About Mitten Wildlife
What this site is
Mitten Wildlife is a free, ad-free reference directory for Michigan homeowners dealing with wildlife and pest situations in their homes. Each town page covers what you'd actually want to know in the moment: what species are common here, what Michigan law allows you to do, what a licensed provider typically charges, and a tap-to-call connection to a participating local pro.
We don't perform wildlife removal or pest control. The phone numbers on this site route to a network of licensed Michigan providers who do the actual work. Mitten Wildlife earns a referral fee from the network when a call meets the network's quality criteria — that's how the site pays for itself. There is no fee to homeowners and no charge for using the directory.
What makes the data accurate
The pages combine several Michigan-specific public data sources rather than generic boilerplate that could apply to anywhere. Specifically:
- Michigan DHHS rabies surveillance — county-level confirmed positive animal counts, 2023 full year and 2026 year-to-date
- Michigan DNR wildlife regulations — species-specific trapping restrictions, maternity season exclusions for bats, NREPA Part 427 raccoon rules
- US Census ZIP-level population and county geography
- NOAA climate zone classifications adjusted for Great Lakes lake-effect bands
- State park, inland lake, and state forest locations from public mapping data
- Wikipedia town and county articles for local historical and geographic context
Where information is approximated (typical service pricing, for example), we say so. Where it's drawn from a specific source, we cite it on the page.
Who runs it
Mitten Wildlife is built and maintained by Stuart Wheaton, an independent software engineer based in Michigan. It started as a side project to see whether a small, honest, locally-grounded directory could provide real value to homeowners while sustaining itself through pay-per-call referrals — instead of running banner ads, selling email lists, or hiring writers to mass-produce articles for SEO.
Pages are statically generated from public Michigan data sources, hosted on Cloudflare Pages, and served without ads, tracking cookies, or third-party scripts. The site uses Cloudflare's privacy-friendly Web Analytics for traffic counts.
How calls are handled
Tapping any call button routes you to a tracking phone number provided by MarketCall, a pay-per-call ad network that connects callers with vetted local service providers. When you call, MarketCall briefly evaluates the call (your area, the species or pest, basic qualifying details) and forwards you to a licensed provider in their network covering your ZIP code.
You are talking directly to the provider, not to us. We never see, store, or record the call content. Mitten Wildlife receives a fee from MarketCall when calls meet the network's qualifying criteria (length, location coverage, service type) — typically $15 to $50 per qualified call, paid by the eventual service buyer through the network.
Contact
For corrections, questions, or feedback: [email protected]. Real human, will respond within a few business days.
Disclaimer
Mitten Wildlife is a free service to assist homeowners in connecting with local service providers. All contractors/providers are independent and Mitten Wildlife does not warrant or guarantee any work performed. It is the responsibility of the homeowner to verify that the hired contractor furnishes the necessary license and insurance required for the work being performed. All persons depicted in a photo or video are actors or models and not contractors listed on Mitten Wildlife.