A Wildlife Exclusion and Control Service
Helping People Solve Problems with Wild Animals
Have a Skunk under the house? Raccoons in your Attic? We can help.
Call 877-720-2107
Also, visit our website dedicated to A Wildlife and Exclusion Control Service by clicking here.
Our service is humane and ultimately more effective than trapping. We provide this service as a low-cost alternative to trapping.
What's Wrong With Trapping?
 | Trapping, by itself, is not the issue. The problem is that trapping includes moving the animal away. State law requires that animals moved more than one mile from the place of capture must be killed. There are no exceptions. |
| Trapping often grabs the mother animal, leaving babies to die under your home. |
| Trapping does not seal up the entry points - which leaves your home open for future visitors. |
Important Facts About Animals Invading Your Space
How We Can Help (services available)
Important Facts About Animals Invading Your Space
Animals generally are looking for one of two things.
| Food: Please be careful if you are thinking of blocking off entry points, or removing an animal yourself - you could be leaving a litter of babies under your house! |
| A warm dry place, often to have babies: For general issues with animals around your house, be sure to bring animal (cat food, dog food) in at night. |
| If you see an injured, sick or orphaned animal, call our hot line! (707) 526-WILD |
How We Can Help
What is exclusion? Exclusion is an array of techniques for discouraging use of your house or yard by wildlife. Some patience is required, but exclusion is ultimately more effective, more economical, and far more humane than most other forms of animal control.
"Relocation" is not a solution! Relocating wildlife is not in the animals’ best interest – it can break up families, expose animals to diseases or territorial conflicts, and is illegal. California state law requires that any ‘nuisance’ wildlife removed from your property be destroyed - and this is exactly what happens with traditional trapping services. Even if you remove one animal, others are likely to move in unless the core problem is addressed.
Exclusion addresses the heart of the problem: What attracts wildlife to your home? How are they getting in? We will work with you to find and remove the attractants, and seal the access points - thus motivating the animals to move on within their territory and reducing the likelihood that other animals will move in.
More Information - Our service...
| is a humane, life-oriented alternative |
| is a fee-based program of SCWR |
| is a non-profit service, in that any proceeds go to support wildlife rescue, providing rehabilitation of sick, injured, and orphaned wildlife |
Services/Products
We provide a range of services, some of which are not available from traditional providers:
| We specialize in, but are not limited to; opossums, raccoons, and skunks |
| Residences and businesses |
| Site inspections with detailed evaluations |
| Recommendations for ‘do-it-yourself’ exclusions |
| Custom exclusion installation or referrals |
| Animal dropping clean-up |
| Dead animal removal |
| Emergency weekend service |
| Complimentary telephone consultations |
Additional Information
Our Mission: Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue is dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of injured and orphaned wildlife, and to promote understanding and appreciation of wildlife through our Educational Outreach program. Our exclusion service is a logical extension of these goals.
Commonly-Asked Questions
Question: Why is this separate from SCWR's mission as a rescue organization?
Answer: The state of California only allows animals to be rescued if they are sick, orphaned, or injured. If you are aware of an animal that fits this description, call our help line (707) 526-WILD. If the animal is healthy, and in your home - SCWR has created its exclusion service to help.
Question: Can I get free advice?
Answer: Absolutely - our on-call volunteers are happy to give you advice on what attracts animals, and some effective ways to discourage them. Call our help line at 526-WILD.
Question: Why is there a $75 initial assessment fee?
Answer: If your needs go beyond basic advice, a technician needs to perform an inspection and assess the situation, and a basic fee is charged. The exclusion service uses paid technicians, and has basic office expenses. SCWR requires the exclusion service to cover its own expenses. Because real expenses are incurred to assess a situation, a basic fee is required to offset those costs. However, if you shop around, you will find out that our fees are very reasonable. Were are here to help the community and wild animals - so we charge comparatively low fees.
Question: What is the difference between Exclusion and Trapping
Answer: Trapping entails immediately catching the animal and taking it away. Trappers are required by law to kill any animal they remove from your property - unless the animal is released nearby. Typically, techniques used to kill animals are cheap, and horrific. They can be so dreadful that we will not even mention them here. Also, trapping is not very effective for two reasons:
| Trapping a mother leaves the babies to die under the house. Often, animals go under your house specifically to have babies. |
| The crawlspace that allowed one animal to enter your home will allow others to enter in the future. Unless the core issue is resolved, you will likely have the problem again. |
"Exclusion" is based on the fact that animals leave your home on their own to forage for food and water. Single animals can be "evicted" without delay. Mothers may need a little more time to leave with the babies in tow. This can require a little more patience, but is more effective and humane. In addition, we close up the access points to greatly reduce the chance of future problems. Exclusion allows the animal to remain in their existing territory, while keeping them out of your home or other buildings.
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Animal Fact Sheets
Learn more about common wild animals by clicking their name in the list below:
| Gray Fox |
| Opossum |
| Raccoon |
| Squirrel |
| Striped Skunk |
Do It Yourself Advice
Click Here for advice on how to evaluate and resolve wildlife issues.
For in-depth information on other species of animals, Click Here. This will take you to another website - USDA-APHIS Wildlife Information. We've noted some of this information discusses traps. Again, we do not recommend trapping - but the rest of the information is quite good.
Page last updated January 15, 2007