Schaumburg, Illinois · Cook & DuPage County · Facts checked Oct 2026
Dial 311 or 911 for wildlife in the living space, Schaumburg says, but don't expect the village to trap it.
The police department's animal control page tells residents who find wildlife inside the living space of their home to dial 311 or 911 for assistance.1 Trapping is another matter: the village's coyote page says Schaumburg doesn't take part in trapping coyotes or any other wildlife in and around town.2 When raccoons, opossums, skunks or similar animals cause trouble outside the house, residents get a referral to a licensed wildlife service.3
Who handles an animal problem in Schaumburg?
| What's happening | Who to call |
|---|---|
| Someone was bitten or scratched by a wild animal | Wash the wound with soap and water and see a doctor right away. The health department or animal control should also be told.10 Village code also makes it unlawful to refuse to report a known bite to the Schaumburg Police Department within 24 hours.4 |
| Wildlife, a bat included, is inside the living space | Dial 311, or 911, for assistance.1 Cook County's rabies guidance says hands off: no wild animal should be handled by residents.8 If you woke up with it in the room, or it was near a child, keep the bat and call your doctor or the health department.10 |
| A complaint about any animal, wild or not | Schaumburg Police Department, (847) 882-3586, or 311 from inside the village.1 |
| A question about living with wildlife | The village's animal control officer, (847) 348-7221.3 |
| An orphaned wild animal or a bird of prey | The village's wildlife page lists Flint Creek Wildlife Rehab, (847) 842-8000, for birds of prey and orphaned wildlife.3 |
| A stray dog or cat | The animal control officer and community service officers take stray domestic animals found inside village limits to the department's authorized animal hospital or shelter; call (847) 882-3586 or 311.1 As of October 2026, the department has paused handing out humane traps for stray and feral cats.1 Not a wildlife operator. |
| A calm animal living in your attic, walls, chimney or under the deck | The village won't trap it.2 Its wildlife page limits trapping to wildlife agencies licensed by the Illinois DNR, or residents who get an IDNR permit, and its loaner traps are for stray or feral cats only.3 For the animal itself, look to a licensed wildlife operator. That can be this site's advertiser or anyone on the Illinois DNR list. The village's Living With Wildlife page also lists a few local wildlife removal agencies.3 |
The Wildlife Line isn't part of the Village of Schaumburg, Cook County or DuPage County.
Which county numbers change on the DuPage side?
Schaumburg straddles a county line: the 2020 Census place-by-county file places the village in Cook and DuPage.7 The county offices behind a bite or bat report differ by side:
- Cook part. Cook County Animal and Rabies Control lends wildlife traps and removes bats for homes in unincorporated Cook County; people living in an incorporated town are asked to phone their local police or animal control instead.8 The county office is in Bridgeview, (708) 974-6140, open weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.8
- DuPage part. If a bat or another animal might have exposed someone to rabies, DuPage County's health department wants to hear about it at (630) 221-7553; its after-hours line is (630) 682-7400.9 DuPage County Animal Services, at (630) 407-2800, is the office that takes reports of people being bitten.9
Can you feed birds or set trash out early in Schaumburg?
- Food for wildlife is off limits. Sec. 92.30(O) makes it unlawful to put table scraps, seed or other food outdoors, outside proper waste containers, in a way that draws wild animals such as raccoons, coyotes, skunks, deer, opossums, foxes or squirrels and gets them used to people.4 Ground feeding, including food set out in containers on the ground, is banned outright.4
- Feeders up high, and only a few. Bird feeders are allowed when the feed sits in a feeder built for birds, mounted at least 4 feet up.4 No lot may have more than four hanging feeders, none with a base over 100 square inches, and each has to stand at least 5 feet inside the property lines (Sec. 92.30(P)).4
- Curb times change with the season. Under Sec. 96.07, garbage and recycling can't go out before 6 p.m. the day before pickup from April through September, or before 4 p.m. from October through March.5 Household waste containers need a tight-fitting cover or lid.5
- Close the gaps. The village's wildlife page suggests screening crawl space vents, checking under the eaves for openings, trimming branches that hang over the house and weather-stripping doors and windows.3 It also calls a shed in poor repair an invitation to wildlife, and says leftover pet food set outside should be picked up right away.3
Spring Valley, green corridors and fall dispersal
The Schaumburg Park District describes Spring Valley as a 135-acre refuge of fields, forests, marshes and streams, where feeding wildlife and capturing or removing it are both against the rules.6 Across the district, nearly 300 acres are kept as preserved natural areas, including four designated conservation areas that the park district says provide homes for wildlife.6 The village's own wildlife page points out that green spaces and trails give animals easy access to developed areas.3
Coyotes, by the village's account, favor brushy areas, wooded edges and open grass, and like to travel along trails, paths and waterways.2 They're most active at night but often show up by day in summer, when pups are more active.2 Fall is dispersal season, when young coyotes leave to strike out on their own and sightings go up.2 If one of the area's smaller animals has found a way into the house, start with a raccoon in the chimney, squirrels in the attic, a bat in the house or an animal under the deck.
What are you hearing?
Is it scratching, thumping or chirping you hear above the ceiling? The attic noise guide matches each kind of sound with the animals that usually make it, and after-hours help explains which problems justify a call at night.
Sources for this page
- Village of Schaumburg Police Department, Animal Control. Checked Oct 22, 2026.
- Village of Schaumburg Police Department, Coyote Information. Checked Oct 22, 2026.
- Village of Schaumburg Police Department, Living With Wildlife. Checked Oct 24, 2026.
- Schaumburg Village Code, Sec. 92.30, Prohibited Acts and Sec. 92.40, Procedure in Case of Bites. Checked Oct 22, 2026.
- Schaumburg Village Code, Sec. 96.07, Receptacle Regulations. Checked Oct 22, 2026.
- Schaumburg Park District, Spring Valley and Conservation Areas. Checked Oct 22, 2026.
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 place-by-county file for Illinois. Checked Oct 22, 2026.
- Cook County, Animal and Rabies Control, Services for Unincorporated Areas and Rabies Prevention. Checked Oct 22, 2026.
- DuPage County Health Department, Prevent Rabies: Be Safe, Never Touch a Bat (PDF), July 29, 2026. Checked Nov 2, 2026.
- Illinois Department of Public Health, Rabies (animal bites; bats in a sleeping area). Checked Oct 2026.
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Also: Northwest Cook County · Hoffman Estates · Streamwood · Hanover Park