For professional Des Plaines wildlife control, Quick Kill Exterminating Co. has been resolving wildlife conflicts since 1990. Des Plaines is one of the largest communities in our service area — approximately 60,000 residents across 14 square miles in Cook County. The city is defined by the Des Plaines River running directly through it, creating miles of floodplain corridor that serves as a primary wildlife highway. Combined with Camp Pine Woods, Dam No. 4 Woods, and other forest preserve land along the river, postwar housing stock with decades of settling, and O’Hare International Airport’s disturbed land along the southern boundary, Des Plaines has wildlife pressure that rivals any suburb in the Chicago area. Squirrels, raccoons, skunks, opossums, chipmunks, woodpeckers, and nuisance birds are active across the city year-round.
We’re headquartered in nearby Wheeling and our technicians are in Des Plaines every day — along with neighboring Mount Prospect, Park Ridge, Niles, and Glenview. Our wildlife control program combines thorough inspection, professional trapping, and permanent exclusion to keep the problem from returning.
The city is named for the river that bisects it — and that river is the single biggest driver of wildlife activity. The Des Plaines River and its associated floodplain create a continuous corridor that raccoons, skunks, opossums, and other wildlife follow through the heart of the city. Animals travel along the riverbanks, den under bridges and culverts, and push outward into residential neighborhoods on both sides. Homes within a few blocks of the river see consistently heavier wildlife activity than properties further away, and periodic flooding events flush burrowing animals from the floodplain directly toward residential structures.
Des Plaines has substantial forest preserve land concentrated along the river corridor — Camp Pine Woods, Dam No. 4 Woods, and adjacent Cook County Forest Preserve holdings create a continuous band of protected habitat running through the city. This land permanently supports populations of squirrels, raccoons, skunks, opossums, and ground-nesting birds that feed outward into surrounding neighborhoods. The preserves aren’t going anywhere, so the wildlife pressure they generate is permanent — proper exclusion on your home is the only reliable defense.
Lake Opeka and the surrounding park complex add significant habitat in central Des Plaines. The lake, wooded areas, and maintained parkland attract raccoons, skunks, and waterfowl. Des Plaines has over 200 acres of parkland distributed throughout the city — every park creates a node of habitat from which wildlife spreads into adjacent residential blocks.
O’Hare International Airport borders Des Plaines to the south. The airport’s perimeter — with its disturbed land, drainage ditches, retention ponds, and undeveloped buffer zones — supports rodent and wildlife populations that push north into Des Plaines neighborhoods. The Orchard Place area near the airport sees particularly heavy wildlife activity because of this adjacency. Noise and vibration from airport operations don’t deter wildlife — raccoons and skunks are highly adapted to urban disturbance.
Most of Des Plaines was built during the postwar suburban expansion of the 1950s and 1960s — brick bungalows, ranches, split-levels, and Cape Cods that now have 60 to 75 years of settling. Gaps develop at roofline intersections, soffit joints, dormer connections, and where foundations meet sill plates. Original attic vents and gable louvers deteriorate. Many homes have had additions, dormers, or second stories added decades ago — creating new gaps where old construction meets new. These entry points are exactly what squirrels and raccoons exploit, and on a 65-year-old Des Plaines bungalow, there are typically more of them than homeowners realize.
Unlike the estate-lot communities further north, Des Plaines properties typically sit on 50 to 75-foot-wide lots. Homes are close together, and once wildlife establishes in one attic or under one deck, the problem quickly spreads to neighboring properties. Detached garages — common in Des Plaines’ older neighborhoods — provide additional harborage for raccoons and opossums.
Eastern gray squirrels are abundant throughout Des Plaines, nesting in the city’s mature street trees and parkland. They enter attics by chewing through fascia boards, soffit panels, and gable vents — especially on older homes where these materials have deteriorated. Once inside, they nest in insulation, gnaw on electrical wiring — creating fire hazards — and cause thousands of dollars in damage. On Des Plaines’ tightly spaced lots, squirrels easily jump from trees or neighboring rooflines to find entry points.
Raccoons follow the Des Plaines River corridor and forest preserve edges into residential neighborhoods throughout the city. They den in attics, chimney chases, and under decks and porches. They tear open soffit panels, rip off roof vents, and pry apart fascia to gain entry. Inside attics, they create contaminated latrines, destroy insulation, and crush ductwork. The river corridor ensures a continuous supply of raccoons moving through the city — removal without exclusion is a temporary fix at best.
Skunks den beneath porches, stoops, front steps, decks, and sheds throughout Des Plaines. They dig conical holes across lawns while foraging for grubs — particularly common in neighborhoods near the parks and river corridor. Spray incidents near doorways and garage entries are frequent during late-winter mating season. In Des Plaines’ older neighborhoods where homes sit close together, a single skunk can affect multiple properties.
Opossums shelter under decks, in detached garages, inside sheds, and occasionally in crawl spaces throughout the city. They leave droppings, attract fleas and ticks, and sometimes die in wall voids or inaccessible spaces — creating severe odor issues that require professional inspection to locate and resolve.
Eastern chipmunks burrow along foundations, under walkways, patios, stoops, and landscape edging. Their tunnel systems undermine hardscape and direct water toward foundations. Des Plaines’ older neighborhoods with brick walkways, concrete stoops, and decorative garden borders see accumulating chipmunk damage over time — particularly where foundation plantings provide cover.
Woodpeckers are active throughout Des Plaines, drawn by mature street trees and the abundance of older wood-sided homes. They drill into fascia boards, cedar siding, exterior trim, and EIFS (synthetic stucco), creating rows of holes that worsen each season as birds return to the same areas. Homes with carpenter bee activity are especially targeted — woodpeckers drill into wood to reach bee larvae. We install deterrent systems and exclusion materials to protect your home. Woodpeckers are federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, so humane deterrence is the only legal approach.
House sparrows, pigeons, and European starlings nest in dryer vents, bathroom exhaust vents, soffits, and building gaps throughout Des Plaines. The city’s dense housing means vent openings are everywhere — and birds exploit every unprotected one. Their droppings damage roofing materials and painted surfaces, and nesting material blocks vents — creating fire hazards and moisture problems. Bird mites from abandoned nests migrate into living spaces. Pigeons are particularly common around commercial areas along Oakton, Rand Road, and Mannheim Road, but roost and nest in residential neighborhoods as well.
Quick Kill does not provide bat removal or exclusion services. Bat work requires specialized licensing and techniques. If you suspect bats in your attic or walls, we recommend contacting a licensed bat removal specialist. Many homeowners who think they have bats actually have squirrels or birds — call us and we’ll help identify what you’re dealing with.
Every Des Plaines wildlife job starts with a thorough inspection. We examine the entire exterior — roofline, soffits, fascia, gable vents, roof vents, chimney caps, dormer connections, and every joint where gaps develop. We inspect the foundation perimeter, porches, stoops, decks, detached garages, and sheds. Inside, we check attics, crawl spaces, and garages for droppings, nesting material, damage, and entry trails. On Des Plaines’ postwar homes, we pay particular attention to deteriorated soffits, aged fascia, original attic vents, and settling gaps at rooflines that have opened over 60-plus years — and where additions meet original construction. We identify the species, locate all entry and exit points, and assess the full scope of activity before recommending a plan.
We place trap sets in the most effective locations based on inspection findings. A licensed technician returns each day to check traps, reinspect, and remove any non-domestic animals caught. Any domestic animal accidentally caught is released immediately. For attic squirrels and raccoons, we also use one-way exclusion doors that allow animals to leave but prevent re-entry — particularly important during nesting season when young may be present.
Exclusion is what separates a temporary fix from a permanent solution — and it’s especially critical in Des Plaines, where the river corridor and forest preserves guarantee continuous wildlife pressure. We seal every identified entry point using heavy-gauge galvanized steel mesh, metal flashing, and commercial-grade construction materials that wildlife cannot chew, pry, or tear through. On Des Plaines’ postwar homes, this often means addressing deteriorated soffits, aged fascia, original attic vents, and settling gaps at rooflines and sill plates that have opened over decades. For skunks, we install buried L-shaped barriers around porches, stoops, decks, and sheds. For birds, we install professional vent covers and screening.
Our exclusion work comes with a two-year warranty covering the materials, installation, and any trapping services needed in the areas we’ve sealed.
After removal, we address contamination. Raccoon latrines require careful cleanup due to roundworm risk. Squirrel-damaged insulation may need replacement. Bird nests in vents need full removal to restore airflow and eliminate mite infestations. We sanitize affected areas and remove nesting material to eliminate odors that attract new animals.
We handle wildlife conflicts across every Des Plaines neighborhood. Properties along the Des Plaines River — from the northern reaches near Golf Road down through the Miner Street and Prairie Avenue areas to the southern stretches near Touhy — see the heaviest raccoon and skunk activity. The Orchard Place area near O’Hare faces wildlife pushing north from the airport’s buffer zones. Older neighborhoods along Northwest Highway and the Rand Road corridor have dense postwar housing where settling creates abundant entry points for squirrels. Central Des Plaines homes near Lake Opeka and the surrounding parks deal with raccoons, skunks, and birds. Neighborhoods along the Crestwood, Chippewa, and Algonquin areas face wildlife from adjacent parkland. Whatever the neighborhood, whatever the species — we’ve worked it before.
Timing is the best initial clue. Daytime scratching and scurrying typically indicates squirrels. Nighttime heavy thumping or walking sounds suggest raccoons. Light nighttime scratching could be mice (which we handle through our rodent control program). Fluttering and chirping points to birds. We confirm the species during inspection before recommending treatment.
Wildlife will always be active along the Des Plaines River — it’s a permanent travel corridor. But proper exclusion keeps animals out of your home reliably. Once we seal all entry points with wildlife-grade materials, animals cannot re-enter even though they remain active in your area. Our two-year exclusion warranty covers the work, and we recommend annual inspections to catch any new vulnerabilities as your home continues to settle.
Yes. Because woodpeckers are federally protected, we use deterrent systems and exclusion materials rather than lethal methods. We also address underlying attractants — if carpenter bees are drawing woodpeckers to your home, we treat the bee galleries first to remove the food source.
Yes — it’s a fire hazard. Nesting material blocks airflow, causing lint to build up in the vent line. We remove the nest, clean the vent opening, and install a professional bird-proof vent cover that allows airflow while preventing re-entry.
Don’t try to flush it out — you’ll likely get sprayed. We trap and remove the skunk, then install a buried L-shaped barrier around the base of the stoop that prevents animals from digging back underneath. This is especially common in Des Plaines’ older neighborhoods where concrete stoops sit on shallow foundations.
Cost depends on the species, number of entry points, extent of damage, and cleanup needed. Des Plaines’ older postwar homes typically require more exclusion work than newer construction due to decades of settling. We provide a free inspection and quote — call (847) 724-1511.
Quick Kill Exterminating Co. has been resolving wildlife conflicts in Des Plaines since 1990. Whether squirrels have entered your attic through a deteriorated soffit, raccoons are following the river corridor to your deck, woodpeckers are drilling into your siding, or skunks have denned under your front stoop, we combine professional trapping with permanent exclusion to solve the problem for good.
Other Des Plaines services: General Pest Control · Ant Extermination · Mouse & Rodent Control · Mosquito Control