Is the free WDCO route check a wildlife damage assessment?

No. The free route check is a no-diagnosis screen that helps choose a route such as emergency, health, onsite local WDCO, official-source, educational, or paid phone assessment.

When is a paid Maryland Wilderness WDCO phone assessment appropriate?

A paid phone assessment may be appropriate when there is no immediate emergency or health exposure path controlling the situation and the caller wants property-specific triage, documentation review, or next-step planning.

Does the route check include onsite wildlife service?

No. Onsite service, labor, traps, permits, materials, exclusion, cleanup, repairs, or follow-up work require separate authorization when applicable.

Free Maryland WDCO Route Check | Maryland Wilderness

Interactive route check

Answer four questions to see the safest next route.

No personal information is collected here. Your answers stay in the browser and only change the route guidance shown below.

Choose the closest answer in each group. When in doubt, pick the more cautious option.

1. Is there immediate danger or exposure? Immediate danger or injured personPeople may be at risk right now, or emergency response may be needed. Bite, scratch, saliva, direct contact, or pet exposureHealth, animal-control, or exposure guidance may need to come first. Bat in sleeping area, living space, or possible bat exposureBat exposure questions need a cautious health-first route. No immediate danger, bite, scratch, saliva, direct contact, or bat exposure reportedContinue through the remaining route questions.

2. Where is the animal or evidence right now? Animal is actively inside a building or occupied area nowLiving space, restaurant, kitchen, business, attic, chimney, wall, crawlspace, or similar. Animal is trapped, injured, aggressive, or cannot leave safelyDo not handle, corner, feed, or attempt capture. Animal is outside but repeatedly using the propertyExamples: yard, shed, deck, garden, pond, poultry area, livestock area, or burrow. Only suspected from sounds, odor, tracks, scat, damage, or entry pointDocumentation review may be enough before deciding onsite service. No active animal now; prevention or documentation questionYou may only need prevention guidance or planning.

3. What kind of place is involved? Private residenceHouse, cabin, apartment, rental home, or similar private property. Restaurant, kitchen, grocery, food storage, or dining areaFood safety, staff/customer exposure, and local code obligations may control the route. Commercial property, farm, poultry, livestock, or managed propertyDocumentation and operational boundaries matter. Public property, roadway, park, agency-managed site, or protected-species questionOfficial-source routing may come before private WDCO service.

4. What do you need from the next step? Someone physically onsite or available locallyRemoval, capture, exclusion, traps, cleanup, or active field response. Agency, health, animal-control, permit, public-property, or protected-species routeYou need to know who has authority before anything else. Property-specific triage, documentation review, or next-step planningPhotos, video, sounds, tracks, entry points, damage, or route boundaries. General prevention or learning onlyYou do not need property-specific assessment yet.

Skip to paid assessment

Preparing evidence

Have photos or notes? Gather only what is safe.

If this tool points you toward a paid phone/email assessment, the photo guide explains which exterior, damage, entry-point, and timing details are useful without approaching wildlife or entering unsafe spaces.

Open WDCO photo guide

Route meanings

What each route means.

Emergency / health first

Do not use paid assessment to delay safety or exposure decisions.

Immediate danger, injured people, bites, scratches, saliva contact, possible rabies exposure, or bat exposure questions should go to the proper emergency, health, animal-control, or official path first.

Local onsite first

Active animals often need someone physically present.

If an animal is actively inside, trapped, aggressive, or creating a food-service or occupied-space concern, local onsite response may be more appropriate than a phone-only assessment.

Paid phone assessment

Use paid triage for documentation and next-step planning.

When the situation is not emergency/exposure controlled, the paid assessment can organize evidence, identify likely route boundaries, and decide whether separate onsite WDCO service is needed.

General prevention

Some questions do not need paid property-specific review.

For general learning, prevention, or non-urgent planning, start with the field-guide conflict routes and official-source pages before scheduling a call.

Choose the right Maryland wildlife damage path before paying.