Can a Pest Control Company Help with Raccoons?

Need raccoon removal in your hometown? We service over 500 USA locations! Click here to hire us in your town and check prices - updated for year 2020.

Although the terms "pest control" and "wildlife rehabilitation" are often used in place of each other — confused with each other — they are actually two very different things and two very different fields of ‘animal' removal and prevention.



Also read about:
How to get raccoons out of the attic
How to remove raccoons from a house
How to keep raccoons away
How to get raccoons out of trees

Pests generally refer to smaller animals, such as insects — fleas, ants, bees, wasps, spiders, cockroaches, etc. These smaller critters are easier dealt with in one go, using pesticides (for example) in a fumigant way, than larger wildlife is. There aren't registered poisons commercially available for anything larger than a rat or a mouse (in most cases), which means that you would need to find alternative methods. Read more about how to keep raccoons away.

A pest control company might just help you out with mice and rats, but they will deal with the situation using poison in many cases, and poison is not the best way to deal with a rodent infestation. Traps not only kill rodents on impact, in the most humane way possible, but also helps to contain the problem. You have no control over where the rodent will end up if it dies after eating the poison, and that means you are likely to lose it somewhere in the depths of your home or building. With a trap, you know exactly where the problem is, although, you do need to deal with it in a more hands-on way. Raccoons & Homeowners Insurance: Am I Covered?

Wildlife rehabilitators are the people you call when the animal can't be dealt with using pesticides and fumigants, such as raccoons, opossums, foxes, coyotes, skunks, snakes, wolves, etc. Poison is clearly not going to be the best approach with these animals, especially if you'd rather not put the health of other wildlife at risk too, and even people in some cases. Pest control can't help you with those larger animals; they don't have the right tools for the job. Wildlife rehabilitators, on the other hand, can … just as the name would suggest.

If you have an insect or bug problem, it's pest control that you'll want to call. If you have a larger animal, however, they can't help you. It's time to get the experts in — wildlife control officers/rehabilitators.

Go back to the Raccoon Removal page, or learn tips to do it yourself with my How to Get Rid of Raccoons guide.