Local wildlife information

Wildlife control in Ohio

Learn what to look for around your property, explore your city, and ask about an inspection or a quote.

Wildlife in Ohio: what to know

Around Ohio

Conditions vary across the state. Choose your city below, then describe what’s happening around your home or business.

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 Ohio: what the public record shows

Before you compare quotes, it helps to know which wildlife actually live in Ohio, when they are busiest, and what the state figures look like. Everything below links to the agency or university page it came from.

Commercial Nuisance Wild Animal Control Operator licence, $40 per year

Licence to remove wildlife for hire

No person may provide nuisance wild animal removal or control services for hire without a licence from the chief of the Division of Wildlife.

Ohio DNR Division of Wildlife

Must be euthanised or released on site

Raccoon, skunk, opossum, beaver, coyote and red fox

Relocation of these species off the capture property is not allowed.

Ohio DNR Division of Wildlife

May be released outside city limits with landowner permission, or euthanised

Squirrel, groundhog and other non-listed species

Written permission of the landowner where the release takes place is required.

Ohio DNR Division of Wildlife

Nuisance Wildlife species recorded in Ohio

Raccoon (Procyon lotor) — Top terrestrial rabies vector in the East; relocation banned in most states.
Striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) — Primary rabies reservoir in Texas and the central U.S.; Illinois requires euthanasia of trapped striped skunks.
Big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) — Most common building bat; protected with maternity-season exclusion limits.

When wildlife are busiest in Ohio

Bat exclusion is confined to two windows, April 1 to May 15 and August 1 to October 15, around the maternity season.

Four Ohio bat species are state endangered, including the Indiana bat and northern long-eared bat; it is illegal to kill a bat unless a bite or possible rabies exposure has occurred, and any bat euthanised must be reported to the local health department.

Rules that apply in Ohio

ODNR CNWACO Certification Manual

For context, nationally

Around 4,000; more than 90% in wildlife — Animal rabies cases reported per year. CDC
More than 20% each — Skunks and foxes that expose people or pets and are rabid. CDC

Sources: Ohio DNR Division of Wildlife; Rabies in the United States: Protecting Public Health; Class A (commercial) Nuisance Wildlife Control Permit study packet (17 Ill. Adm. Code 525); Impacted Bats. Figures are quoted as the source prints them. How we check our sources

Explore Ohio cities

Akron

Humid Continental · urban setting

Wildlife control in Ohio

Wildlife in Ohio: what to know

Around Ohio

What to note

A useful next step

Wildlife in Ohio: what the public record shows

Nuisance Wildlife species recorded in Ohio

When wildlife are busiest in Ohio

Rules that apply in Ohio

For context, nationally

Explore Ohio cities

Akron

Canton

Cincinnati

Cleveland

Columbus

Cuyahoga Falls

Dayton

Elyria

Hamilton

Kettering

Lakewood

Lorain

Mansfield

Mentor

Newark

Parma

Springfield

Toledo

Warren

Youngstown

Delaware

Ask about wildlife control in Ohio