Shumaker's Baltimore Animal Control

Excellent service

Tom was very good and so was John on day 2. Tom was very personable and knowledgeable about raccoons and their behavior. Happy to use their services again.

He was awesome.  I am sad to see the bad reviews because I thought he was professional, courteous and thorough.  I had a bat in my bedroom, and it may have come in contact with my son.  He thoroughly checked the house from top to bottom and said that the house looked good in terms of being secure to keep bats out.  He looked all over for the bat.  He found him and trapped him.  Then, he called Baltimore County, which had no one available, and he kept trying until he got someone in the county to test the bat.  He was very kind and explained bat behavior to me, and I didn't feel least bit patronized.  He was here within 30 minutes of my call, and I am more than pleased at how it all went.

On July 16, 2014 Mr. Shumaker came to my home to help me humanely evict squirrels from my attic. I explained that there was squirrel activity in two areas of my attic, on opposite sides of my house: the southeast corner and the northwest corner. The activity in the northwest corner was new.

During the visit, Mr. Shumaker told me that he or his staff would do a thorough examination of the eaves, soffit and fascia of my house to locate the squirrels' entry points. As necessary, he would place traps and humanely relocate the squirrels. Once he was sure the squirrels were no longer in the attic, he would seal off all entry points to the house. I invited Mr. Shumaker into the house to examine the southeast area crawlspace where there was evidence of activity (tunnels in the insulation, droppings and walnuts) and he said that would not be necessary. Shumaker?s fee for this service was $425.00 and the contract promised a 10 year guarantee against the target animal (in this case, squirrels) entering the area he was contracted to correct. Shumaker?s business card states that he is available 7 days a week / 24 hours a day.

I heard nothing from Shumaker as to scheduling, protocol or progress once he took my check. Some weeks later, I was in my neighbor?s yard and from that view I could see a trapped squirrel on my roof. Shumaker had not alerted me that traps had been set or let me know when they would be checked once they were set. It was a fluke that I saw them. I was alarmed because the trap was on a metal roof on a day with a temperature over 90 degrees and it was noon. In hot weather, a metal roof temperature can exceed 150 degrees. I was knew the squirrel would certainly suffer and die in that environment and I had no way to get it down. I called Shumaker immediately and he said that he could not come out that day, despite the 7 days a week / 24 hours a day declaration on his business card. I insisted he come because it was unfair to the squirrel and to me for the squirrel to suffer in a trap on my hot metal roof. Shumaker came out and removed the squirrel. He hammered a bit at the soffit and declared that all the squirrels had been caught. I asked about the entry points and he had no answer.  I asked the about the squirrels on the other side of the house and he said everything was taken care of. He was unable to describe what had been found or what had been done, stating that his staff took care of it.

In mid November, I heard activity in the northeast corner of my house, exactly where it had been in the past when I originally contracted the service. I went into the attic crawlspace where there was evidence of the same activity that I had invited Shumaker to see in July (and he had declined). I called him and told him what was happening. Shumaker said he did not remember this job and that he would have to look at the paper work. Despite the 7 days a week / 24 hours a day advertisement, I have not heard back from Shumaker since that phone call.

I wrote Mr. Shumaker on December 2, 2014 stating the exact information in this review. I told him that I am no longer interested in his services and that he had not kept the promises offered on his business card or contract ? a violation. I told him that I have no confidence in his abilities, his ethics or his customer service. I asked for a full refund of my payment. I have heard nothing from him. I resent the letter February 26, 2014.

I found the provider using a web search.  I called Mr. Shumaker and told him that I had a couple of squirrels living in the attic of a rental property I own in Columbia Md.  Mr. Shumaker told me that for a fee of $ 475.00 he guarantees that he will trap and remove the squirrels.  The guarantee sounded good and the price at the time sounded a little high.  I really just wanted to solve the problem for my tenants so I agreed to proceed with the service.  I gave them my credit card information and they charged me $ 475.00.  The went out to the property and set a couple of traps.  About a week or two later I called my tenants to follow up and was told that the squirrels were still in the attic.  I provided the phone number for Mr. Shumaker to my tenant and suggested that she call directly.  She called him and the visited the property again.  At this time I was charged another $ 125.00.  No one from Shumakers called totell me about any additional charge and or no one asked for authorization.  The only way I discovered the additional charge was to log into my credit card account online.  After discovering the un-authorized charged I called and emailed Mr. Shumaker.  I did not receive a call or email back.  I asked my tenant to stay on top of calling them since I had now paid $ 600.00 and still had the same problem before spending $ 600.00.  My tenant emailed me to tell me that some one from Shumakers was going to call me.  Well no one ever called me.  I called Mr. Shumaker.  He answered the phone and told me his son was going to call me.  His son did not call me.  I called Mr. Shumaker again and explained that his son did not call me.  He said that he would get on his son and for me to expect a call. His son finally called me.  His son explained that I had some rotted fascia and that I needed to fix it to keep the squirrels out of the house.  I said that I paid him to catch the squirrels so that they cannot get into the house.  Why is a animal control guy telling me to replace the fascia when the problem is catching the squirrels who were getting into my house.  He was very matter of fact with me.  Sorry fix your house and I cant help you.... Wait a minute- You just charged me $ 600.00 of which I never authorized and or was told about $ 125.00 of the charge and now you are telling me that your guarantee is worthless? 

Very frustrated at this point since I now paid $ 600.00 and still had the same problem.  The son told me that he thought he had caught a couple of squirrels.  I asked him why he couldn't put the traps out again until he caught the other squirrels and he could not give me an answer.  Basically they were not willing to stay on the job as the guarantee implied until they solved the problem.  I think $ 300.00 per squirrel removed is a pretty high price. My tenants were very frustrated since the squirrels were keeping them up at night.  They were sending me emails at all hours with the subject line:  "Help!".  I then decided to do some research on squirrel removal methods. I researched products on Amazon.com  After reading MANY, MANY reviews I purchased the T3-R rodent re-peller.  This thing was amazing.  It is also safe with Cats and dogs.  The house is a very old house with plaster and lathe walls.  I plugged it into an outlet and pointed it at the corner of the attic with the squirrels and they were gone!.  I think it cost me around $ 65.00. 

I was extremely disappointed with the service and promises from Shumaker's.  They charged me more than agreed and were very difficult to communicate with. On a scale of 1 to 10 I would give them a 1.

I am SOOOO thankful I found this company. I called several companies I found on Angie's list, but Shumaker's was the only company that upon hearing my story instantly identified the problem and discussed the necessary solution. They came out the very next day, even earlier than scheduled and inspected my property thoroughly. They took pictures and explained to me where the squirrel had gotten in, and how they knew this. They then left, but came back a couple of hours later when I called and said the squirrel had poked his head out into the cage. They re-checked the cage, and set another one on top of my roof (the first was right at the corner of my house, where the stone wall meets the roof flashing.) They explained that the squirrel would be extra noisy and active, now sensing that it doesn't have an escape route. They made everything I was experiencing feel normal. Sure enough, the squirrel acted exactly as they described. I called again, terrified of he noise, only to have the men at Shumaker's ease my troubled heart. They said to give it a couple of days, and to call them when the squirrel was in the cage. Sure enough, two days later the squirrel was in the cage as they had predicted. They came and removed the squirrel from my roof. 
Overall, I must say that I was worried sick with the scratching squirrel in my ceiling and walls, and Shumaker's literally saved me. They answered every single call I made, and responded with urgency to my requests. I am very happy that inclusive in the price of removing this hairy rat is a ten year warranty. I feel better knowing that if freaky occurrence WERE to happen again, I have Shumaker's on my side.

First, let me say that I do not enjoy exterminating any living thing, but deer mice can gestate every 24 days. And they can carry disease. And with pets in our home, it's just not worth the risk. For a week, one of our cats was hanging by our refrigerator. Wednesday morning, June 18, he caught one. He didn't kill it, he didn't eat it, but he ran with it. I got him to release it and caught it in a ziploc container (with air holes). I drove a few miles away to a forest/county park and released it.
I came home. And we repeated this two more times.
We called around and were told by many they could come out next week some time. We even have an existing Orkin contract, and they couldn't come out until Monday. And their solution is glue traps - that's an excessively drawn out form of extermination.
We called Shumaker's and they said "We can be out there first thing tomorrow".  And they were!
Two gentlemen came. They were very friendly and very knowledgeable. They inspected the entire house, inside and out, including the garage attic and house attic (where mice tend to nest). They sealed any holes they could find, specifically outside where plumbing, cable, electrical enters the home and tends to have a gap around the wires/cable.
Luckily for us there weren't signs of much activity so we caught it early. And I released three live mice to fend for themselves far away from everyone's homes to fend themselves.
Shumaker's left poison under the fridge and dishwasher (envelope packets). It will kill the remaining mice and then dry out the bodies so there is no decay. It is much quicker, and more humane in my opinion, than glue traps.
They guarantee this work for six months, which is understandable. It is July 28 and we have had no activity since.
When they were here, they also pointed out our garage attic has no insulation, and we should consider having some blown in to eliminate cool A/C air from escaping. Should only cost a few hundred dollars. Not a service they provide, just a helpful hint.
The fee was a little steep, but at least it was a fixed cost of $495. Another company we called said they would assess the job once they get here and it was $250 just to come out. Next week some time.
So for next-day service, professionalism, friendly & knowledgeable employees and peace of mind, I would definitely recommend them.

   Yesterday, when I came home from work and went upstairs, I found a bat hanging from my curtain rod in the bedroom.  I closed the door, and tried to find the number for Shumaker's Animal Control, whom I had used in 2010 to evict some squirrels that were living in my soffits.  He was very responsive at that time, and treated the squirrels humanely as he traps, removes, and then releases in the woods.  He then seals the access point, and if the squirrels ever gain access again through that point, he will trap and remove at no charge to me.
  I could not find his phone number anywhere, and 411 could not provide it as I was misspelling his name.  I tried two national Pest Control services, one of which is my regular Pest Control service, and they said they would try to schedule someone, but they had no one available that day.  Not acceptable when there is a bat inside!  My neighbor was able to get Shumaker's contact information from the internet (my computer is in the same room as the bat).  I called Mr. Shumaker, and he was at my house in < 45 minutes.  He captured the bat in a plastic coffee container.  Interesting fact:  bats cannot fly unless they can launch themselves from a high point.  The bat was lying quietly in the bottom of the container, as it was not able to fly out of it because it was a slippery, flat surface.  He said that if he were to put it on the floor, the bat would have to crawl across the floor and up the wall in order to fly.
   He said we have a million bats in our area, and they can get into a house through the smallest opening.  It could even have flown in when I opened the door in the morning.  He told me that if I see a bat in the house every couple of months, they are coming in from outside.  If I see one more often than that, I may have a colony in the attic. 
  I asked him how much I owed him, and he told me nothing for a repeat customer.  I protested, and he said that if I wanted to give him something, he would donate it to the animal shelter.  I wrote him a check, and can't thank him enough for coming to my rescue.
  If you ever need an animal trapped and removed, I highly recommend Shumaker Animal Control.  They are available 24 hours an day, 7 days a week. 

They are a 24/7 company that takes care of all kinds of animals.  Dave came and took out the squirrels, including the babies, and removed them and set them free in the countryside.  They sealed everything up and it worked great.  They called afterwards to make sure that everything was fine with us.  They were great to work with and their prices were very reasonable.  He was very friendly and really cared about the job and that we were happy with the work that was done.

This has been a terrible experience; we were very frightened by the idea that there was a snake in the basement.  We felt a huge amount of relief when we were able to find a contractor that was able to address our problem.  Now we feel like we are out $525.00 and we still have snakes in our basement.
This company has very bad reviews with the better business in addition to negative reviews in Angies List.  The company business model seems to be make a guarentee, and then blame the customer when they request that the guarentee be honored. 

was told they would continue until animals were caught. It would be 195 for trap and 75 for each animal removed. They left the traps - the groundhog never came near it. They suggested that I change bait and try to rebait it. When they did rebate it, they continued to use same bait. The only thing they caught were 2 baby foxes, which they convinced me I should remove and that they would catch the mother and remove it also. Set 2nd trap for 1 day, when they didn't catch the mother they removed it. Constantly told me how great they were everywhere else. They then wanted to cement each hole (about 6 of them ) for 75 each. Finally they just removed the trap without even a call to me, and said they didn't know what to do. I rec'd no refund. Very upset with them. FYI - I poured sudsy ammonia down the hole and haven't seen the groundhog since. Response to provider - no he did not move on. He use to sit next to your trap. That is until you removed the trap without even a phone call. I did call and ask for a refund, and stated I felt you were unfair. At this point I will settle for 50% refund on monies paid.

When the Shumaker's representative arrived they explained that their work is guaranteed against the animal returning to the site of treatment for up to 10 years. When we called two months later and asked that they check the work because the mice were back they said it would be a 125$ charge. We asked him to come check that the mice are not entering from the areas that they patched and again we were told it would be $125 for a service call. The owner explained that they will come check the area and lay more poison. When I asked why there would be a charge when we have this guarantee he repeated it would be free if their work was faulty. If it was not and they had to lay more poison there would be the charge. I asked what it would be for them to come check their work and not lay the poison. The owner replied that it would be $125 regardless. I believe that a company should stand behind their work and would want to know if their work was failing. Instead this guy only seemed to want our money. He then hung up on me as I was repeating what I had heard. He was not going to come out to see if his employees are providing the best service possible, and even though they have a guarantee they were going to charge me to come check the work whether new services were rendered or not. I feel that this is not an appropriate way to run your company and I hope others will think twice before choosing to seek their services.

On Saturday morning Wendy called (7:00 AM, a little too early) and came to the house and set 2 traps near the groundhog hole. One trap had peaches (I understand they like peaches) from the hole to one of the traps as well as placing peaches inside both traps. Dave called me on Sunday or Monday and said they trapped one groundhog. I told him there must be one more because I see him going in and out of the hole from my deck. He said he would leave the traps for another week. I watched closely during the week and saw the groundhog use his body to tilt one of the traps on its side and eat the peaches at least on 2 occasions. They do love peaches. I used about 6 of the ½ cup servings, rearranged the traps, and repaired the back panel of one trap that week. Tommy called the following Saturday morning and I told him no groundhog yet. He came out that day and reset the traps and by mid-afternoon we had a groundhog. It was quite a week and I was happy all were trapped. Dave was kind enough not to charge me for the 2nd groundhog since I repaired a trap, provided peaches, and arranged the traps. Overall I was please with the quality of service. They were quick to response to my request, good team work and professional. Thanks!

I had a guest staying in my house while I was away. My guest heard noises in the attic. I contacted Dave, and he responded and trapped/removed the offender. About a week later, I called him again. I had a second racoon in the crawl space under the house. He responded quickly to both incidents. I would highly recommend his services to anyone with an animal problem.

They came quickly, fixed the problem skillfully and professionally. I have no complaints about their services and would happily use them again.

Mr. Shumaker came the same day I called for a consultation. He returned the next day to install the trap and repair the soffit. It was very reassuring to me when he informed me that he does not kill any animals. If there was evidence that baby squirrels were abandoned by their mother, he would take them to an animal rehabilitator. As it happens, the squirrels living in my soffit were a mother and several young squirrels. It was very painful for me to watch them exit, and try desperately to get back in. The mother squirrel in particular was very agitated that she couldn't get back in to her babies. However, she has made a new nest (in my neighbor's closed-off chimney) and has since rounded up all of the babies. For the first time in years, I don't have to listen to the squirrel races in my soffit, or have the debris protruding through. If the squirrels get back into that space in the next 10 years, he will come back and deal with them again. UPDATE: The squirrels made a new nest in the soffits in the back of my house. I could hear them working on the aluminum strips that roofers had put there to try and keep them out. In no time, I had several squirrels living there. I had a new gutter installed there recently, and during a heavy rain, the water was cascading over the gutter. The Gutterguys had to come out to inspect it, and the downspout was full of squirrel nesting material. I called Mr. Shumaker, and he said that since the squirrels were nesting in a different spot, that it should be treated as a new job, which I agreed was the case. However, he was kind enough to waive the fee, and handled it without charge. His crew came within the hour of my call. They installed their one-way cage in case any squirrels were inside the soffit. They also put a trap in the gutter, as this time I asked him to relocate these squirrels. The first squirrel entered the trap that evening. By 6:40 am the next day, his crew arrived to remove that squirrel and place another trap. Within two hours, a second squirrel was in the trap. I called Mr. Shumaker, and his crew was back within the hour. There was no activity for two days, and then a third squirrel was in the trap. His crew came within the hour of my call. Since there was no sign that any squirrels had been inside the soffit, the crew secured the access site, and I've had no further trouble. All of the squirrels were released in the wild, far from the city. Shumakers is a very responsive, professional, and compassionate animal trapping service. I highly recommend them.

We called Shumaker's Animal Control because we were hearing something scratching/gnawing under the stairs leading to the second floor in our home. We thought perhaps we had a squirrel inside. An appointment was scheduled for the day after Thanksgiving. The tech arrived as scheduled (actually a little early since there had been a cancellation and the tech asked to come early). The tech thought we more likely had a rat than a squirrel, but since the area under our stairs is not accessible (at least not without tearing into the stairs or the ceiling underneath) he couldn't be certain. He proceeded to seal possible entry points around the perimeter of our house, and he set poisoned baits in our attic and an accessible area near the stairs where we had heard the scratching/gnawing. Though we had been quoted a slightly higher price over the phone for squirrel exclusion, we were charged the lesser amount for rat exclusion. A few weeks later we thought we heard similar scratching/gnawing activity, and called Shumaker's again. They offered to return to make sure that the perimeter sealing they had done had not been breached, but there was deep snow all around the house at the time. We hadn't heard the sounds again by the time the snow melted, so we considered the problem solved. The overall experience was positive, and appears to have been effective.

This emergency occurred on a Sunday morning. Not only was I able to reach someone from Shumaker's immediately by phone, I was given an estimate for the service on my description of the situation, and someone showed up inside of two hours. The serviceman did not have to cut into the exposed exhaust duct but instead was able to remove the screw mounts holding the oven in place and lower it. The bird was there and escaped but was quickly captured. He then proceeded to remount the oven securely in place. The only complaint I have is the price was quite high. Chalk it up to the perils of home ownership. I did not call around as it was an emergency and I worried about even reaching someone on a Sunday. The county offices are closed so I do not know if they could have been of assistance. Forget Orkin. Based on my experience, I would definitely recommend Shumaker's.

They came out and set live traps, which worked for a grand total of four rats. However we had more than four rats and they seemed to get used to the traps. Since then then treatment was utterly ineffective. The only advice that they could give was to stop feeding birds and squirrels.

He did fantastic. It was a pleasure to work with him and he is very knowledgeable about the animal habbits. He responded very fast to a critical situation and was able to answer all our questions.