Animal removal costs $350 on average
How to Estimate Animal Removal Cost
Once wild animals make it into your home, they can be a huge pain to remove. Even small gaps in the foundation or basement can give entry to pests. Sometimes they’ll make their way into your attic instead. Wherever they nest, wildlife can make poor houseguests, eventually leading to dead animals in your walls or crawlspace. Your best bet is to hire a local animal removal company to remove the creatures and close up their entry points.
The Cost of Animal Removal
Wildlife removal companies will tell you there's no "set price" for dealing with unwanted animal guests. This is because the total cost of a job is based on factors that vary from home to home. These cost factors include:
The type and size of the animal
How much damage the infestation has caused
How long the animals have lived in the house
How many animals are there
An Example of Animal Removal: Raccoons
One common animal "guest" is the raccoon. Raccoons are attracted to chimneys and female raccoons often choose to birth their young in brick chimney stacks. If you see a raccoon on your roof, chances are they're living in your chimney.
Both adult and young raccoons need to be dealt with at the same time. If you seal up the chimney while the raccoon is away and the young are inside, the raccoon will tear apart the chimney to get back inside. Humane removal services will bait out and trap mother raccoons, then remove any babies by hand.
They will then be transported to a new location and released into the wild. Steel chimney caps will be installed to prevent further entry, and most companies offer warranty periods of one or two years on these "exclusion" services.
Finally, companies will examine your home for any other raccoon damage. All of these services are typically included in the basic price for animal removal, but many companies also offer restoration services for an extra fee, which includes replacing any damaged insulation and disinfecting any raccoon living spaces.
Is DIY Animal Removal a Good Idea?
DIY animal removal is rarely a good idea. You'll save hassle and money by calling a company at the first sign of trouble rather than trying to remove an animal yourself.
Plugging up the holes used by squirrels to get into your attic may seem like a good idea, but chances are it won't work — the squirrels will either cause more damage around the edge of your patch job or become trapped in the attic, forcing them to chew through interior walls. Professional expertise helps seal this correctly.
Trying to seal up skunk entry points poses the same problem and if you trap the skunk underneath your home or shed it will die, leading to a terrible smell coupled with bugs and rot. Removing a dead animal is much more expensive than capturing a live one.
Wildlife Removal Process
Most companies aren’t permitted to remove domestic animals. If you have a stray dog or cat on your property you'll need to contact your local animal control authority. Certain species of wildlife, such as woodpeckers, are also outside the basic authority given to removal companies.
To determine the price for service, a local animal removal service will usually send an employee to your home for an inspection. This cost is typically rolled into the final price.
The employee will examine any damage caused by the animal and try to determine how many animals are in (or under) your home. Finally, they will discuss baiting, trapping and release methods. Removal services are usually billed on a per-job basis rather than by the hour.
A good wildlife removal company won’t just evict the creatures. They’ll also take steps to prevent how they got into your house in the first place, by patching up their entry points and making sure they have no other way to return.
Animal Removal Cost by Type
Here are some of the most common animal removal jobs, and the average cost.
Raccoons: $400–$600. Raccoons should absolutely be removed by a professional. In many states, they are protected by law and must be properly removed and relocated.
Squirrels: $200–$600. Squirrels are very active once they get inside homes, so they need to be removed quickly. They’ll destroy walls, insulation, and siding while building their nests.
Skunks: $300–$600. Skunks often find their ways into crawlspaces and basements while looking for mice, insects, or rats to eat. Their spray can stick with both you and the house, so call a pro!
Opossum: $250–$500. Opposums can do a lot of damage quickly, so it’s vital to identify and remove them swiftly.
Rats and mice: $150–$450. You want to remove rats and mice as quickly as possible. They can breed and multiply very fast.
Moles: $50–$500. Since these are generally in your yard and not your house, trapping moles tends to be less expensive.
Groundhogs: $150–$200. Like moles, they’re easier to catch than animals in your home or crawlspace.
