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
- 01Close doors to the rest of the house and open the nearest exterior door.
- 02Leave the room, dim the lights, and wait an hour.
- 03Put a trail of something obvious — not a bowl of food — toward the exit if it will not move.
- 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
Tell us where you are — your state, then your county — and we will list the people licensed to take it there, nearest to you first. Rehabilitators are licensed by their own state, which is why we ask.
Understand the animal
Knowing why this happens is what makes the next one easier to read.