The short version
Wildlife control in New Mexico starts with identifying the animal by its noise, timing and droppings, because raccoons, squirrels, skunks, opossums and bats each need a different legal and physical approach. The work that lasts is exclusion and repair: find every opening, get the animals out alive, then close the structure with metal and mesh.
- Spring denning and fall are peak seasons for wildlife intrusions in New Mexico, driven by births and seeking warmth.
- Attics and chimneys are the most common entry points; exclusion is the only permanent solution.
- Common nuisance species include raccoons, squirrels, opossums, skunks, and bats—all require state-regulated handling.
- Costs range from $250–$600 for simple removal to $1,000+ for full exclusion and restoration.
This is for homeowners in Albuquerque and Rio Rancho who found a torn roof vent, for Santa Fe owners of older adobe and pueblo style houses with parapet gaps, for Las Cruces and Roswell property managers dealing with skunks under outbuildings, and for renters who need to know what a landlord is supposed to fix. If you have already trapped something and the noise came back, the section on exclusion is where to start reading.
What to look for
Opossums rarely open anything themselves and simply move into a hole somebody else made. Bats need only a gap the width of a thumb along a roofline. Skunks dig, so they take the space under a slab porch, a shed or a mobile home skirt. Squirrels chew a round hole through a fascia board or slip through a gap where a canale passes through a parapet. Raccoons work roof edges and chimney flues with their hands and are strong enough to peel back a flashing seam. The animals you meet reflect that. Then winter lows near 25F push the same animals to look for a dry, wind sheltered space, and a vented attic or a crawlspace under a flat roofed house is the best offer in the neighborhood. Warm season animals come for water, so evaporative cooler pans, dripping hose bibs, irrigation emitters and pet bowls become the first thing that draws a raccoon or a skunk into a yard. That combination drives wildlife toward buildings for two reasons rather than one. New Mexico summers run to a median high near 93F with humidity around 43 percent, and only about 11 inches of rain falls in a typical year.
- 1Scratching, scurrying, or thumping sounds in the attic or walls, especially at dawn or dusk.
- 2Droppings (size and shape vary by species) in the attic, garage, or near entry points.
- 3Chewed wires, torn insulation, or gnaw marks on wood, plastic, or drywall.
- 4Strong, musty odors from urine and feces, particularly with raccoons or skunks.
- 5Visual sightings of animals entering or exiting roof vents, chimneys, or soffits.
- 6Tracks or rub marks on walls, pipes, or rooflines.
- 7Dead animals or strong decay smells if an animal becomes trapped.
Why it’s worth acting soon
- Raccoon and squirrel gnawing on wiring in an attic creates a fire hazard that a homeowner cannot see.
- Accumulated urine and droppings soak insulation, and replacing it costs more than the removal did.
- A female that gives birth inside turns a one animal job into a litter that must be hand removed.
- Bat guano piles support a fungus linked to lung illness when it is disturbed and stirred into the air.
- Fleas, ticks and mites left behind by a departed animal move down into living space within days.
- An open hole in dry New Mexico framing invites a second species once the first one is gone.
Treatment options and typical costs
Full exclusion with one way doors
Quoted after inspection
A technician finds every opening, mounts a one way door on the active one, and seals the rest with metal flashing and heavy screen. Animals leave to feed and cannot get back in. This is the standard approach for raccoons and squirrels because it removes the family without handling them, and the sealing work is what stops the next tenant.
- Time
- Two visits over roughly a week
- Best for
- Attics, soffits and roof edges with a single active entry
Live trapping on the property
Quoted after inspection
Cage traps are set at the den or on the travel route and checked on a set schedule. Trapping matters when an animal will not use a one way door, when young are present, or when a skunk has dug in under a slab. Ask what the company does with a trapped animal, since relocation is restricted for many species and rules differ by state.
- Time
- Three to ten days of trap checks
- Best for
- Skunks under decks, denning raccoons and stubborn repeat offenders
Bat colony eviction and roof sealing
Quoted after inspection
Bats are protected and cannot be trapped or poisoned. The work is netting or tube style exit devices at the roost opening, left in place until the colony has cleared, followed by sealing every gap along the roofline. Timing matters because flightless pups cannot leave, and a good operator will tell you to wait rather than seal them in.
- Time
- One to three weeks including the wait
- Best for
- Parapets, tile roof edges and gable vents with a guano pile below
Cleanup and insulation restoration
Quoted after inspection
Contaminated insulation is bagged and removed, surfaces are treated, and new material is blown back in. In a New Mexico attic this also gives the crew a clean view of every remaining gap. It is a separate line item from removal, so ask whether the quote you were given includes it or stops at the exclusion work.
- Time
- One day for most houses
- Best for
- Long running roosts and any attic with a strong ammonia smell
Prices are typical published ranges. Ask what’s included before you compare quotes.
Crawl spaces are a favorite den. Check the vent screens and the access door.Which animal is in your New Mexico attic?
Noise that begins shortly after sunrise and stops by mid afternoon is a squirrel, because squirrels are daytime animals and their movement sounds light and quick, like something rolling. Noise that starts at dusk and includes real weight, dragging, or a thud when something drops from a joist, is a raccoon. Noise that never rises above a faint rustle and comes with a chittering just after sundown is bats leaving to feed. Then check the ground. Skunk sign is a dug hole with a fan of soil, usually against a foundation, a slab porch or a shed skirt, and the smell is strongest right at the opening rather than out in the yard. Opossum sign is a hole they did not make, plus droppings that look like a dog's in miniature. Droppings settle most arguments. Raccoon droppings are blunt ended and often contain seeds. Squirrel pellets are rounded rice shapes scattered along a beam. Bat droppings pile in one place, look like mouse droppings, and crumble to a glittering dust when you press one. In New Mexico's dry attics all of this sign holds its shape for months, so what you find may be older than you think. Look for freshness before you decide the house is occupied. Start with the clock.
wildlife activity by season.
In New Mexico, checking the foundation, gaps around doors and windows, and any moisture or clutter near the structure usually turns up the conditions that are letting them in. Scheduling before the busy stretch, rather than after it, tends to mean faster service and a more accurate quote, and a local provider can point out the conditions that matter most in New Mexico. The most useful first step in New Mexico is to note where you have seen wildlife and when they appear, because that timeline is what lets a provider focus on the right area instead of treating the whole property.
Brush, mulch and fallen fruit near the house give animals cover and food. Keep the edges tidy.A month by month wildlife calendar for high desert homes.
Cold nights near the 25F median low push skunks and opossums into crawlspaces and under slab porches, and that is when most under building denning starts. March through May is the loudest stretch of the year. Squirrel and raccoon litters arrive, and a female who has already found your soffit will not leave it voluntarily. This is the window where trapping the adult and walking away leaves young in the ceiling, and it is the single most common way a cheap job becomes an expensive one. June through August turns on water. With daytime highs near 93F and humidity around 43 percent, the yard with a leaking cooler line or a full pet bowl gets the traffic. Bats are also in maternity colonies through this stretch, which is the wrong time to close a roost. September and October bring the second push as young disperse and adults shop for winter quarters. This is the best month range to do exclusion work, because litters are mobile and nothing gets stranded. November and December are for verification: check the seals you paid for after the first hard freeze. January and February are quiet on the roof and busy underneath.
What should the first visit actually cover?
The technician should walk the entire roofline, check every vent, soffit return, chimney, canale, plumbing boot and parapet joint, and then get into the attic or crawlspace to look at insulation for runs, latrines and rub marks. You should come away with a list of openings and a photo of each one. What you want in writing is specific: which species was identified and on what evidence, how many entry points were found, which one gets the one way door, what material will be used to seal the others, and how many follow up visits are included. Metal flashing, hardware cloth and screws hold up. Expanding foam and caulk on their own do not survive a raccoon. Ask two more questions before you sign. First, what happens if an animal is still inside after the door goes on. Second, whether the price changes if young are found. Operators who have done this work in Albuquerque and Las Cruces long enough will have a clear answer to both, because both happen regularly. A real inspection takes an hour or more and most of it happens outside on a ladder.
Rabies is why this is a health call, not just a repair.
The CDC reports that roughly 1.4 million Americans get medical care for a possible rabies exposure in a typical year and about 100,000 of them receive post exposure shots. Nearly three out of four people in the country live where wildlife carries the virus, which includes essentially everywhere in New Mexico. That sounds alarming until you look at outcomes. Only 17 human cases were recorded in the United States between 2015 and 2024, two of them contracted abroad. The low number is the result of people acting quickly rather than the risk being absent. What this means for you is practical. Do not pick up a bat, a skunk, a fox or a raccoon, alive or dead, with bare hands. If a bat is found in a room with a sleeping person or a small child, keep the bat contained and call your health department, because a testable bat answers the question in a day. Vaccinate pets and keep them current, since a vaccinated dog that tangles with a skunk is a very different conversation than an unvaccinated one. The reason wildlife work is licensed and regulated at all comes down to one disease.
Renters, landlords, and who pays for the repair.
Getting the animal out is usually treated as pest work. Closing the hole it came through is a structural repair, and structural repair is almost always the owner's responsibility because it touches the roof, soffit, siding or foundation. That distinction matters in a state where a lot of rental stock is single story and older, with wood fascia and crawlspaces rather than sealed slabs. A tenant who pays a trapper out of pocket often gets the same animal back within weeks because nobody fixed the opening, and the money is gone. If you rent, report the noise in writing, note the date you first heard it, and take a photo of any droppings or damage you can reach safely. If you own rental property, get exclusion done during the September and October window and treat it as a one time capital fix rather than a recurring service. A house sealed with metal at every roof penetration stops generating calls, which is worth more than any single trapping visit on a property carrying a typical New Mexico value. Wildlife in a rental splits neatly into two bills, and knowing which is which saves an argument.
What affects the price
- Species involved: bats and raccoons often cost more due to cleanup and regulatory requirements.
- Size of infestation: a single squirrel vs.a colony of bats affects labor and materials.
- Accessibility: animals in hard-to-reach attics or crawl spaces require more equipment and time.
- Extent of damage: insulation replacement, wiring repair, and structural fixes add to the bill.
- Season: spring and fall are busiest; prices may be higher due to demand.
- Geographic location: urban areas like Albuquerque may have more competitive pricing than rural regions.
- Additional services: cleanup, deodorization, and restoration increase total cost.
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What’s the most frustrating part of dealing with wildlife in your home?
When to call for help
Call a licensed operator the moment a bat is found inside a room where someone was sleeping, where a child or an impaired adult was present, or where a pet had contact. That is a public health call, not a pest call, and your county health office will want the bat kept for testing rather than released. Also hand it over when the animal is a skunk, when you can hear multiple small voices in the ceiling, when the entry point is above the second story, or when you have already trapped one animal and the noise returned. Roof work on a Santa Fe parapet or a tile edge in Albuquerque is a fall risk before it is a wildlife problem.
What you can do yourself
There is real DIY territory here, and it is all on the outside of the house. You can cap a chimney, screen a canale opening, replace a chewed foundation vent with hardware cloth, cut back branches that overhang a roof, secure trash cans, and fix the drip line or cooler pan that put water in your yard in the first place. Do all of that and many New Mexico houses never get a second animal. What you should not do yourself is handle any animal, seal an opening while something might still be inside, or set a trap for a species you cannot legally hold or move. Rabies exposure and stranded young are the two ways a weekend project turns expensive. If you are not sure whether the attic is empty, put a crumpled paper marker in the hole and check it for three nights before you close anything.
Where you live matters
With a statewide median home value near $215,000, an attic full of soaked insulation is a meaningful share of the property, which is why sealing the building matters more than catching one animal. Las Cruces and Roswell run more to single story ranch houses and outbuildings, where skunks and opossums work at ground level. Santa Fe's older adobe and pueblo revival houses add vigas and roof penetrations that open up as wood shrinks in dry air. Albuquerque and Rio Rancho are full of flat roofed stucco homes where the parapet and canale details leave narrow gaps that squirrels and bats find quickly. Housing style then decides where they get in. With a median annual rainfall around 11 inches and summer highs near 93F, a house is the best water source for a mile, and animals learn the address. New Mexico gives wildlife an unusual bargain: harsh open country outside and a well built, water rich building on every block.
Simple ways to keep wildlife away
- Cap the chimney with a stainless steel spark arrestor rated for animal exclusion, not a loose screen.
- Screen every canale and roof drain opening with quarter inch hardware cloth fastened into solid wood.
- Fix leaking evaporative cooler pans and hose bibs, since water is the strongest draw in an 11 inch rainfall year.
- Trim limbs back at least six feet from the roof edge to break the squirrel highway.
- Skirt sheds, decks and mobile homes with buried mesh so skunks cannot dig underneath.
- Bring pet food and water bowls inside before dark from spring through the first hard freeze.
- Walk the roofline twice a year with binoculars and look for daylight at soffit and parapet joints.
- Store birdseed and livestock feed in metal cans with clamping lids rather than plastic bins.
Metal mesh keeps animals out of vents for good. Foam and light screen won't hold.Did you know?
Opossums are largely immune to most snake venom and eat thousands of ticks per season—one study found they can kill over 5,000 ticks in a single season.
Squirrels inadvertently plant thousands of trees a year due to their poor memory of nut burial spots. An estimated 74% of their buried seeds are never recovered.
A single bat can eat up to 1,000 mosquitoes in an hour, making them valuable for pest control—but dangerous in large numbers inside a home.
Questions people ask
What should I do if I find a raccoon in my attic?
Do not attempt to remove it yourself. Raccoons are strong, intelligent, and can be aggressive. a professional wildlife control service. In New Mexico, raccoons cannot be relocated due to rabies concerns; trapping and euthanasia are standard. The technician will remove the animal, then seal all entry points to prevent return.
How do I know if I have bats in my house?
Signs include small, dark droppings (guano) that accumulate in piles, a strong ammonia odor, and scratching or squeaking sounds at dusk or dawn. Bats often enter through gaps in rooflines or vents. If you have bats, do not seal the openings until you consult a professional—trapping them inside can be illegal and dangerous.
Can I use mothballs to repel squirrels?
No. Mothballs are not registered for wildlife repellent use, and they are ineffective against squirrels. They also pose a health risk to humans and pets if inhaled. The only effective long-term solution is exclusion: seal all entry points and remove attractants like bird feeders.
Is it legal to trap and relocate wildlife in New Mexico?
Generally no. Relocating wildlife is prohibited without a permit because it can spread disease and disrupt ecosystems. Most nuisance animals (raccoons, skunks, opossums) must be euthanized if trapped. Squirrels may be released on the same property with landowner permission. Always check with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish before acting.
How long does a typical wildlife exclusion take?
The sealing process itself takes 1–3 days, but the entire exclusion process (including monitoring with one-way doors) usually takes 1–2 weeks. After animals are confirmed gone, the final sealing is completed. Cleanup and restoration can add additional time.
Does homeowners insurance cover wildlife damage?
It depends on your policy. Many standard policies exclude damage from pests, including wildlife. However, some policies cover certain perils like fire caused by chewed wires. Check with your insurance provider. Professional wildlife control is usually an out-of-pocket expense, but prevention is far cheaper than repairs.
How can I prevent squirrels from chewing my deck?
Squirrels gnaw to wear down their teeth. To protect your deck, apply a taste deterrent like bitter apple spray (reapply after rain), install metal flashing around posts, and ensure no food sources (bird feeders, fallen nuts) are nearby. For persistent problems, consider professional exclusion.
How much do homeowners typically spend dealing with nuisance wildlife?
In New Mexico, nuisance wildlife is usually removed by trapping, then the entry points are sealed so the next animal cannot move into the same spot. In New Mexico, because many animals are protected by state rules, removal has to be done legally, and a written plan should spell out removal, exclusion, and cleanup.
Sources (15)
The facts in this article come from the public sources listed above. Every home is different, so ask the company you talk to about pricing and what’s included. Published by Wildlife Exterminator · Updated September 11, 2026 · How we write these guides