FREE HELP: West Virginia Wildlife Commission: 304-558-2771

The West Virginia Wildlife Commission, also known as the West Virginia Department of Fish & Game or the West Virginia 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 Charleston with certain wildlife problems. You can reach their offices by calling 304-558-2771. Visit them at http://www.wvdnr.gov/

FREE HELP: Kanawha County Animal Control: 304-342-1576

Kanawha 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://adoptcharleston.com/. If that doesn't work, click here for the Charleston police dept, who can provide free Charleston wildlife control - but read my explanation.

FREE HELP: Charleston Wildlife Rehabilitation: 304-822-4489

Charleston 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 OMAWC Exotics & Wildlife rehab at

PAY SERVICE: ACS Wildlife Removal: 304-241-8438

ACS Wildlife Removal is a private wildlife control business that charges for critter removal in Charleston. ACS Wildlife Removal 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 Charleston, West Virginia. The first thing you can try is your local Kanawha County animal services, or the free Charleston animal control services by calling 304-342-1576. 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 West Virginia Wildlife Commission at 304-558-2771. They do free wildlife control in Charleston and all of West Virginia. 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 Charleston Wildlife Rehabilitation at 304-822-4489 for local free animal removal and trapping, and they may help with providing free critter removal in Charleston. 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 Charleston 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 ACS Wildlife Removal at 304-241-8438. Some people wonder if animal control costs money, or how much does animal removal cost. For that, call 304-241-8438 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 Charleston police department. Click here for Charleston police department animal removal and for a short explanation.

Charleston wildlife issues:

Many Charleston critter traps will not permit this two-hundred-yard sighting range and keep within the six-inch limit. For example, the 70-grain animal control tool in the popular 40/30 animal trap will drop about one foot in 165 yards. This does not mean that this is the limit of the six-inch variation from the line of sight because the animal control tool starts below the line of sight and the highest point of its flight is beyond the half-way point between the humane cage trap and target and thus the six-inch limit is extended beyond the distance of the twelve-inch drop. It does mean that if the sights are set for much over 50 yards, that there is a good chance missing the vital area of a conflict animal at mid-range unless there is some effort to compensate for trajectory.

Similarly, the 40/60 with the 80-grain load will drop a foot in about two yards. I have never tried the 70 animal trap but have been informed that this humane cage trap can sight for 259 yards, with telescope sights, and the six-inch limit will not be exceeded either above or below the line of sight for at least 350 yards. For the greatest satisfaction in relatively flat country, most nuisance Charleston wildlife steel box traps should be sighted for one hundred yards. This gives the nuisance wildlife control professional a removing unwanted wildlife range of about 50 yards without the need for making allowances for trajectory. The average nuisance wildlife control professional will have difficulty in hitting a conflict animal beyond this distance unless he has a standing effort to remove a pest animal and, in such cases, he will have time enough to make the necessary allowances for the distance. I find that it is not desirable to make any changes in sights while removing unwanted Charleston wildlife.

Aiming high for long attempts to catch a critter may not be as accurate as changing the rear sight to compensate for the increased distance but, since the distance must be estimated rather than measured, there is about as much chance of error in either method. In aiming high, there is no danger of forgetting to reset the sight to its original setting and thus is an easy effort to remove a pest animal. The sights on a conflict animal humane cage trap are important because they are the only control that the nuisance wildlife control professional has over the Charleston animal control tool's course. These are made in many different shapes and sizes. Blade, post, bead, ring, and other types of front sights are made in different sizes in order to accommodate different critter catchers and different captureing conditions. Rear sights are made in so many different styles, shapes, and sizes that it is difficult for the non-nuisance wildlife control professional to select any one that will give him satisfaction in the suburban neighborhood.

FREE HELP: West Virginia Wildlife Commission: 304-558-2771
FREE HELP: Kanawha County Animal Control: 304-342-1576
FREE HELP: Charleston Wildlife Rehabilitation: 304-822-4489
FREE HELP: Charleston police department: (304) 348-6400
PAY SERVICE: ACS Wildlife Removal: 304-241-8438