Wildlife Removal in Detroit, MI
Help for squirrels, raccoons, bats and other animals in Detroit homes, and the city’s own rules on who handles what.
Calls route by ZIP to an independent operator where one covers the address; where none does, they come to Local Core Group, which runs this site.
Detroit runs its own health department and its own animal control. A bat in the house is a question for the Detroit Health Department, not Wayne County’s.
Who handles wildlife in a Detroit home?
A private nuisance wildlife control company, by the city’s own account: Detroit Animal Control says it has no license to take in wildlife unless the animal has bitten a person or a pet. After a bite, seek medical attention, then report it to Animal Control at (313) 922-DOGS. For a bat in the house, call the Detroit Health Department before you let the bat go.
Who to call about a bat in Detroit
The City of Detroit
- 313-933-3437: the department’s number for public health emergencies, such as a concern about a communicable disease.
- 313-876-4000: its Communicable Disease program.
What to do with the bat: Wayne County says Detroit runs a public health department of its own, separate from the county’s. The Detroit Health Department pages read for this site gave no steps for catching or testing a bat. The CDC’s advice is not to release a bat found in the home until you talk with a public health expert.
Who removes wildlife: Detroit Animal Control says it has no license to take in wildlife unless the animal has bitten a person or a companion animal, and sends residents to a nuisance wildlife control company. Bites go to Animal Control at (313) 922-DOGS.
Source: Detroit Health Department, Detroit Health Department (read 2026-10-27); Detroit Health Department, Communicable Disease program (read 2026-10-27); Detroit Animal Care and Control, Animal Control (read 2026-10-27); Wayne County, Communities Allowed to Hold Virtual Public Meetings through May 31 (March 30, 2021) (read 2026-10-31); CDC, Preventing Rabies from Bats (read 2026-10-24).
Every other county is on the health department lookup.
Who does what in Detroit?
| Situation | Who handles it |
|---|---|
| A wild animal in the house or attic, with no bite | A nuisance wildlife control company. Detroit Animal Control has no license to take in wildlife unless it has bitten a person or a companion animal |
| A wild animal bit a person or a pet | Seek medical attention, then report the bite to Detroit Animal Control at (313) 922-DOGS |
| A bat in the house, or a possible exposure | The Detroit Health Department, the city’s own, on the lines in the box above. The CDC says to talk to your health department if you think you have been in contact with a bat |
| Mice or rats | The City of Detroit’s rodent control line, (313) 876-0974 |
Hamtramck, Highland Park and Livonia are separate cities in Wayne County, by the 2020 Census, and they fall to the Wayne County Health Department, 734-727-7000, not to Detroit’s. Wayne County says Detroit runs a public health department of its own, and the county’s disease reports cover Wayne County outside the city.
For squirrels and raccoons, the city’s part is the first row: a private company does the work. Ask the company how it will get the animal out and how it will make sure no young are left inside before it seals the opening; wildlife exclusion covers the method, and the squirrel and raccoon pages cover each one.
What should you do about a bat in a Detroit home?
Call the Detroit Health Department on its lines in the box above before you let it go; what to do with the bat in the meantime is the same anywhere in Michigan.
A colony in a Detroit attic is a separate, later job, and like other wildlife work in the city it goes to a private company. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says exclusion should never take place during the maternity season, typically May 15 to August 15; how a colony is sealed out is covered separately.
Detroit questions
Which health department handles a bat exposure in Detroit?
The Detroit Health Department, the city’s own public health department. Its public health emergency line, (313) 933-3437, covers a communicable disease concern, and its Communicable Disease program is at 313-876-4000. Hamtramck, Highland Park and the rest of Wayne County outside Detroit fall to the Wayne County Health Department, whose disease reports cover Wayne County excluding the City of Detroit.
Who handles mice and rats in Detroit?
The City of Detroit’s rodent control line, (313) 876-0974, according to Detroit Animal Control. Inside a house, the mouse and rat page covers sealing and cleanup.
Sources for this page
Each rule and figure on this page comes from one of these pages, read on the date given. Agency guidance is described as guidance; it is not presented as law.
- Animal ControlDetroit Animal Care and Control
- Detroit Health DepartmentDetroit Health Department
- Communicable Disease programDetroit Health Department
- Communities Allowed to Hold Virtual Public Meetings through May 31 (March 30, 2021)Wayne County
- Places by county, Michigan (2020 Census)U.S. Census Bureau
- Contact Us (Public Health office)Wayne County Health, Human & Veterans Services
- Select Communicable Disease Quarterly Report, Quarter 1 2026Wayne County Health, Human & Veterans Services
- Preventing Rabies from BatsCDC
- How (and whether) to install bat boxesUSFWS
Michigan DNR pages
Linked for further reading. This page does not quote them or rely on them for its facts.
Accuracy and corrections
- Last reviewed
- , by Local Core Group, which runs this site
- How pages are made
- How this site's pages are written and checked
- Sources
- All sources and the dates they were read: sources page
This page is general information for Michiganders, not legal advice. Rules are taken from the agency that publishes them and linked to its own page; agency guidance is labeled as guidance, not law. Rules and guidance change, so check the linked page, the DNR or your local health department before acting on anything time-sensitive.
Corrections. If a rule, number or contact here is out of date, point to the agency page that shows it through the request form or by calling 616-512-2425. Each correction is checked against the source, and the page is dated when it changes.
What Detroit homeowners read next
Squirrel Removal
Scratching and running overhead. Fox squirrels usually have two litters a year, so check for young before the opening is sealed.
Squirrels →Raccoon Removal
Usually one litter a year, an entry to close, and droppings that need careful cleanup.
Raccoons →Bat in the House
Do not let it go yet. Confine it if you safely can and ask your local health department whether it should be tested.
Bat in the house →Mouse and Rat Removal
Scratching in the walls or ceiling, and droppings. The gaps get sealed, and the droppings need a wet cleanup.
Mice & rats →Call about an animal in a Detroit attic
When it happens, where in the house, and what you have seen outside. Your call routes by ZIP to an independent wildlife control operator where one covers your address, and that operator settles price and timing with you. Where none does, it comes to Local Core Group, which runs this site.