Animal in your house right now?
Stay calm and keep your distance. Pick what you are dealing with for step by step instructions, or send an urgent request and a licensed local company will contact you.
- Raccoon in the house
- Noises in the attic or walls
- Bat in the house
- Squirrel in the attic
- Mouse or rat in the living area
- Bird in the house or a vent
- Animal in the chimney
- Animal in the garage or basement
- Skunk under the deck
- Groundhog under the deck or shed
- Opossum in the garage or basement
- Snake in the house
- Wasp nest near the door
- Bees swarming or in a wall
- Dead animal smell
The rules for any animal inside
- 1
Give it a way out
Close interior doors so the animal is in one room, then open a window or exterior door in that room and leave.
- 2
Keep people and pets away
Most bites and scratches happen when an animal is cornered or a dog goes after it.
- 3
Don't touch it
Wild animals can carry rabies and parasites. Never handle one, alive or dead, with bare hands.
- 4
Watch from a distance
Note where it went in and where it is now. The company that comes out will ask.
Step by step guides
- Raccoon in the houseRaccoons that wander indoors almost always want out as badly as you want them gone. Your most important job is simple: get people and pets out of the room, and give the raccoon a clear, open path to the outside.
- Noises in the attic or wallsScratching or thumping overhead is unsettling, especially at night. It is rarely an emergency, but you do need to know what is up there. The time of day and the kind of sound are your best clues.
- Bat in the houseA bat indoors is common and usually not dangerous. The key question is whether anyone could have had contact with it. If the bat was in a room where someone was sleeping, do not let it go.
- Squirrel in the atticSquirrels in the attic are noisy and stressful, but rarely dangerous to you directly. The most important thing is not to seal the entry hole yet. A squirrel or babies trapped inside will chew their way out or die in the attic.
- Mouse or rat in the living areaSeeing a mouse or rat run across the floor is upsetting, but it is not dangerous in the moment. Your first job is to keep it in one room, protect your food, and set traps in the right spots.
- Bird in the house or a ventA bird loose indoors is frightened and wants out. Your job is to make the way out obvious: darken the room, open one window or door, and give it quiet time. Birds in a vent are a different problem, covered below.
- Animal in the chimneyAn animal in the chimney is usually a raccoon, squirrel or bird, and most can be removed without harm. Your first move is to keep it out of the house: close the damper and the fireplace doors, and do not light a fire.
- Animal in the garage or basementAn animal in the garage or basement is not in your living space yet, and that is good news. Your most important step is to close the door into the house and give the animal a quiet, open path outside.
- Skunk under the deckA skunk under the deck is unpleasant but usually manageable. Skunks spray as a last resort, not a first move. The single most important rule: do not block the hole, because a skunk or babies may still be underneath.
- Groundhog under the deck or shedA groundhog, also called a woodchuck, digging under a deck or shed is not dangerous to you, but its burrow can damage the structure over time. The most important rule is not to block the hole while animals may be inside.
- Opossum in the garage or basementOpossums look scary, but they are shy and not aggressive. Most hiss or show their teeth only to bluff. Your best move is to keep people and pets away, give it an open path out, and let it leave at night.
- Snake in the houseMost snakes found in Michigan homes are harmless and more scared of you than you are of them. Your most important step: keep your distance, keep kids and pets away, and never handle a snake you cannot identify.
- Wasp nest near the doorA nest by the door is stressful, but you can stay safe while it gets handled. The most important step is to stop using that door and keep everyone, especially anyone allergic to stings, well away from the nest.
- Bees swarming or in a wallA cluster of honey bees on a branch or fence looks alarming, but a swarm is usually calm. Bees living inside a wall are a different problem. In both cases, the key is to stay back and not spray or seal anything.
- Dead animal smellA dead animal smell is awful, but it is not usually a health emergency. Your first step is to find the strongest spot, because removing the carcass is the only real fix. Air fresheners only cover it up.