Wildlife Removal in Baltimore: Rowhouses, Bats & Chesapeake Wildlife

Baltimore has one of the highest concentrations of pre-war brick construction of any American city. The Federal-style rowhouses of Federal Hill, the Victorian-era construction of Hampden and Charles Village, the early 20th-century brick of Roland Park and Guilford — these buildings are architecturally distinctive and historically significant. They're also, from a wildlife exclusion standpoint, full of gaps.

Brick construction is durable, but the mortar that holds it together is not. Mortar deteriorates over decades, and in a city where most residential construction is 80–120 years old, deteriorated mortar joints are essentially universal. A gap of ⅜ inch in a mortar joint is enough for a bat. A gap of 1.5 inches is enough for a squirrel. A gap of 4 inches is enough for a raccoon.

Most Baltimore homeowners focus on obvious entry points — damaged soffits, missing chimney caps, broken vent covers. The mortar joints are less visible and often overlooked, which is why bat infestations in Baltimore's older neighborhoods are so common. A thorough inspection of a pre-war Baltimore rowhouse includes the mortar joints, not just the obvious structural components.

Like Philadelphia, Baltimore's attached rowhouses often have continuous attic spaces that run the length of an entire block. An animal that enters through a gap at one end can travel through the shared attic and emerge in a unit several doors away. The homeowner who hears the animal may not be the homeowner whose unit has the entry point.

Effective exclusion in Baltimore rowhouses requires inspecting the entire roofline — not just the unit where activity is reported. We work with homeowners associations and property managers to coordinate inspections across multiple units when necessary.

Baltimore's older brick neighborhoods — Hampden, Charles Village, Remington, Waverly — have significant bat populations in aging building stock. Little brown bats and big brown bats both exploit the deteriorated mortar joints and gaps around window frames common in pre-war construction. Maryland Department of Natural Resources regulations prohibit exclusion from June 1 through August 15 (maternity season). DNR licensing is required.

The Jones Falls Valley, Gwynns Falls Trail, and Herring Run Park all run directly through Baltimore's residential neighborhoods, providing raccoons with continuous habitat and movement routes into residential areas. Homes near these corridors face higher wildlife pressure than those in more isolated blocks.

Copperheads are found throughout the Baltimore metro area, particularly in wooded neighborhoods near stream corridors and parks. They're most common in the northern neighborhoods — Roland Park, Guilford, Homeland — where wooded lots and stream corridors provide suitable habitat.

Call (800) 319-1556 for a free inspection. We serve Baltimore City and Baltimore County.

View our Baltimore service page for more information.