Service area
Wildlife removal in Paulding County, Georgia
Paulding County went from rural to suburban in a generation, and the woods did not go anywhere. Most neighborhoods here back straight onto timber, which is why wildlife calls in Paulding run heavy.
What I see most in Paulding County
Back-to-the-woods lots around Dallas and Hiram put raccoons, squirrels and snakes right at the edge of the yard. The first sign is usually noise in the attic or a torn-up trash can, not an animal in plain sight.
Creeks and farm ponds across the county are where beaver trouble starts: flooded low spots, a pond outflow that keeps clogging, or trees chewed down along the bank.
A lot of Paulding homes are on crawlspaces and many have detached sheds and garages, both of which give rats and opossums easy cover close to the house.
What customers say
4.9 on Google · 80 reviews-
★★★★★
Brandon with TAC did a totally great job [ thus the name says it all] and we highly recommend him for pest removal...easier to sleep knowing unwanted guests are gone...
William O. · June 2025 · Google review
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★★★★★
Brandon has been an absolute lifesaver for me twice now! He has been such a huge help with some pest issues I've had. He's incredibly responsive, friendly and very fairly priced. Total Animal Control is the only pest control company I'll be using from here on out!
Sara H. · April 2025 · Google review
Reviews are copied word for word from Google. Older ones mention Total Animal Control, the company’s former name. Read all 80 reviews on Google
Public land and wildlife nearby
Paulding's population went from about 41,600 in 1990 to about 168,700 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census. That growth happened around, not instead of, big tracts of public forest: the state's Paulding Forest and Sheffield Wildlife Management Areas are both in the county. Neighborhoods that border those woods sit right next to habitat that supports raccoons, coyotes, foxes and snakes.
What does Paulding County Animal Control actually cover?
Paulding's Animal Control Department sits under the county's public safety umbrella. In the county's own words, it enforces, investigates and prosecutes violations of Paulding's animal control ordinances, and it keeps a shelter for lost or abandoned animals until each one is adopted, reclaimed, rescued or humanely euthanized.
The shelter and office are at 779 Industrial Blvd. N. in Dallas, and the number posted for the department is 770-445-1511. Officers work enforcement hours from Tuesday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Mondays, on holidays and after hours, the county says the department is on call for emergencies only.
Everything else the county lists for the department is pet business: adoptions, HomeAgain microchips, low-cost spay and neuter information, and advice on responsible ownership. Nowhere on those pages does it offer to get a raccoon out of an attic, a rat colony out of a crawlspace or a snake out from under a deck. If you are unsure whether an animal on your property falls under the county, call 770-445-1511 and ask before you wait on a truck that may not come.
That private-property work is the part I do: finding how the animal got in, getting it out, and closing the gap so the next one cannot follow.
Which health office handles a Paulding bite or bat exposure?
The Georgia Department of Public Health splits the state into 18 districts. Paulding belongs to the Rome-based Northwest district, numbered 1-1, which serves ten counties from Bartow and Floyd up to Dade and Walker and down to Haralson and Polk.
Paulding has its own environmental health office inside that district. It is at 240 Constitution Blvd., Suite 1-A, in Dallas, phone (770) 443-7877, and it is staffed Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Northwest Health's rabies page is direct about the first step. Scrub the wound with soap and water at once, since that lowers the chance of the virus taking hold, and then get your doctor on the phone. Doctors can talk the case over with the Georgia Poison Center, which handles rabies questions 24 hours a day at 800-282-5846 statewide or 404-616-9000 in Atlanta, and together they decide whether immune globulin and the vaccine series are warranted.
The district names the wild animals that matter most: skunks, raccoons, coyotes, foxes and bats. It also says rabies is rare in squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, beavers, rats and mice. A bat found inside the living space is a question for your doctor and the Dallas environmental health office before it is a removal job. The exclusion can wait a day; the exposure question should not.
Does Paulding's newer housing keep animals out?
Not on its own. The Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey puts Paulding's median year built at 2002. Of roughly 66,000 housing units, more than half went up in 2000 or later, and only about one in ten predates 1980.
Newer construction trades one set of problems for another. Rot and crumbling mortar are less common, but modern rooflines have lots of corners. Squirrels and raccoons go after the spots where a lower roof meets a wall, the ends of ridge vents, gable vents with thin screening, and the gap where a soffit panel never quite seated. Low on the house, dryer vents, plumbing and HVAC penetrations, garage door seals and crawlspace vents are the usual doors for rats and snakes.
Because those weak points come from how a house was framed, homes built by the same builder in the same subdivision often share them. When I inspect a Paulding home, I go over every roof joint and vent the same way I would look for rotten wood on an old farmhouse, and I seal with materials an animal cannot chew back through.
What should people living near Paulding Forest and Sheffield know?
Georgia DNR lists Paulding Forest Wildlife Management Area at 25,707 acres spread across Paulding and Polk counties, and Sheffield WMA at 4,850 acres in Paulding. Both are open for deer, bear, turkey and small game hunting. Raccoon Creek, which DNR calls one of the southernmost trout fishing opportunities in Georgia, runs through Paulding Forest, and the Silver Comet Trail passes through it.
Bear seasons on two county properties tell you black bears are part of the Paulding picture, not a story from the mountains. DNR is clear about who handles them: private wildlife control operators are not authorized to trap or remove bears involved in conflicts with people. Removal is a last resort, decided case by case and carried out only by DNR's Wildlife Resources Division staff.
What a homeowner can do is take away the reasons to visit. DNR's list of common food attractants is trash, pet food and bird seed, and it notes these draw raccoons, coyotes, foxes and rodents as well as bears. Pet water bowls and backyard ponds pull in many of the same animals, while brush piles, leaf litter and pine straw give rodents and snakes cover.
Towns and communities I cover in Paulding County
Dallas, Hiram, Braswell, Yorkville, and the unincorporated areas around them. The county seat is Dallas.
Common questions in Paulding County
Will Paulding County Animal Control take a raccoon or squirrel out of my house?
The county describes the department as an ordinance-enforcement agency and a shelter for lost and abandoned animals, and its listed services are pet-related. Removing wildlife from a private home is not among them. Call 770-445-1511 to confirm for your situation.
Who do I call about a bear in my yard in Paulding County?
Call Georgia DNR. Its guidance says wildlife control operators are not authorized to trap or remove bears in conflict situations, and that only Wildlife Resources Division staff carry out removal, as a last resort. Securing trash, pet food and bird feeders is the first step DNR recommends.
What is the phone number for Paulding County Environmental Health?
The office in Dallas is at 240 Constitution Blvd., Suite 1-A, and the number is (770) 443-7877, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For a rabies question outside those hours, the Georgia Poison Center takes calls around the clock at 800-282-5846.
A squirrel bit my child in Dallas. Is rabies likely?
The Northwest Health District says rabies is rare in small rodents such as squirrels, rats and mice. Wash the bite well and call your doctor anyway; your doctor decides whether any treatment is needed and can consult the Poison Center if there is doubt.
Is Animal Control open on Mondays in Paulding?
No regular enforcement runs on Mondays. The county lists Tuesday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., for enforcement, with officers on call only for emergencies on Mondays, holidays and after hours.
Can I shoot a nuisance animal on my own land in Paulding?
Georgia DNR says homeowners may remove an animal themselves only during the regulated hunting and trapping seasons or with a DNR wildlife control permit, and it tells people to check local ordinances on discharging firearms before doing so. Bears, deer and turkeys have their own rules.