Who to Call to Get a Bird Out of Your House

For a healthy bird that just flew in, your first call should be a local wildlife removal or wildlife control company. If the bird looks injured, call a licensed wildlife rehabilitator instead. Animal control handles birds only in limited situations (mostly stray poultry or public safety threats), and pest control companies vary widely on whether they do live bird work humanely. The right call depends on three things: the bird's condition, whether there's a nest involved, and how it got in.

What to do right now (emergency triage)

Before you pick up the phone, spend two minutes making the situation safer. A panicking bird is going to fly at windows, exhaust itself, and potentially injure itself further. Your job right now is to slow things down.

1. Get people and pets out of the room. Dogs and cats are a serious threat to a bird, and extra movement makes the bird panic harder.
2. Close interior doors so the bird is contained to one room or one section of the house.
3. Open every exterior window and door in that room as wide as possible. Remove screens if you can do it quickly.
4. Turn off or dim artificial lights. Pull curtains on windows you can't open. Natural light from open exits is what draws the bird out.
5. Leave the room and give it 15 to 30 minutes. Most healthy birds find their own way out once they calm down and see the exit.
6. If the bird is hitting windows repeatedly, cover the glass with a sheet or towel to eliminate that hazard.
7. Do not chase, swat at, or try to grab the bird. This almost always makes things worse.

If the bird is clearly injured (not flying, tilting to one side, bleeding, or was caught by a cat), don't wait for it to find an exit. Gently place a lightweight towel or shirt over it to calm it, then carefully scoop it into a cardboard box with air holes punched in the top. Line the bottom with crumpled paper towels, keep the box in a warm quiet spot away from pets and noise, and call a wildlife rehabilitator. Do not offer food or water while you wait.

Who to call and when

This is the part most people get wrong. There isn't one universal number. Here's how to match your situation to the right contact. If you want real-world experiences and advice, searching for how to get a bird out of your house on Reddit can help you compare what worked for other people how to get a bird out of your house reddit.

Wildlife removal or wildlife control companies

This is your best first call for a healthy, mobile bird in the house. Licensed wildlife control operators (sometimes called nuisance wildlife control operators or NWCOs) are trained in live capture, exclusion techniques, and legal handling of wild birds. They know how to identify protected species and won't do anything that puts you at legal risk. Look for someone who specifically lists bird removal and exclusion in their services, and ask upfront whether they use humane live-capture methods.

Wildlife rehabilitators

Call a licensed wildlife rehabilitator any time the bird appears injured. Signs that warrant this call include broken or drooping wings, bleeding, a bird that can't stand or keep its head upright, maggots or wounds, or any bird that was caught by a cat or dog (puncture wounds from claws or teeth cause internal damage that isn't always visible). The finder's directory at the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association website or a quick search for your state plus 'wildlife rehabilitator' will get you a local contact fast.

Animal control

Animal control departments typically don't handle wild birds unless there's an immediate public safety concern (like a large aggressive bird, or a bird that poses a disease risk in a public space). They're the right call for escaped domestic birds like chickens, ducks, or pet parrots. For most wild bird situations in a home, they'll refer you elsewhere, but calling them first doesn't hurt if you can't identify the bird or aren't sure who to contact.

Pest control companies

Some pest control companies do bird exclusion and deterrent work, but quality varies significantly. The better ones focus on exclusion (blocking entry points, installing netting, one-way doors) rather than trapping. Avoid any company that suggests lethal removal for a protected species, or that can't tell you specifically what method they'll use. For unprotected species like pigeons, starlings, and house sparrows, pest control is a reasonable option. For any native songbird or hawk, stick with a wildlife control operator or rehabilitator.

Building maintenance or facilities managers

If you're in an apartment, office, or commercial building, your first contact should be building management or your facilities team. They have relationships with contractors, are responsible for structural entry points, and handle the liability question. Frame it as both an immediate removal need and a building integrity issue. Bring photos of where the bird got in if you can find the entry point.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service or state wildlife agency

You don't call them for emergency removal, but you do contact your state wildlife agency if you're dealing with a protected species nest, if a contractor suggests anything that might violate the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, or if you need a permit for exclusion work near an active nest. The MBTA makes it illegal to disturb, destroy, or relocate the nest of most native wild birds when eggs or dependent chicks are present, and that applies to you as a homeowner too.

DIY steps you can handle today

If the bird is healthy and contained in one room, you can often get it out without any outside help. The exclusion-by-light method (open exits, kill interior lights, leave the room) works for most small songbirds within an hour. If the bird won't leave on its own, focus on helping a bird get out of your house safely before you seal any entry points help a bird get out of your house. Here's a fuller DIY sequence for situations where that doesn't work on its own.

Getting the bird out

1. Contain the bird to one room by closing all interior doors.
2. Open every exterior window and exterior door in that room fully. Remove screens if possible.
3. Block or cover any windows that don't open (birds will target light and keep flying at glass).
4. Turn off all interior lights and draw curtains on non-exit windows. Let natural light from open exits do the work.
5. Leave the room quietly and wait 20 to 30 minutes.
6. If the bird is still inside after 30 minutes, enter slowly and try gently herding it toward the open exit using a large sheet or piece of cardboard held low, moving toward the bird's back, not its face.
7. For larger birds or birds in hard-to-reach spaces (ceiling beams, skylights, attics), stop here and call a professional.

Finding and temporarily sealing the entry point

Once the bird is out, find out how it got in before you go to bed. Common entry points include gaps around roof vents, uncapped chimneys, torn soffit screens, open garage doors or attic vents, and gaps where utility lines enter the building. Walk the exterior perimeter and check the roofline from the ground with binoculars. You're looking for gaps larger than about half an inch for small birds, or larger than two or three inches for starlings and pigeons.

Temporary fixes you can do today: stuff gaps with hardware cloth or steel wool secured with duct tape, attach a piece of window screen over a torn vent with staples, or cover an open attic vent with a temporary screen panel. These are stopgap measures. You'll want proper permanent sealing done within a few weeks, but this prevents a repeat tonight.

Cleaning up droppings safely

Bird droppings carry pathogens including histoplasma, which can cause lung infections when droppings are disturbed and dried particles become airborne. For a single fresh dropping or two, clean it up damp with a paper towel and disinfectant, wash your hands thoroughly, and you're done. If you're dealing with accumulated droppings from a bird or birds that have been roosting for a long time, the risk profile is higher. In those cases, wear an N95 or HEPA respirator (not just a dust mask), gloves, and eye protection. Wet the droppings before disturbing them to keep particles from going airborne, and bag everything in sealed plastic bags. If you're looking at more than a small area of accumulation, call a professional biohazard or wildlife cleanup service.

How to keep birds from getting back in

Getting the bird out is the easy part. If the bird is still inside or you are dealing with a nest, follow the professional guidance for how to get a bird out of a building safely and legally how to get bird out of building. The entry point will keep inviting birds back unless you seal it properly. Here's what durable, long-term exclusion actually looks like.

• Cap or screen all chimney openings with a UL-listed chimney cap with mesh sides. This is the single most common bird entry point in older homes.
• Cover attic and soffit vents with heavy-gauge hardware cloth (1/4 inch or 1/2 inch mesh depending on bird size). Replace deteriorated plastic vent covers with metal ones.
• Install bird netting over large open areas like warehouse rafters, loading dock ceilings, or barn lofts where birds roost. This is a job for a contractor if the area is large or high.
• Use one-way exclusion doors for active entry points where you're not sure if birds are still inside. These let birds exit but not reenter. Leave them in place for three to five days, then confirm the area is clear before sealing permanently.
• Seal gaps around utility penetrations (pipes, conduit, cables) with copper mesh and caulk, or with foam backer rod and paintable sealant.
• Remove food attractants near the building: uncovered trash, spilled birdseed under feeders, standing water in gutters.
• Install physical deterrents like stainless steel bird spikes or slope guards on ledges and sill areas where birds land or roost repeatedly.
• Trim tree branches within six to eight feet of rooflines where possible, especially near vent or soffit locations.

One important note on one-way doors: don't permanently seal the opening until you've confirmed the bird (or birds) are fully out. Trapping an animal inside is inhumane, creates a worse mess, and can cause structural damage as the animal tries to escape. Give it a minimum of three to five days with the one-way door in place before closing the gap for good.

When to stop DIYing and call a wildlife pro

There are clear situations where doing it yourself is either unsafe, illegal, or unlikely to work. Here's when to put the phone in your hand instead of the sheet.

• The bird is injured (see symptoms above). You risk making injuries worse and the bird needs medical evaluation, not just a quiet box.
• You've found an active nest with eggs or chicks. Touching or relocating it without a permit likely violates the Migratory Bird Treaty Act for most native species. House sparrows, European starlings, and rock pigeons (common pigeons) are the exceptions and are not protected under the MBTA.
• The bird is a hawk, owl, heron, or any species you can't quickly identify as a common unprotected species. Protected status changes everything about what's legally allowed.
• The entry point is in the chimney, attic, or roof, and you don't have safe access or the right equipment. Falls from roofs are a leading cause of homeowner injury.
• There's a large accumulation of droppings suggesting a long-term roost. This is a biohazard situation that warrants professional cleanup.
• The bird is still inside after several hours and your DIY efforts haven't worked. Prolonged stress is harmful to the bird and increases the risk of injury.
• You're in a commercial or multi-family building where liability, permits, or building codes are involved.

Costs, timelines, and what to ask any contractor

Wildlife removal and bird exclusion pricing varies a lot by region, company, species, and scope of work, but here's a realistic framework to calibrate your expectations.

Before you hire anyone, ask these questions directly. A professional with nothing to hide will answer all of them without hesitation.

1. Are you licensed for wildlife removal or pest control in this state, and are your technicians trained on the Migratory Bird Treaty Act?
2. What specific method will you use to remove or exclude the bird, and is it humane and live-capture only?
3. Will you identify and seal the entry point as part of this job, or is that a separate quote?
4. How do you confirm the animal is fully out before permanently sealing?
5. Do you offer any guarantee on exclusion work, and for how long?
6. Can you provide documentation of the work done (useful for insurance claims, facility records, or permit compliance)?
7. If a nest or protected species is involved, how will you handle the legal requirements?

Seasonal planning and a simple maintenance checklist

Birds get into buildings year-round, but the risk spikes at predictable times. Early spring (March through May) is when birds are actively scouting nesting sites, and an uncapped chimney or open attic vent looks ideal. Late summer through fall is when juveniles are dispersing and finding new territory, and winter brings birds seeking warmth. If you inspect and seal in late winter, before nesting season starts, you eliminate the most common problem before it starts.

Annual maintenance checklist

If you manage a commercial or multi-unit building, build these inspections into your regular property maintenance schedule and document them. That paper trail matters if a protected species situation ever requires you to demonstrate due diligence to a wildlife agency.

The good news is that once you've identified the entry point, sealed it properly, and added one or two deterrents to the most vulnerable spots, repeat intrusions become rare. Most bird-in-the-house situations are a one-time event tied to a specific gap. Close the gap, and the problem is solved.