Who Handles Wildlife in a Home, by Texas City
A referral line run by Local Core Group; it does no removal work. Prefer to write? Use the request form.
City animal services in Texas answer some wildlife calls and turn others away, and the line is different in each city. Below is what five cities publish, in this site’s words, with a link to each city page and the date it was read. Three of the five were read from a dated archive copy, and each of those rows says so.
If a bat is in a room where someone slept, read the bat page first: the state health department says not to let that bat go.
What each city says it does
Austin and unincorporated Travis County
Austin Animal Services, Animal Protection
- 3-1-1 or 512-974-2000: inside Austin: sick or injured wildlife, a bat on the ground, and any bite or exposure to a wild animal.
- 512-974-2000: the same office, from unincorporated Travis County.
Healthy wildlife in an attic: Animal Services does not remove healthy native wildlife. It has two Wildlife Officers, one for the city and one for Travis County, who advise residents instead. The Austin page has more.
What the city does respond to: Officers pick up sick or injured wildlife. A bat on the ground counts as sick: leave it alone and call. Bites and exposures to wild animals are reported to Animal Protection, and the city tells residents to see a doctor promptly about rabies treatment.
City and county pages read November 13, 2026. Source: City of Austin, Austin Animal Services, Wildlife; City of Austin, Austin Animal Services, Animal Protection; City of Austin, Austin Animal Services, Animal Bites; Travis County Health and Human Services, Animal Control.
Houston
BARC, the City of Houston animal shelter and animal control office
- 3-1-1: a wild animal inside the living areas of a home, such as a bedroom.
Healthy wildlife in an attic: BARC tells residents to call a licensed pest control company about animals in a garage or an attic, and says it takes no requests about rodents or bat colonies.
What the city does respond to: A wild animal inside the living areas of a home, through 3-1-1.
City rule: BARC’s page prints Houston City Code Section 6-6, which limits catching or impounding animals to police and animal control officers, approved humane organizations, and licensed employees of a licensed pest control service. The code itself has not been read for this site.
City pages read November 13, 2026. Source: City of Houston, BARC Animal Shelter and Adoptions, Wild Animals in the City of Houston; City of Houston, BARC Animal Shelter and Adoptions, If a Wild Animal is on Your Property.
Dallas
- 3-1-1: sick or injured wildlife, or an animal that may be dangerous.
Healthy wildlife in an attic: Dallas Animal Services said it does not send officers to remove wildlife and does not trap healthy animals. For trapping or removal, the Dallas page recommends a private company: a licensed pest control firm or a humane wildlife exclusion company.
What the city does respond to: It responds to wildlife that is sick or injured or that may threaten public safety.
Read from an Internet Archive copy captured September 28, 2026. The live page blocks automated readers and may have changed. Source: City of Dallas, Dallas Animal Services, Wildlife (Internet Archive capture of September 28, 2026).
San Antonio
City of San Antonio Animal Care Services
Healthy wildlife in an attic: Animal Care Services said it does not pick up wildlife and does not hand out traps, and that residents can look to private wildlife removal companies.
What the city does respond to: It said it responds when a person or a pet has been bitten or scratched by a wild animal.
Read from an Internet Archive copy captured April 2, 2025, the newest copy of this page. It is 19 months old, so treat this row with the most caution. Source: City of San Antonio, Animal Care Services, Wildlife (Internet Archive capture of April 2, 2025).
Fort Worth
Fort Worth Animal Care & Control (Code Compliance)
Healthy wildlife in an attic: Animal Care & Control said it had stopped picking up wildlife and lending traps, and listed opossums, squirrels and rats among the animals that covers. It said private companies in Fort Worth do that work for a fee.
What the city does respond to: It still looks into bats, foxes, raccoons, coyotes and skunks where a person or a pet may have been exposed, and into animals that have bitten or scratched someone.
Read from an Internet Archive copy captured May 3, 2026. The live page blocks automated readers and may have changed. Source: City of Fort Worth, Code Compliance (Animal Care & Control), Wild Animals (Internet Archive capture of May 3, 2026).
Sources for this table
Each link opens the page or statute a fact here came from, with the date it was read. A title that names an Internet Archive capture was read from that saved copy, not from the live page.
- WildlifeCity of Austin, Austin Animal Services
- Animal ProtectionCity of Austin, Austin Animal Services
- Animal BitesCity of Austin, Austin Animal Services
- Animal ControlTravis County Health and Human Services
- Wild Animals in the City of HoustonCity of Houston, BARC Animal Shelter and Adoptions
- If a Wild Animal is on Your PropertyCity of Houston, BARC Animal Shelter and Adoptions
- Wildlife (Internet Archive capture of September 28, 2026)City of Dallas, Dallas Animal Services
- Wildlife (Internet Archive capture of April 2, 2025)City of San Antonio, Animal Care Services
- Wild Animals (Internet Archive capture of May 3, 2026)City of Fort Worth, Code Compliance (Animal Care & Control)
City pages
Wildlife Removal in Austin, Texas
What Austin Animal Services does and does not do about wildlife in a house, and when 3-1-1 is the right call.
Open the Austin page →A city that is not in the table has not been read for this site, El Paso among them. For a bite, a scratch or a bat that may have touched someone, Texas law sends the report to the local rabies control authority. For an animal in the attic with no contact, call the number on this page.
Describe it by phone
Give the sound, the hour you hear it, the part of the house and your ZIP code. The request is passed to an independent operator where one works at that address; that operator inspects and gives the price.