Homeowner guide
When to hire a licensed operator — and when exclusion is enough
Wildlife in a house is usually one of two jobs. Either animals are still using the space, or they have already left and you need to close the hole. Mixing those jobs up is how people seal young in an attic or push a raccoon into the living space.
This page is a homeowner summary, not a permit, not veterinary advice, and not a substitute for the law in your state. Ohio, New York, and Massachusetts all require a licensed commercial operator for paid wildlife work.
Hire a licensed NWCO when
- The den is occupied. Scratching in an attic, chimney, soffit, or crawlspace means something is still coming and going. A cap or a patch installed now can trap animals inside.
- Young may be present. Spring and early summer dens often hold nursing raccoons, squirrels, or skunks. A one-way door can separate a mother from kits. That is a licensed-operator problem, not a weekend hardware run.
- Bats are involved. Timing, species, and exclusion method are regulated. Do not wait until dusk and swing a tennis racket. Do not seal a roost you have not had checked.
- The species is a rabies vector. Raccoon, skunk, fox, and bat exposures are public-health issues. Do not handle the animal. If a person or pet is bitten or scratched, call your health department; the operator list is not an emergency room.
- The animal is in a chimney, wall void, or living space and you cannot see a clear, empty exit path.
Find someone who already appears on an official list: Ohio CNWACO public listings, New York licensed NWCOs, or the Massachusetts PAC finder.
Never seal animals in
Hardware cloth and chimney caps are the right tools after the cavity is empty. Sealing first leads to animals dying in insulation, chewing a new hole into a bedroom, or coming down the damper. Confirm vacancy: no sounds for several nights, no fresh droppings, and — when a licensed operator is involved — a check for young.
State law, in brief
Rules vary. In the three states this index covers, paid wildlife control is a licensed occupation:
- Ohio: a Commercial Nuisance Wild Animal Control Operator license (ORC 1531.40). The public PDF is opt-in; verify the current file.
- New York: a NYSDEC Nuisance Wildlife Control Operator license. The open-data roster is the currently licensed list.
- Massachusetts: a Problem Animal Control (PAC) license. Use MassWildlife’s finder; this site does not republish those names.
If you are doing the work on your own property, the license rules are different from hiring someone. Read the state page. Do not assume a hunting or trapping license is the same as a commercial NWCO/PAC/CNWACO credential.
DIY only after vacancy: exclusion, not capture
Once you are sure the animals are gone, close the entry with material they cannot chew. That is exclusion. It is not live-trapping, and this page does not walk through cage traps. In many states, using a live trap on wildlife — especially to relocate it — is illegal without the right license. Do not “catch and dump” raccoons down the road.
Exclusion materials (paid links)
These are screening and eviction products for holes that are already empty, or for a one-way door used with the warning below. They are not a substitute for a licensed operator when a den is occupied, young are present, or bats or rabies-vector species are involved.
After vacancy
1/4-inch hardware cloth
Galvanized welded mesh to cover soffit gaps, vents, and chewed fascia once the cavity is empty. Cut larger than the hole and fasten into sound wood. Do not use poultry netting; raccoons pull it apart.
1/4-inch galvanized hardware cloth, 48 in × 50 ft (paid link)
After vacancy
Masonry chimney cap
A bolt-on stainless cap keeps raccoons, squirrels, and birds out of an unused flue. Measure the outside of the clay tile. Do not cap a chimney that still has animals in it. Caps are sized to the flue; the 9×13 listing below also sells other tile sizes.
One-way door — read the warning
Raccoon one-way eviction door
Lets an animal leave and not re-enter. Use only when you are sure there are no dependent young inside. A one-way door over a nursery den starves kits. If you cannot rule young out, hire a licensed operator instead of ordering this.
Related
When exclusion is enough and animals are already out, compare DIY exclusion materials and seal points. wildlife exclusion after animals are gone.
What this site will not tell you to do
- It will not give a live-trap how-to, a relocation route, or a poison recipe.
- It will not tell you to wait out a bat colony in a bedroom.
- It will not rank operators or sell a sponsored slot on the lists.