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Streamwood, Illinois · Cook County · Facts checked Oct 2026

Putting food on the ground for wild animals is against the rules in Streamwood.

Village Code 4-2-5(G) declares the ground feeding of feral animals, meaning animals that aren't domesticated, a nuisance and bans it.1 That covers spreading or dumping corn, bread, birdseed, food scraps, pet food or animal chow on any public or private property in the village.1 If an animal has already moved in, know that Cook County's wildlife services are for unincorporated areas; people in an incorporated town are told to call their local police or animal control.2

Who handles an animal problem in Streamwood?

What's happeningWho to call
Someone was bitten or scratched by a wild animalWash the wound with soap and water and see a doctor right away. The health department or animal control should also be told.10
A bat in the house, or a bat that looks sick or has diedLeave it alone: Cook County's rabies page asks people not to handle wild animals of any kind. A sick or dead bat gets reported to local animal control or the police department.4 Streamwood Police: (630) 736-3700.3 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 wild animal acting sick or aggressiveStreamwood Police, main line (630) 736-3700.3 Cook County directs residents of incorporated towns to their local police or animal control department rather than the county.2
A stray dog or catStreamwood Police, (630) 736-3700, the number the department gives for finding out whether police picked up a dog.3 Not a wildlife operator.
A calm animal living in your attic, walls, chimney or under the deckCook County's help with wildlife in the home, such as trap loans, is only for unincorporated areas.2 Ask Streamwood Police, or hire a licensed wildlife operator: this site's advertiser or anyone on the Illinois DNR list.

The Wildlife Line isn't part of the Village of Streamwood or Cook County.

Poison and garbage: two more village rules

  • Poison. The village code generally bars putting out any known poison where an animal could eat it, with one narrow exception written in.1
  • Close-fitting covers. A household waste container has to be made of noncorrodible material with a close-fitting cover (Secs. 7-4-1 and 7-4-3).5
  • Curb hours. The code opens the curbside window at 5 p.m. on the eve of pickup and closes it at 9 p.m. on pickup day, when the containers must be back off the curb (Sec. 7-4-3).5

Wetlands, woods and creek trails close to home

The village is steward of more than 350 acres of open space, including natural wetlands, tree conservancies and trails along Poplar Creek.6 Past that, the village says the Forest Preserves of Cook County's Arthur L. Janura Preserve bounds Streamwood on the north and west, with Bode Lake and about 21 miles of paved and unpaved trails.8 The preserve district says coyotes and deer live in the open space ringed by the preserve's 8.9-mile paved loop, along with shrubland birds such as gray catbirds and brown thrashers.9

One of the preserve's locations is the Poplar Creek Land and Water Reserve.9 IDNR places it between Streamwood, Hoffman Estates, South Barrington and Elgin, with restored prairie and savanna, woodland and a remnant fen beside the stream.7 Cook County says bats are the most common way rabies spreads in the U.S., though most bats aren't infected, and it puts its average at about 25 rabid bats a year.4 The state's map has shown 14 or fewer a year since 2019; the Cook County page has the numbers. When wildlife from that open space gets into a house, there are guides on what to look for with chimney raccoons, with attic squirrels and with bats indoors.

What are you hearing?

Could it be a bat, a squirrel or something bigger? The attic noise guide is the place to start, and after-hours help sorts out what to do when the noise starts late at night.

Sources for this page

  1. Streamwood Village Code, Sec. 4-2-1 and Sec. 4-2-5. Checked Oct 21, 2026.
  2. Cook County, Services for Unincorporated Areas. Checked Oct 21, 2026.
  3. Village of Streamwood Police Department, FAQ. Checked Oct 21, 2026.
  4. Cook County, Rabies Prevention. Checked Oct 21, 2026.
  5. Streamwood Village Code, Sec. 7-4-1 and Sec. 7-4-3. Checked Oct 21, 2026.
  6. Village of Streamwood, Preserving Our Natural Resources. Checked Oct 22, 2026.
  7. Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Poplar Creek Land and Water Reserve. Checked Oct 22, 2026.
  8. Village of Streamwood, Our Community Partners. Checked Oct 22, 2026.
  9. Forest Preserves of Cook County, Arthur L. Janura Preserve. Checked Oct 22, 2026.
  10. 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 · Bartlett · Elgin