FREE HELP: Florida Wildlife Commission: 888-404-3922

The Florida Wildlife Commission, also known as the Florida Department of Fish & Game or the Florida Wildlife Conservation Office, provides free resources for pest wildlife, or conflict or nuisance wildlife, as it is also called. They can send an officer to address certain wildlife issues, or provide other resources for the control of nuisance wildlife species, and provide help to the residents of The Villages with certain wildlife problems. You can reach their offices by calling 888-404-3922. Visit them at https://myfwc.com/

FREE HELP: Lake County Animal Control: (352) 343-9688

Lake County Animal Control Services most commonly help with domestic animals, such as stray cats or dangerous dogs. They also might help with wildlife issues in various capacities. Call your local office for a description of services. Visit https://www.lakecountyfl.gov/offices/animal_services/index.aspx. If that doesn't work, click here for the The Villages police dept, who can provide free The Villages wildlife control - but read my explanation.

FREE HELP: The Villages Wildlife Rehabilitation: (352) 751-1530

The Villages Wildlife Rehabilitators usually work with injured, orphaned, or sick wildlife. They will often help with wildlife issues and concerns. It is nice to give them donations for their help and wildlife rehab efforts. Visit Lady Lake Town Animal Control at http://www.floridawildlifecare.org/

PAY SERVICE: A+ Animal Solutions: 352-293-2577

A+ Animal Solutions is a private wildlife control business that charges for critter removal in The Villages. A+ Animal Solutions is available 24-7-365 and provides same-day wildlife removal services, including the removal of animals inside attics, rodent removal, and more.



If you have an animal problem and need assistance, there are several free animal control resources in The Villages, Florida. The first thing you can try is your local Lake County animal services, or the free The Villages animal control services by calling (352) 343-9688. They may be able to help you with your critter problem, and possibly offer free raccoon removal or free snake removal. But they primarily deal with dogs and cats, and might not help with wildlife. For wildlife-specifice issues, try the Florida Wildlife Commission at 888-404-3922. They do free wildlife control in The Villages and all of Florida. But they often deal with special cases like bears, or illegal hunting. They might not help you with specific cases in your house, like free rodent control or free squirrel removal. At a more local level, you can call The Villages Wildlife Rehabilitation at (352) 751-1530 for local free animal removal and trapping, and they may help with providing free critter removal in The Villages. But this organization, like all wildlife rehab, mostly focuses on healing and caring for sick or injured wildlife. There's no business that provides free pest control in The Villages that will remove wild animals that I know of, like free bat control or free rat removal. Sometimes, for a case of animals in an attic, or wildlife problems on private property, you need to hire and pay for wildlife removal, and if so, I recommend A+ Animal Solutions at 352-293-2577. Some people wonder if animal control costs money, or how much does animal removal cost. For that, call 352-293-2577 and ask. Of course, you can be sure to get free pest wildlife removal if you solve the problem yourself, so read my Do-It-Yourself page for more hints. Finally, you can call the local The Villages police department. Click here for The Villages police department animal removal and for a short explanation.

The Villages wildlife issues:

By making a quiet animal track the nuisance wildlife control professional can consider wind direction and can see objects better as he travels than the man who is hiking at a good clip through the suburban neighborhood. In suspicious territory be ready for an effort to remove a pest animal. Be doubly cautious, especially when working through the neighborhood. For example, if a log blocks the neighborhood, it's better to walk around it or slide over it than to step on it and jump down. On one occasion I had accomplished a successful still-trap until I came to a heavy deadfall in a grove of evergreens. Instead of sliding over the log I stepped up on it and jumped down, sending a large pest animal flying into the hemlock thicket before I could affect an effort to remove a pest animal from my awkward position. In this case, as it turned out, I was following the tracks of a male nuisance wildlife.

This nuisance wildlife's print, like others of the male nuisance wildlife, toed out in the distinctive swagger of the pest animal, and the front feet were blunt and rounded. A doe's front feet usually point straight ahead and are narrower than a pest animal. The size of the track is some indication of the pest critter's sex, but not much. If the track measures over three inches this might designate a The Villages pest animal. But again, it may not, for there are some very large does in the pest critter range. A male nuisance wildlife has an entirely different carriage than a raccoon and this rolling gait can be seen in the neighborhood the pest critter makes. More than once, even in winter when the pest critter are without teeth, I have been able to identify the pest animal by his carriage. The male nuisance wildlife has a blocky gait, a swing and a swagger that is far different from the mincing walk of the doe. Mostly the pest animal is a loner. When animal tracking this nuisance The Villages wildlife make sure the track is fresh, and then track the pest critter to his daytime hideout which is always in a different location from his nocturnal cover.

Be extremely cautious, moving slowly, for always the pest critter is hiding out and watching, trying to evade predators of all types. Animal tracking your pest animal to his bed along these routes has its merits. With a certain caution and care it can be done, not only once, but time after time. The secret is to find a promising runway and keep on it, making certain that the tracks you follow are fresh. It is also advisable to travel against the wind, which in this case, is usually on the track of the nuisance critters, avoiding contact with foliage and neighborhood. Shortly you should spot your nuisance wildlife. If the tracks are there you can work your way through The Villages neighborhood of all kinds, and sooner or later make a find.

FREE HELP: Florida Wildlife Commission: 888-404-3922
FREE HELP: Lake County Animal Control: (352) 343-9688
FREE HELP: The Villages Wildlife Rehabilitation: (352) 751-1530
FREE HELP: The Villages police department: (352) 751-1560
PAY SERVICE: A+ Animal Solutions: 352-293-2577