How much does wildlife control cost? Prices for animal trapping & removal

Costs do vary by company. But there are 3 main principles:
1) Wildlife control is highly specialized work, with unique licensing and liability risks.
2) You usually do get what you pay for, and cheap companies tend to do bad work.
3) There is no one-price-fits-all. It doesn't work that way, every job is different.

Any reputable nuisance wildlife company will have spent money on licensing, liability insurance, training, and a host of other business expenses.



You don't want to over-pay of course. And most of all, you want someone who will do this complex work correctly. So read my how to find a good wildlife expert guide so you can ask the right questions over the phone. You can also read my do it yourself guide to identify the simple jobs, but I'll summarize much of that page by stating that wildlife control work is not remotely simple, and requires special tools and licensing.

How much does it cost for simple ground-based trapping? If you simply need a professional trapper to come to your property and set cage traps at ground level to remove some problem wildlife such as raccoons, opossums, skunks, groundhogs, etc. the job is relatively straightforward, and exact costs can usually be quoted over the phone. This type of job is typically priced as a one-time service setup fee to come to the property to set up the traps and start the job. This fee covers general business and administrative costs, and licensing and insurance costs. Then a per animal fee is usually assessed for each animal trapped, removed from the property, and relocated or euthanized and disposed of, as the law dictates. The setup fee varies by company, but might range from $75-$150, and the per-animal fee might range from $50-$75. Again, that's just an average guess. Companies vary. Talk to your company to get an exact quote. Some companies charge differently - they might just charge a flat per-trip fee which is the same for every visit to the house, no matter how many animals are caught. This per-trip fee might be around $100, and the job might take 2 or 3 trips. So either way, the final bill for this type of job will typically fall between a range of $175 on up, less if it's just for one or two animals, more if there are a lot of animals and many service visits.

How much does it cost if there are animals inside a building? This is where things get more variable. If there are critters inside a house, such as in the attic or walls, then you have to factor in the cost of home repairs. The animals got inside the house, and the most important part of solving the problem is inspecting the house and finding and sealing shut all of the points of entry. For many jobs, such as those involving squirrels, rats, mice, and bats, the job absolutely cannot be accomplished without integrating full building repairs. Then there is the matter of cleanup, if the animals have contaminated an attic space with waste and parasites. Not always necessary, but sometimes. So it's really impossible to give an accurate estimate for such a job without a home inspection first. Some jobs are very simple, and don't cost much - the price might be about the same as a simple ground trapping job. But if you've got a complex case, such as a house that needs a lot of inspection time and extensive repairs and attic cleanup, then the job will cost much more. My average price for removing animals from inside a building is often in the $300 - $500 range, but some jobs are below that, and some are above that. You really need to have an inspection in such cases. The inspection is often around $75-$125, and this cost is rolled into the price of the job. Some companies do offer free inspections, but it is my honest experience that companies offering a free inspection have the strategy of getting their foot in the door by any means, and then sticking you with a higher final bill in the end. So beware.

"But I can't afford to pay for wildlife removal!" - It can get pricey, but as with many things in life, the cost of doing nothing, or of doing inferior work, ends up costing more in the end. Wildlife can cause considerable property damage if left unchecked. Not to mention potential health damage. And many do-it-yourself attempts that I have seen have led to costly errors and accidents, and the need to hire a pro who now has to fix mistakes first, and which leads to a more expensive job. I have been to many cases of homes for sale, and home inspections that have revealed animal problems that have been left unaddressed. Duct damage, wire damage, pipe damage, odor problems, health risks. I have seen several cases in which wildlife have substantially lowered the property value of a house or building. Take care of the problem properly, do it once, and prevent bigger future costs down the line.

Are there any free options? If you are facing financial hardship and cannot afford to pay for animal removal, there are free options. Click my free animal removal resources guide, which lists free options, such as various state, city, and county government agencies in every town in the USA

How much does it cost to get rid of raccoons? If it's just ground-based trapping, then it's not too expensive, but when you have raccoons living in an attic, that's a serious job that is going to cost several hundred dollars, even approaching a thousand or more in very tough cases involving heavy home repairs and attic cleanup. Read more: raccoon removal costs.

How much does it cost to get rid of squirrels? Most squirrel jobs involve removal from the attic of a house. I've done attic removals for as cheap as $250 with one-way exclusion doors and simple repairs, to as high as a thousand for very complex cases involving many hard repairs, baby squirrel nests, attic cleanup, etc. Read more: squirrel removal costs.

How much does it cost to get rid of opossums? Sometimes there's a tough job with possums in a house, but most of the time it's more simple ground trapping work. If you need a fence installed around a deck or shed though, that is a big project that can get expensive. Read more: opossum removal costs.

How much does it cost to get rid of rats or mice? It's important to understand proper rodent control: Poison-laying pest company - NO! Building sealing wildlife trapper company - YES. It's tempting to try a cheap poison laying approach at first, but that NEVER solves the problem. To get rid of the problem permanently, with 100% guarantee, you've got to seal the entry holes in the building shut and trap and physically remove rats, and that takes money, usually several hundred dollars and several service trips. Read more: rat removal costs and mouse removal costs.

How much does it cost to get rid of armadillos? Usually not a whole lot, since it's ground-based trapping with no building repairs necessary. Read more: armadillo removal costs.

How much does it cost to get rid of groundhogs? Usually not a whole lot, since it's ground-based trapping with no building repairs necessary.

How much does it cost to get rid of moles? It can vary depending on the time frame and the size of the area being treated for moles. Trapping is the one and only solution, and it can get complex. Read more: mole removal costs.

How much does it cost to get rid of skunks? Most of the time simple ground trapping work, not too pricey. If you need a fence installed around a deck or shed though, that is a big project that can get expensive. Read more: skunk removal costs.

How much does it cost to get rid of beavers? This is specialty work. I don't do it, and I don't really know the prices well.

How much does it cost to get rid of birds? This is usually a big, expensive, sometimes multi-thousand dollar project, especially if you need to prevent birds from roosting in large sections of a building. Read more: bird removal costs.

How much does it cost to get rid of bats? This is always a complex task, and usually fairly pricey. My lowest jobs for a small colony in a simple house can be as low as $400, but I've done some huge commercial building bat jobs in the tens of thousands of dollars. Read more: bat removal costs.

How much does it cost to get rid of snakes? This is often a one-visit service call, and thus not too expensive. I usually do it for around $130-$170 depending on driving distance and other factors. Read more: snake removal costs.

How much does it cost to get rid of dead animals? This is always a one-visit service call, and always worth the money! I usually remove the carcass (often cutting a hole to reach it), repair that hole, and spray a decontaminant for around $200-$250 depending on architecture and other factors. Read more: dead animal removal costs.

I just have to reiterate that your best bet when it comes to pricing is the call a wildlife company and ask the right questions, and get a feel for what that company charges. If you feel uncomfortable hiring at that price, call someone else and shop around! But remember, getting the job done right the first time is more important than trying to save a little money up front. It's also important to keep in mind that every job is different, and most of the time, the person you talk to over the phone won't know exactly how much it'll cost until they see the job during an inspection. But if you can describe it effectively over the phone, you may be able to get an idea. And also, every company has a different fee structure, as seen below:

For example, if you have raccoons in the attic, companies might charge as such:

$129 service & trap setup fee + $50 per raccoon removed, plus repair costs.
- or -
Flat $500 to remove all the raccoons from the attic and seal the holes shut.
- or -
$200 service & trap setup fee + $100 per raccoon removed, plus repair costs.
- or -
$169 for the first service trip and $89 for each service trip after that.

Click on my cheap trapping emails page for examples of people who have paid low prices, only to have to hire a new company later to do the job right.

Nuisance Wildlife Control is a specialty business. It requires a unique set of skills, equipment and more knowledge than most people realize. It is also a field with unique risks, licensing and insurance. Nuisance wildlife control operators take care of difficult problems that few people can properly or safely handle. Licensed wildlife professionals are often the only people allowed to handle an animal problem legally. Also, wildlife removal requires specific training and licensing and insurance. Wildlife operators are state licensed professionals. People seem to have no problem paying the electrician or plumber for their skills, and you won't find them crawling in a hot attic to remove a litter of raccoons with an angry mother raccoon lurking nearby! The skill set of a nuisance wildlife controller exceeds that of the average service profession, and it's not a cheap service if done correctly.