Allentown and Lehigh County
Something died and you need it found and gone
We locate the animal, remove it, and deal with what it leaves behind. Houses, rentals, garages, decks and yards across Allentown and the surrounding Lehigh Valley communities.
Start here
Where is the animal
Most people who call cannot see it. They can only smell it. Find the description closest to your situation and that is enough for us to work from on the phone.
Inside a wall or ceiling
The smell is strongest in one room and gets worse when the heat or air runs. Locating it means working the cavity from the outside in before anything gets opened.
Attic or crawl space
Squirrels and birds above, groundhogs and rats below. Insulation holds odor long after the animal is gone, so finding it is only the first half of the job.
Basement or garage
Usually reachable without cutting anything. The work is locating the animal in stored clutter and dealing with what it left on the slab.
You can smell it but cannot find it
The most common call we take. There is a method to narrowing it down, and guessing wrong means opening a wall for nothing.
Yard, driveway or under a deck
Groundhog, opossum, cat, raccoon. Outdoor recovery is straightforward, though anything under a deck or shed usually means removing a board.
A dead deer on your property
Different size, different equipment, and a different question about whose responsibility it is depending on where the animal ended up.
Pricing
What actually drives the cost
We quote on the phone, before anyone is dispatched. Four things move the number, and none of them is how far we drove.
Whether anything has to be opened
An animal lying in a garage is a different job from one sealed inside a wall cavity. Cutting an access point and patching it afterward is the single largest factor.
How long it has been there
Time changes the work. A recent carcass is a removal. One that has been in place for a couple of weeks has usually soaked into something that also has to come out.
Size of the animal
A bird in a soffit and a deer at the treeline need different equipment and a different amount of labor to get off the property.
How hard it is to reach
Crawl space clearance, a finished basement ceiling, or a deck built low to the ground all add time. So does anything that has to be moved to get in.
We do not publish a price list, because a number set before anyone has heard your situation is a number that gets revised on site. Call and describe it and you will get a real figure.
Before you call anyone
Who handles it in Allentown
The first question is not what kind of animal it is. It is whose ground it is on, because that decides whether this is a public job or a private one.
On public property
The City of Allentown operates a 311 service reporter with a pets and animals category, and City Hall is at 435 Hamilton Street. That is the right first call for something in a street, a park or another public space.
On a state highway
The larger routes through the valley are state maintained rather than city maintained, so a carcass on one of those shoulders is not an Allentown crew. Report it to the state, not to 311.
Deer specifically
Deer are regulated game animals in Pennsylvania, which adds a layer that does not apply to a groundhog or an opossum. Our deer page covers what that means in practice.
On your own property
No public agency removes an animal from inside your house, your yard or under your deck. That is the gap this service exists to fill, and it is why most callers reach us after being told no somewhere else.
Allentown also runs its own city Health Bureau rather than relying on a county office, so questions about sanitation and public health locally are answered at the city level.
Coverage
Where we go
Allentown first, from Center City and the East Side through the West End and South Allentown. Beyond the city we cover much of Lehigh County and the neighboring Northampton County communities.
Straight answers
What people ask before booking
Do I need to know where the animal is before I call?
No. Not knowing is the usual reason people call. Tell us which room smells worst, when it started, and whether it changes when the heating or cooling runs. That is enough to work with.
Will the city take care of it?
It depends on whose ground it is. Allentown runs a 311 service reporter that includes a pets and animals category, and that is the right channel for something on public property. An animal inside your house or on your own lot is not a municipal job, which is where we come in.
Is the smell a health problem?
At normal household levels the odor is unpleasant rather than dangerous. The practical reasons to deal with it quickly are flies, staining, and the fact that soaked insulation or drywall becomes a bigger repair the longer it sits.
What happens to the area after the animal is out?
Removal includes the fluids and the material they soaked into. Saturated insulation comes out rather than getting sprayed over. Odor fades once the source and the contaminated material are both gone, though a heavily soaked cavity can hold a trace for a while.
Do you work with landlords and property managers?
Yes. A good share of Allentown calls come from someone managing a property they do not live in. We can coordinate access with a tenant and bill the owner.
What does it cost?
It depends on where the animal is and what has to be opened to reach it. You get a firm number on the phone before anyone is dispatched, and we would rather quote you accurately than low.
Get it handled
Tell us what you are dealing with
Calling is faster and you will get a price on that call. If you would rather write it out, send the details and we will come back to you with a number and a time.