Most wildlife problems can wait for a scheduled appointment. Some genuinely can't — and knowing the difference saves you either an unnecessary after-hours fee or, on the other side, a preventable injury or major damage.
We run 24/7 emergency service across the Louisville metro. Here's what we consider a real wildlife emergency, and what to do while you wait for help.
Call Immediately: Animals in Your Living Space
An animal loose in the living areas of your home is the clearest emergency there is. A raccoon in the kitchen, a squirrel bouncing off the windows, an opossum in the laundry room — a panicked animal in a confined space is unpredictable, destructive, and a bite risk to anyone who corners it. Close interior doors to contain it in one room, open a window or exterior door in that room if you can do so safely, and keep people and pets away.
A bat in a bedroom is its own special case because of rabies protocol: if a bat is found in a room where someone was sleeping, or with an unattended child, public health guidance is to capture the bat for testing rather than release it — potential exposure can occur without an obvious bite. Close the door, don't swat it, and call us; if anyone had direct contact, contact your healthcare provider as well.
Call Same-Day: Situations That Escalate Fast
Animals down chimneys can rarely climb back out of modern flues — a raccoon or squirrel in the fireplace box is separated from your living room by a damper and a set of glass doors, and it's motivated. Snakes indoors warrant a same-day visit too: most Kentucky snakes are harmless, but copperheads occur throughout our area, and identification through a photo beats identification by experiment.
Also in this category: audible frantic scratching in a wall (an animal trapped in a void will die there without intervention), a skunk in a window well or garage, visible structural breaching in progress — a raccoon actively tearing at your soffit — and any wild animal acting abnormally: staggering, unusually fearless, or active at the wrong time of day. Keep a wide distance from that last one and mention the behavior when you call.
What Can Wait for a Scheduled Visit
Noises in the attic without living-space intrusion, a burrow under the shed, birds in a vent, moles in the yard, and general prevention work are urgent in the sense that they worsen over time — but they don't need a 2 AM response, and we'd rather do that work thoroughly in daylight.
When in doubt, just call and describe what's happening: we'll tell you honestly whether it's an emergency rate or a next-morning appointment. Either way, the number is the same — (502) 200-9943, answered around the clock.