Wildlife Removal in NYC

When something is living in your attic, walls, or chimney, you do not need a guess — you need a licensed professional who can identify the animal, get it out humanely, and seal the building so it never happens again. New York Exterminating is led by an Associate Certified Entomologist (ACE) and holds NYSDEC Nuisance Wildlife Control licensing, which is legally required to handle raccoons, squirrels, bats, and other protected nuisance wildlife in New York. We work across all five boroughs and the surrounding metro.

Daytime scratching or nighttime thumping? Start here.

The sound tells us a lot before we even arrive. Daytime activity — especially busy scratching at dawn and dusk near the roofline — points to squirrels. Heavy nighttime movement, slow and deliberate, points to raccoons. Scurrying inside the walls, day or night, is usually mice or rats. Fast fluttering or chirping high in a wall can be birds or bats. We confirm it on site, then match the method to the species — there is no single “wildlife treatment.”

What we remove

Raccoons in attics and chimneys, gray squirrels in soffits and roof voids, bats in gable ends and ridge lines, pigeons and starlings nesting on ledges and in vents, opossums and skunks under decks and porches, and the rats and mice that exploit the same gaps. If it got into your structure, we identify how and we close it.

Wildlife in NYC: the brownstone-and-row-house problem

NYC wildlife work is not suburban wildlife work. Our housing stock — brownstones, row houses, attached two- and three-families — shares continuous roofline and party-wall voids, so an animal entering one building can travel the entire block inside the cornice. The classic NYC entry points are cornice and soffit gaps, deteriorated roof-edge flashing, gable vents, and chimney crowns. That is why we inspect the whole roofline of the row, not just the unit where you heard the noise — the real opening is frequently a few doors down on a shared structure.

Our process

1. Inspect & identify. We confirm the species, find every entry point, and check for young before touching anything — sealing an animal in, or separating a mother from pups, makes everything worse.

2. Humane eviction. Wherever possible we use one-way doors and eviction so animals leave on their own. When young are present, we remove the family together and time the work to the litter.

3. Exclusion & sealing. Every entry point is sealed with steel mesh, hardware cloth, and flashing the animal cannot chew or force. This is the step that actually keeps them out.

4. Cleanup & decontamination. We remove soiled insulation and droppings, disinfect, and treat for the fleas and mites left behind — protecting against roundworm and respiratory hazards.

Related services: Attic Restoration & Decontamination, Dead Animal & Odor Removal, and Commercial Bird Control.

Quick answers

Are you licensed for wildlife in New York?

Yes — we hold NYSDEC Nuisance Wildlife Control licensing, which is legally required to handle raccoons, squirrels, and bats. Hiring an unlicensed operator can expose you to liability.

Is removal humane?

Yes. We prioritize one-way eviction, keep mothers and young together, and never seal an animal inside a structure.

Do you also seal the building and clean up?

Yes — removal, full exclusion sealing, and droppings cleanup are all included in one written price. Trapping alone does not solve the problem.

Wildlife Removal FAQs

I hear scratching in my ceiling or wall — what is it?

Timing is the first clue. Light, busy scratching during the day usually means squirrels, which are active at dawn and dusk. Heavier, slower thumping after dark usually means raccoons or, in walls, mice and rats. Fast scrabbling high in a wall cavity can be birds or bats. We confirm the species on site before doing anything, because the removal method is completely different for each.

Do you handle animals in the attics and walls of NYC brownstones and row houses?

Yes, and that is most of our work. Attached homes share roofline, cornice, and party-wall voids, so an animal that enters one building travels the whole row. We inspect the full roofline — soffits, fascia gaps, cornice returns, roof-edge junctions — not just the one spot you heard noise, because the real entry point is often two units over.

What happens if there are babies in the attic?

This is common in spring and early summer, and it changes the approach. Evicting a mother and sealing the building while pups are still inside is inhumane and creates a far worse odor problem. We locate the young, remove them with the mother, and time the work so the family leaves together. Then we seal.

How do you stop them from coming back?

Exclusion is the whole game. After the animals are out we seal every entry point with heavy-gauge materials — steel mesh, flashing, hardware cloth — that a raccoon or squirrel cannot chew or pry through. Removal without exclusion just opens a vacancy for the next animal, which is why trap-only jobs fail within a season.

Do you clean up the droppings and mess they leave behind?

Yes. We remove soiled insulation and nesting material, clear droppings, and disinfect the area. This matters beyond smell: raccoon droppings can carry roundworm, and accumulated bird or bat droppings are a respiratory hazard. We also treat for the fleas and mites that wildlife leave behind in a nest.

How much does wildlife removal cost in NYC?

It depends on the species, how many animals, where they are, the number of entry points to seal, and whether cleanup is needed. A single squirrel at one soffit gap is a small job; a raccoon family in a finished attic with full exclusion is larger. We inspect first and give you one written price that covers removal, sealing, and cleanup — no per-animal surprises.

New York Exterminating, Inc.
1115 E 13th St, Brooklyn, NY 11230
ACE-Certified · NYSDEC-Licensed Nuisance Wildlife Control · Serving all five boroughs & the NYC metro