Local wildlife information

Wildlife control in Pennsylvania

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

Wildlife in Pennsylvania: what to know

Around Pennsylvania

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 Pennsylvania: what the public record shows

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

More than 350 (409 in 2010)

Rabies-positive animals per year since 1995

Raccoon strain predominant.

Pennsylvania Game Commission

Deer, bear, elk, beaver, bobcat, fisher, wild turkey, migratory birds, threatened and endangered species

Species landowners may NOT take on their own

Everything else may be taken when destroying property.

Pennsylvania Game Commission

Nuisance Wildlife species recorded in Pennsylvania

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.
Gray fox / red fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus / Vulpes vulpes) — Rabies vector species in MD and PA; Texas bans transport of live foxes.
Groundhog (woodchuck) (Marmota monax) — Unprotected in NY and IN (no permit); listed as a rabies vector in PA.

Skunks, raccoons, bats, groundhogs, foxes and coyotes are rabies vector species and should not be relocated.

Rules that apply in Pennsylvania

PA Game Commission Nuisance Wildlife

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: Pennsylvania Game Commission; Rabies in the United States: Protecting Public Health; Class A (commercial) Nuisance Wildlife Control Permit study packet (17 Ill. Adm. Code 525); COMAR 08.03.15 Wildlife Damage Control Operator regulations; Wildlife Removal Permits. Figures are quoted as the source prints them. How we check our sources

Explore Pennsylvania cities

Allentown

Humid Continental · urban setting

Wildlife control in Pennsylvania

Wildlife in Pennsylvania: what to know

Around Pennsylvania

What to note

A useful next step

Wildlife in Pennsylvania: what the public record shows

Nuisance Wildlife species recorded in Pennsylvania

Rules that apply in Pennsylvania

For context, nationally

Explore Pennsylvania cities

Allentown

Altoona

Bethlehem

Chambersburg

Chester

Easton

Erie

Harrisburg

Hazleton

Lancaster

Lebanon

New Castle

Philadelphia

Pittsburgh

Pottstown

Reading

Scranton

State College

Wilkes-Barre

Williamsport

York

Monroeville

Ask about wildlife control in Pennsylvania