Wildlife control in St. Petersburg, FL
Critter Guys handles wildlife control in St. Petersburg, FL, from the brick-street bungalows of the Old Northeast to the seawall homes along Coffee Pot Bayou. We get the animal out humanely, then close the gap it used.
- Call or text, your pick
- Humane removal under FWC rules
- Licensed and insured in Florida
Schedule a St. Pete inspection
Tell us what you are hearing or seeing. We will get back to you, set up a visit and give you a straight answer on what it takes.
- Firm quote before any work starts
- Call, text or email, your pick
- Licensed and insured in Florida
Quick answer. Critter Guys provides wildlife control in St. Petersburg, FL for raccoons, squirrels, rats, bats, opossums, armadillos, snakes and stinging insects. We start with an inspection of your roof line, soffits, vents and crawl space, remove the animal with humane trapping or one-way doors, then seal and repair the entry points. Licensed and insured in Florida with 25+ years of experience. Call or text (321) 203-6963.
Wildlife control on a peninsula full of green edges
St. Petersburg fills the bottom of the Pinellas peninsula, with Tampa Bay along one side and Boca Ciega Bay along the other. All that shoreline means mangroves, seawalls, bayous and waterfront parks running right up against neighborhoods. Raccoons and opossums work those edges every night, and they don’t stop at the property line.
The city also keeps a few big wild pockets. Weedon Island Preserve covers the northeast shore, Boyd Hill Nature Preserve wraps around Lake Maggiore on the south side, and the maple swamp at Sawgrass Lake Park sits just past the city line in Lealman. Between them are blocks of mature live oaks, palms and backyard fruit trees, which hand squirrels and roof rats an easy road onto your roof.
So good wildlife control here comes down to two jobs: get the animal out without needless harm, then close the opening it found. Skip the second job and the next raccoon off the bayou walks right in. That sealing work is what our St. Pete wildlife exclusion service covers. We’re based in Fern Park, where we also handle Orlando-area wildlife removal, and Pinellas County is a regular part of our route.
From Old Northeast bungalows to Shore Acres seawalls
A good share of St. Pete was built between the 1910s and the 1940s. In the Old Northeast, Historic Kenwood, Roser Park and around Crescent Lake you’ll find Craftsman bungalows and Mediterranean Revival houses, many on raised floors with crawl spaces, wood soffits and a garage apartment out back. A century of settling leaves small gaps, which is why opossums end up under the floor and squirrels end up in the eaves. Our squirrel removal for St. Petersburg homes page goes deeper on the roof side.
Along the water in Snell Isle, Shore Acres and Coffee Pot Bayou, raccoons travel the seawalls and docks. Vents, garage doors and soffits damaged in the 2024 hurricane season deserve a second look, since animals tend to find those openings before owners do. The 1950s to 1970s block homes farther west and north mostly draw roof rats and squirrels through gable vents and roof returns. Up toward Gateway, see our Pinellas Park wildlife control page.
Around St. Petersburg
- Pinellas County, Tampa Bay region
- Tampa Bay and Boca Ciega Bay shorelines
- Weedon Island Preserve, about 3,190 acres
- Boyd Hill Nature Preserve on Lake Maggiore
Wildlife services we offer in St. Petersburg
Raccoon Removal in St. Petersburg
Raccoons denning in bungalow crawl spaces and waterfront attics, trapped humanely and kept with their kits whenever possible.
Squirrel Removal in St. Petersburg
Gray squirrels coming off live oak limbs into wood soffits, moved out with one-way doors and sealed out.
Bat Removal in St. Petersburg
Bat exclusion for barrel tile roofs and old attic louvers, scheduled outside the April 15 to August 14 maternity season.
Rat Removal in St. Petersburg
Roof rats running palm fronds and utility lines into St. Pete attics, trapped inside and blocked from coming back.
Wildlife Exclusion in St. Petersburg
Sealing crawl vents, roof returns, storm-torn soffit screens and AC chases so nothing new moves in.
Attic Cleanup & Remediation in St. Petersburg
Removing droppings, nesting and soiled insulation from attics and crawl spaces, then sanitizing and deodorizing.
Clues St. Pete homeowners pick up on first
Most calls start with one of these. The hour you hear it often tells us the animal before we’re on the ladder.
Scratching at first light
Squirrels keep daytime hours. A scurry above the bedroom around sunrise and again before dark usually means gray squirrels have moved into the eaves.
Heavy thumps after midnight
Raccoons are big and deliberate. Slow footsteps, a low chirring, or the sound of insulation being dragged late at night points to a raccoon, often a mother in spring.
Quick patter inside the walls
Light, fast running in a wall or over the ceiling around 2 a.m. is classic roof rat behavior, especially when a palm grows close to the roof. Our St. Pete rat removal page explains how we handle it.
Bumping under the floorboards
In raised bungalows, movement beneath the floor usually means an opossum or raccoon has pushed past a crawl space vent screen.
An odor that won’t clear
A sharp ammonia smell can be urine from rodents or raccoons. A sweet, rotten smell usually means something died in a wall or attic.
What happens after you call Critter Guys
Here’s how a typical St. Petersburg job runs, from the first phone call to the final repair.
Full inspection
We go over the roof line, soffits, vents, attic and any crawl space or outbuilding, and show you the entry points and evidence we find.
A plan in plain English
You get a straight explanation of which animal it is, how we’ll get it out and what needs sealing, plus a quote based on what your house actually needs.
Humane removal
Depending on the animal, we use live traps or one-way doors that let it leave but not return. Mothers and young stay together whenever possible, and every animal is handled under FWC rules.
Seal, repair and clean
We close every opening we found, not only the one in use, and fix chewed or damaged spots. If droppings or nesting got into the insulation, we can clean and sanitize that too.
What St. Petersburg homeowners are saying
4.9
141 reviews on Google
★★★★★
Called Critter Guys through a recommendation from my sister in Lakeland after we saw a squirrel peaking out from a hole above the garage at my mother’s home in Riverview. My sister had the same issue at her Lakeland home. We got an appointment for the Riverview house right away and Craig came out to do an assessment and estimate. The price was reasonable and Craig was very professional and friendly. He quickly assessed the issue and found 4 holes in the roof. He set up traps and came back a few days later. During that waiting time one of the traps in the attic caught a mouse. So, when he came back, he sealed off 3 of the holes and set up a one-way trap in the 4th hole to draw out any remaining critters. He’ll come back in 2 weeks to close off the remaining hole. He also gave us a 30 day warranty if anything else happens. So far we haven’t seen or heard anything else. I’m very happy with the service received and would highly recommend this company.
Pramela IttoopGoogle review
★★★★★
Josh is excellent, very humane, takes all the time to explain, is never upset in the middle of a situation, and always has a reassuring answer. I recommend him 100%.
Jaylene EstradaGoogle review
★★★★★
Kevin did a great job. He arrived promptly and kept me informed through the process.
Debbie ViscardiGoogle review
Read every review on Google or see more Critter Guys reviews
How animals get into old houses vs. newer block homes
Your home’s age changes where we look first.
| Pre-1950 bungalow or Mediterranean | 1950s and later block home |
|---|---|
| Wood soffits and fascia that soften with age | Aluminum or vinyl soffit with vent screens |
| Open crawl space vents under raised floors | Slab foundation, so most activity is overhead |
| Barrel tile ends and roof valleys | Gable vents, roof returns and AC line chases |
| Raccoons and opossums below, squirrels above | Roof rats and squirrels in the attic |
From recent jobs
The cheapest time to call is early
Our advice is always prevention first. Having the house checked when you first hear something usually means fewer holes, less chewing and a smaller repair than waiting until a whole family of animals has settled in.
Other Pinellas and Tampa Bay cities we cover
We also work up the peninsula and across the bay in these nearby cities.
Questions we hear in St. Petersburg
Don’t see your question? Call or text (321) 203-6963 and ask a real person.
How much does wildlife control cost in St. Petersburg?
It starts with an inspection, so you know what you’re dealing with before any work begins. The quote depends on the animal, how many entry points we find, how high and steep the roof is, and whether the attic or crawl space needs cleanup. We walk you through all of it on site.
Do you remove animals from crawl spaces under older St. Pete homes?
Yes, and it’s a big part of our work in the historic neighborhoods. Opossums and raccoons get under raised floors through broken vent screens and loose access panels. We remove the animal, check for young, then screen and secure the openings so the crawl space stays empty.
Can I trap and relocate a raccoon myself in Pinellas County?
We don’t recommend it. Trapping and relocation in Florida fall under FWC rules, raccoons are one of the animals most often found with rabies here, and a homemade setup often catches the mother while her kits stay in the attic. A trap also never seals the hole.
Can storm damage let animals into my St. Petersburg house?
It can. Wind lifts shingles and tiles, tears soffit screens and knocks vent covers loose, and those openings are exactly what squirrels, rats and raccoons look for. After a big storm, have the roof line checked.
Do you handle snakes and armadillos in St. Petersburg too?
Yes. We remove snakes from garages, lanais and pool cages, including venomous ones like the eastern diamondback rattlesnake, and we trap armadillos that are tearing up lawns or burrowing beside slabs. Please don’t try to identify a snake up close yourself.
Do you work on condos and businesses downtown?
Yes. We handle residential and commercial properties, including condo buildings, HOAs, townhome communities, property managers and businesses. Bats in building joints and rats around dumpsters are common commercial calls.
Get a St. Petersburg wildlife inspection on the calendar
Call or text (321) 203-6963 or send the form. We’ll check the whole house and tell you plainly what we find.