Wildlife Clinic
Found an animal?

Your answer

Give it a route out before you give it anything else.

A mammal that got in can nearly always get out, and it wants to. Cornering it is what turns a nuisance into a bite. The exception is a rabies-vector species, where nobody in the household should be in the room at all.

What to do right now

  1. 01Close doors to the rest of the house and open the nearest exterior door.
  2. 02Leave the room, dim the lights, and wait an hour.
  3. 03Put a trail of something obvious — not a bowl of food — toward the exit if it will not move.
  4. 04For a raccoon, skunk, or fox, or if it is in a wall or chimney, call a licensed operator rather than opening the cavity.

What not to do

  • Do not corner it, poke it, or try to catch it in a blanket.
  • Do not use a glue trap or a snap trap.
  • Do not seal an entry hole in spring or summer until you know whether young are inside.

Change your mind if any of this is true

Any one of these changes the answer above. Call a rehabilitator instead.

  • It is a raccoon, skunk, or fox, or anyone was bitten or scratched.
  • You hear more than one animal, or scratching from a wall cavity.

Get professional help

Showing rehabilitators permitted for small mammals and certified for rabies vector species.

Referral and advice

This list is not complete. Some licensed rehabilitators choose not to publish their details, and the state list is updated quarterly. Always call ahead: a rehabilitator may be full even when listed.

Showing 12 of 14. If nobody here can take it, 2 more are permitted for this animal.

Show all 14

Choosing a county puts the nearest first. It never hides anyone — someone further away may still be the one who can take it.

Understand the animal

Knowing why this happens is what makes the next one easier to read.