Woodlawn Pest Control & Wildlife Removal

Pest Control in Woodlawn, Chicago

Woodlawn stretches south from the Midway Plaisance to about 67th Street, with Washington Park on its west and Jackson Park, home of the Obama Presidential Center campus, on its east. The neighborhood grew quickly after the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, and many of its brick three-flats, courtyard buildings and graystones date from that boom and the decades just after. Later decades brought disinvestment and many vacant lots, and today those lots sit alongside new single-family homes, rehabbed buildings and mixed-income developments. The 63rd Street Green Line and Metra Electric stations tie it to the rest of the city. With parkland on two sides and open land in between, rodent and wildlife control are big parts of home upkeep here.

Vacant lots and rat pressure along 63rd Street and beyond

Woodlawn still has more open land than most city neighborhoods, especially south of 63rd Street and near the old elevated line. Overgrown lots with tall weeds, dumped debris and loose soil are ideal for Norway rat colonies, and from there rats move into alleys, garages and yards to feed. As new homes go up on these lots, construction disturbs burrows and pushes rats onto neighboring properties for a while. Owners of new and rehabbed houses are sometimes surprised to see activity in a brand-new garage or under a fresh deck. Tamper-resistant bait stations along property lines, sealed garage doors and cart lids that close tightly are the core of an effective plan.

Jackson Park and Washington Park wildlife in Woodlawn backyards

Living between two of the South Side's biggest parks means sharing space with raccoons, opossums and striped skunks. These animals spend the day in park woodlands, around the Jackson Park lagoons and along the Midway, then cross into Woodlawn at night. Raccoons tip garbage carts and look for chimneys or attic gaps to den in, particularly in late winter. Opossums and skunks prefer ground-level shelter under porches, decks and sheds, and skunks will dig lawns for grubs in late summer. Removing easy food, like open compost, pet bowls and fallen birdseed, helps. When an animal has already moved in, a wildlife specialist can remove it humanely and close the opening behind it.

Courtyard buildings and three-flats built after the World's Fair

Much of Woodlawn's older housing was built in the years around 1893 to house the crowds and workers the fair brought south. Those brick three-flats and courtyard buildings share plumbing stacks, back porches and basements, which gives German cockroaches and house mice easy routes between units. Older boilers and warm basements keep both pests active through winter. In buildings that have been rehabbed, pests can still hide in the original wall cavities or arrive with residents' belongings. Owners of multi-unit buildings get the best results by treating all units on a schedule rather than waiting for complaints, and by sealing openings around pipes, radiators and basement windows.

Areas served in Woodlawn: West Woodlawn, East Woodlawn, 63rd Street, Midway Plaisance, Jackson Park, Obama Presidential Center campus, Cottage Grove Avenue, Woodlawn Park.