Some Facts About Animal Control In

Hamilton & Toronto

By: Jim Petty

This blog post answers some of the questions about animal control in Hamilton and the same would apply for animal control in Toronto or in most areas of southern Ontario.

Question #1 — Do you guarantee that you will capture the wild animal?

Fact: When we set out traps for wild animals, they are exactly that — wild. What does this mean exactly? It means that wild animals come and go and we cannot guarantee that they are always going to hit a trap. Most pest control companies do a very good job of following tracks or trails of where these animals go.If you’re in a suburban environment, you may not be the only person trying to trap this exact animal as they tend to wander through a pretty good section of your neighborhood. This doesn’t even take into account the fact that at times you may see a dead raccoon or a dead possum on the side of the road that may in fact be the one you’re trying to trap. So to answer question one is no I cannot guarantee that I will be able to capture the animal. We will try our best, however no one could or should guarantee you that they will capture the animal using traps.

Question #2 — If the pest control company does not capture the animal, do we get our money back?

Fact: Based upon the answers above, the answer is no. Why? Aside from the various reasons above that we cannot return money to a customer for failure to capture an animal in a trap, the customer must also realize the fact that it takes time (our time) to come and set up the traps, leave the traps, and check the traps. This all costs money in terms of labor, fuel and time.

Question #3 — Why are city animal control people referring us to you?

Fact: As all cities and towns such as Hamilton and Toronto are looking at reducing overall costs, and that pressure is only going to rise. Animal control is relatively low hanging fruit for politicians and managers to cut back on as there is a private industry to take over.

Very few times when people call me asking if I’m animal control do they realize that we are a pay-for-service. I’ve been asked if the city pays me for this type of work and he answer is no. As I don’t have a contract with any city, and most pest control companies do not, I always remind the customer that we are a pay-for-service company. If you think you’re calling the city for animal control,I strongly recommend to everybody that they ask if we are city funded animal control and if you have to pay to have an animal removed. It’s not fair to either you as a customer or to us as a company to show up to remove an animal and then get the inevitable answer “oh I thought you were part of the city.” That part should be done over the phone, as I always remind people that we are pay-for-service.

Question #4 – If there is an animal roaming around outside my home can you come get it?

Fact: Yes we can, however if there is an animal roaming around outside, you as a customer need to be aware of the fact that between the time you call and we show up, that animal could be gone. Depending upon location, a pest control company may still ask you to pay for the visit.Again this is something that should be discussed over the phone when the appointment is being made. The pest control company or animal control company should make you aware that there can be a minimum charge to show up to your home whether or not the animal is still there. Now they should not charge you full price as they would if you decided to set traps or if the animal was still there, however good pest control companies will tell you that there is a minimum charge for them to show up.

Bottom line -as a customer do not be afraid to ask questions when you’re on the phone with your pest control company about animal removal and the costs that are associated with it.

Also discuss which guarantees should and should not be included. The ethical ones will tell you upfront that there’s no guarantees when you are dealing with wild animals. The best customer is an informed customer!

We would be happy to answer any questions you may have regarding wild animal control in Hamilton or animal control in Toronto, please feel free to visit

pettypestcontrolservices.ca for more info.