Around District of Columbia
Conditions vary across the state. Choose your city below, then describe what’s happening around your home or business.
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Local wildlife information
Wildlife control in District of Columbia
Learn what to look for around your property, explore your city, and ask about an inspection or a quote.
Wildlife in District of Columbia: what to know
What to note
Where you see wildlife, how long it has been going on, and anything you’ve already tried are the most useful details to mention.
A useful next step
Ask about an inspection, what treatment would involve, and whether follow-up visits are included. You don’t need to identify the problem yourself before getting in touch.
Local research
Wildlife in District of Columbia: what the public record shows
Before you compare quotes, it helps to know which wildlife actually live in District of Columbia, when they are busiest, and what the state figures look like. Everything below links to the agency or university page it came from.
Required to perform wildlife control for profit in the District
Wildlife control operator licence
Applicants must be 18, complete a Department-approved training class, pass an exam and pay a fee; the licence renews every two years and is not transferable.
DC Department of Energy and EnvironmentNo more than 24 hours after being set, then at least every 24 hours
Trap check interval
More often if weather requires. Non-target wildlife must be released immediately at the capture site.
DC Department of Energy and EnvironmentOperators may not knowingly abandon dependent young in a structure
Dependent young
Every reasonable effort must be made to preserve family units using humane eviction, displacement and reunion strategies.
DC Department of Energy and EnvironmentNuisance Wildlife species recorded in District of Columbia
- Raccoon (Procyon lotor) — Top terrestrial rabies vector in the East; relocation banned in most states.
- Big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) — Most common building bat; protected with maternity-season exclusion limits.
When wildlife are busiest in District of Columbia
The Act’s family-unit and dependent-young provisions effectively suspend exclusion work in spring until young can leave on their own.
Companies providing wildlife control must also register with DOEE, and operators may only use methods DOEE prescribes.
Rules that apply in District of Columbia
For context, nationally
Sources: DC Department of Energy and Environment; Rabies in the United States: Protecting Public Health; Impacted Bats. Figures are quoted as the source prints them. How we check our sources
