Tips to Help Reunite Lost Pets

Contact the City’s Animal Control Officer and Prince George’s County Animal Services.

Call the Prince George’s Animal Shelter and other area shelters like Greenbelt.

What to do if you Find a Lost Pet

Contact the City’s Animal Control Officer and Prince George’s County Animal Services.

If the animal appears scared or aggressive, do not approach.

Note the date, time and exact location of where you saw the stray animal prior to calling.

Do not take the animal outside of the jurisdiction – it makes it harder to reunite.

Available Animals for Adoption

The City’s Animal Control Officer runs the City’s Adoption Program. All available animals along with their descriptions and preferred living situations can be found here or by clicking on this link to our Petfinder page.

How to Adopt an Available Animal

Adoption of pets from the City’s Adoption Program requires a completed and approved adoption application and an adoption fee of $75 that goes towards the care for animals that enter the program.

Animal Adoption Application
Adoption of pets from the City’s Adoption Program requires a completed adoption application and an adoption fee of $75 that goes towards food and care for animals in the program.

How to Apply
Online: For the cat adoption application, please click here. For the dog adoption application, please click here. Please make sure to fill out the form completely prior to submitting. Applications are based on best possible placement and are time sensitive.

In-person: Petco Beltsville - 10464 Baltimore Avenue, Beltsville, MD 20705

Fostering Pets

Don’t think you’re quite ready to adopt? Fostering is a great alternative. Foster homes help pets find their forever home by providing insight to the animals’ habits, manners, likes and dislikes which allows for placement into the best possible family.

To learn more about the City’s fostering program, please contact the City’s Animal Control officer via email at animalcontrol@collegeparkmd.gov. Applicants will have to fill out a volunteer agreement and a Hold-Harmless agreement prior to approval.

Microchipping Service

As a service to our residents and to encourage reunification of lost pets and their families, the City’s Animal Control offers microchipping for cats and dogs. Microchipping is a quick and relatively painless procedure that can help return lost pets to their families. The microchip is a permanent form of identification, ensuring that if your pet strays from home and is picked up by Animal Control, you will be notified.

The cost for this service is a one-time fee of $30 which includes travel to your home, implantation of the chip and online registration with lifetime updates. To request service, please email the City’s Animal Control at animalcontrol@collegeparkmd.gov.

Occasionally during select Downtown or Hollywood Farmers Market days (from April through November), the City’s Animal Control will perform this service for free for City residents (or only $20 for non-residents). See the calendar below for applicable dates and times. If bringing your pet to the Farmers Market, please make sure that they are properly restrained (leash, carrier, etc.) for safety reasons. Proof of residency is required.

Wildlife in the City

An abundance of wildlife can be found in the City of College Park. Birds, deer, groundhogs, raccoons, squirrels, opossums, fox, geese, and bats are just to name a few. Lake Artemesia for instance, has an abundance of life both in and out of the water. The Lake is a great place to go bird watching, go fishing, or watch the turtles in the water.

Unfortunately because of habitat loss, many creatures often seek refuge in local neighborhoods. Living near humans provides wild animals with a wealth of unnatural food sources (trash, pet food, gardens, etc.) and artificial living quarters (sheds, attics, chimneys, etc.) While some may never have problems with wildlife, others may find wildlife disturbing their home or yard.

If you find your home or yard negatively affected by wildlife, including feral cats, please contact the City’s Animal Control. Our Animal Control Officer can provide residents with information with how to solve a variety of wildlife problems without harm to the animal or person.

A Note about Trapping Wildlife
Trapping most wildlife requires a permit from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MD-DNR). The City’s Animal Control Officer possesses a Wildlife Damage Control Operator’s Permit through MD-DNR and will trap wildlife at their discretion. The City’s Animal Control will not trap wildlife outside unless the animal is posing a direct threat to public safety.

Trapping is often a source of controversy because trapped animals must be either euthanized or relocated with landowner permission. Moving an animal to a more “wild” area may sound like a good idea, but relocated animals typically have a lower rate of survival due to an inability to find new food sources and den sites.

Many wildlife problems can be dealt with by taking simple measures, usually involving the removal of the wildlife “attractant” such as securing accessible trash cans or removing pet food left outside. Other wildlife problem-solving tactics require trial and error and occasionally must result in the removal of the animal by a permitted trapping company (the City will not remove based on nuisance only status).

A Note about Pests...

Rats and other pests need water, food, and shelter to thrive. To discourage rats from your property, keep your trash secure, keep the lid of your refuse cart closed, properly dispose of pet feces, keep pet food and bird food cleaned up daily, cut the grass regularly, and keep wood piles and other debris removed from the yard. You are responsible for pest control on your property. Contact a licensed pest control contractor for assistance.

For issues with rats, mice or other rodents coming from another property, please contact the City’s Code Enforcement.

MDA Spraying

Every summer from early June through September, the City cooperates with the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) to identify and control mosquito populations with spraying and larvaciding.

In order for MDA personnel to spray or larvicide, MDA will first survey the area of concern using traps and landing rate counts, (they may also request access to your property to place a trap for their survey). If mosquito count thresholds are met, they may make a control spray application in the neighborhood but please be aware that they do not spray individual properties.

MDA has designated Wednesday night for when spraying for adult mosquitoes will occur in the City (when thresholds are met). Spraying will only begin after dark and may continue until midnight or later. If you see a truck in your community spraying during the day, please note that it is not from the State of Maryland.

As a precaution, we advise residents to bring in any pets and stay inside their homes and close their windows while the spray truck is in the vicinity. Please remain in your home for at least 30 minutes after the truck has left. If there are people outside when the truck passes by, MDA will not spray and will not return that night.

The spray schedule rotates. This means that your neighborhood may or may not be sprayed each week. The frequency will be determined by surveillance data collected and complaints received.

There are just too many mosquitoes in my neighborhood!
Requests to MDA for a local service call or visit can be made by clicking here. You will need to provide some information and submit the form directly to MDA.

Request for Exemption from Adult Mosquito Control Services
Any resident who wishes to have his/her property excluded from adult mosquito control pesticide applications by truck-mounted ultra low volume (ULV) sprayers must fill out this form annually.

Residents can request exclusion by completing this exemption form and mailing it to:
Program Supervisor
Mosquito Control Section
50 Harry S. Truman Parkway
Annapolis, MD 21401

Safety Concerns from MDA Spraying
People and pets may become exposed to pesticides used in a residential misting system through direct contact with sprays, by touching plants or other objects in the treated area, or by inhaling small amounts of pesticide remaining in the air. EPA has assessed the human health and environmental risks of the pesticides most commonly used in misting systems. Most of these pesticides last only short periods in the environment, so long-term exposure to humans is not expected. Based on its assessment, using toxicity data and exposure estimates, EPA does not expect risks of concern to humans when these chemicals are used in outdoor residential systems according to labeling specific for use in these systems. However, excessive use or accidents may pose risks and no pesticide should be regarded as 100% risk free.

Since pyrethrins and permethrin are toxic to all insects, they may kill beneficial insects such as honeybees, ladybugs, butterflies and other non-target species. In addition, permethrin is highly toxic to fish. If you’d like more information on the chemicals used for spraying including precautionary statements and first aid measures, please click here.

Tips to reduce Mosquitoes in your Yard and Neighborhood
Did you know, the Asian tiger mosquito is active during the day and only breeds in containers of standing water (i.e. around humans)? A great way to reduce the amount of mosquitoes is to eliminate their breeding sources! Empty, remove or turn over unused containers, buckets, toys, bird baths, flower pots and saucers, tarps, corrugated drainpipes, kayaks, pet dishes, wading pools, free-standing basketball hoops that may have standing water and store them so they don't hold water. Bird baths or fountains should have water changed at least twice a week. Make sure gutters are clean and work with your neighbors to identify potential mosquito breeding areas. Removing all sources of standing water from your yard can greatly reduce the amount of mosquitoes in your vicinity!

For permanent areas of standing water (ponds, rain barrels, etc.), mosquito "torpedoes" slowly and continuously release an insect growth regulator into the water that prevents adult mosquito development for up to 2 months.. The City offers mosquito torpedoes for residents – visit the Department of Public Works for more information. Please click here for a list of FAQs from the manufacturer.

If ditches do not flow and contain stagnant water for one week or longer, they can produce large numbers of mosquitoes. Report such conditions to a Mosquito Control Office. Do not attempt to clear these ditches because they may be protected by wetland regulations.

Lost or Found AnimalS