogging ventilation systems, while raccoons nesting in attics cause structural damage and spread diseases such as rabies, and bats carry harmful pathogens including rabies and histoplasmosis while fouling areas with droppings that create health and sanitation issues.
Beyond the immediate intrusion, wildlife that has been in an attic or crawlspace leaves behind urine, feces, nesting materials, and body oils that attract other pests and can create ongoing odor and health problems long after the animals are gone.
Do Not Attempt DIY Trapping
The instinct to set a trap from a hardware store and handle the situation independently is common, but it creates more problems than it solves in most cases.
First, many wildlife species in Georgia are protected under state or federal law and require specific handling and relocation procedures. Bats in particular are a federally protected species, and removing them improperly carries legal risk in addition to health risk. Second, trapping an animal without sealing the entry points that allowed it in means another animal simply takes its place. Third, a trapped animal that is not relocated properly and humanely creates additional issues.
Professionals must comply with wildlife protection laws, especially those related to protected species, and handle protected wildlife with care and respect, while human-wildlife conflict resolution aims to find a balance between property owners’ needs and wildlife conservation through strategic trapping, relocation, and exclusion measures.
What Professional Wildlife Removal Actually Includes
A thorough professional wildlife removal service does not end with removing the animal. It addresses the full scope of the problem.
The first step is a complete inspection to identify how the animal got in, where it has been, and what damage has occurred. If animals have invaded your home, removing them is only part of the job – all entry holes must be identified and sealed shut permanently with professional repairs, because removing the animal without addressing the entry points means the same or a different animal will find its way back in through the same vulnerability.
After removal and exclusion, cleaning and sanitizing the affected areas removes the biological material that can attract new wildlife and the pathogens left behind by the previous occupants. Rodents such as squirrels and rats mark their territory with urine, feces, and body oils that can persist for years, especially when absorbed into insulation, and wild animals in a home may also cause secondary infestations of fleas, ticks, mites, or other parasitic pests that require separate pest control treatment.
How to Reduce the Risk of Wildlife Getting In
Once the immediate problem is resolved, taking steps to make your home less accessible to wildlife prevents repeat intrusions.
Wildlife are constantly searching for food, water, and shelter, and your yard may be providing these either intentionally or unintentionally, with common attractants including trash, pet food, and birdseed that draw raccoons, coyotes, foxes, and rodents, while pet water bowls and ponds attract raccoons and other species seeking water sources. Georgia Wildlife
Keeping trash secured, removing bird feeders or placing them away from the home, trimming tree branches that overhang the roofline, and sealing gaps around vents, soffits, and rooflines are all practical steps that reduce the likelihood of another wildlife intrusion.
TruNorth Wildlife Control
TruNorth Pest Control provides wildlife control services throughout Metro Atlanta and Middle Georgia, handling raccoons, squirrels, bats, birds, and more using humane trapping, strategic relocation, and exclusion methods that comply with Georgia wildlife protection laws. If you have wildlife in or around your home, the right time to address it is before the damage grows. Schedule a free inspection at trunorthpest.com/free-quote or contact the team at trunorthpest.com/contact-us.