Public Health Madison & Dane County

Get Help with Animals or Pests

Stray cat sitting on the street.

Our Animal Services Officers:

  • Respond to calls about animal bites, stray animals, and animal welfare concerns.
  • Educate people about animal care and staying safe around animals.

Animals

Animal Bites

  • Submit an online report or call 608-255-2345. See our Animal Bites page for more information on bites.
  • Your report will be sent to an Animal Services Officer, who will follow up with you as soon as possible.

Lost or Found Animals

  • You can call us at 608-255-2345 for lost or found animals.
  • The best thing you can do is report the animal for free on 24Petconnect. You’ll get real-time updates on the animal to help it get back home and avoid a trip to the Humane Society.

Other Animal Issues

Call 608-255-2345 for:

  • Aggressive animals
  • Animals in traffic
  • Domestic animals running loose
  • Investigation of cruelty or neglect
  • Rabies quarantines and testing
  • Sick or injured stray domestic animals
  • Wildlife that poses an immediate threat to health or safety
  • Accumulation of animal poop

We Do Not Help With

  • Barking dogs. Please call your local police department. If you live in Madison, the number is 608-266-4275.
  • Healthy wild animals on your property. Please call a private pest control service. Pest control companies are licensed to remove or relocate healthy wildlife and can help you determine how to keep the problem from reoccurring.
  • Rats and mice on your property. For rat infestations on your property, contact a pest control company for removal. Learn how to prevent and control a rat or mouse infestation. Call us at 608-242-6515 if you have a problem with rats in your neighborhood or you live near a property with garbage or food accumulation that may attract rats.

Non-Urgent Animal Issues

Call 608-267-1989 or email for:

  • Information about animal care and health
  • Education about staying safe around animals and preventing rabies
  • Non-urgent complaints
  • General information

Pests

We work to control pests and prevent people from getting diseases they carry.

Report a Bed Bug Problem

We give advice on controlling bed bugs and investigate reports of bed bug infestations in apartment and rental units and in hotels and motels.

  • Apartments & Rental Units: Ask your landlord to hire a pest control company. If your landlord won’t deal with the problem, call your local building inspector. For the City of Madison Building Inspection Office, call 608-266-4551. If there is no Building Inspector in your area, call us at 608-242-6515.
  • Hotels & Motels: Call us at 608-242-6515.
  • Home you own: Contact a Pest Control Company familiar with treating bed bugs.

Learn More & Resources

Report a Rat Infestation
  • We investigate reports of rat infestations and provide information to tenants, property owners, and neighborhoods on dealing with rat and mouse problems.
  • When needed, we issue orders to property owners to correct issues that are contributing to rat and mouse problems.

How to Prevent and Control a Rat or Mouse Infestation

  • Rats and mice are not only a nuisance, they also cause property damage and disease. Getting rid of food and places to live is the key to keeping your home, business, and neighborhood rat/mouse free.
  • Watch our video, Protect Your Home From Rats. It explains how to make sure your property is not friendly to rats and mice.

Learn More & Resources

Mosquitoes & Ticks

Mosquito Monitoring Results

This map shows our summer 2024 larvae monitoring results. We treated the sites that had higher numbers of larvae species that could potentially carry West Nile Virus. We did not treat sites that had lower numbers of larvae or larvae species that do not spread West Nile Virus.

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Get Help with Animals or Pests