Georgia, private property
Dead Skunk Removal in Georgia
Georgia DPH lists the skunk with the raccoon and the fox as the land wildlife most often infected with rabies in Georgia, so check whether a person or pet touched it. We found no current public service that collects a dead wild animal from a yard. Atlanta collects at the curb once you carry the animal there, and Gwinnett takes only small carcasses from private property, bagged and set roadside. If you would rather not handle it, call 404-609-1114 to see whether an independent operator covers your address.
Who picks up a dead skunk in Georgia?
On a road, GDOT has the statutory duty for state-funded highway rights of way, DeKalb Sanitation collects 'Roadkill only (streets, county rights-of-way)', and Macon-Bibb removes dead animals 'from public road ways only'. On private property, Gwinnett takes only small carcasses, bagged and set roadside, Atlanta collects at the curb once you carry the animal there, and Cherokee County's code leaves carcasses on private property to the owner or possessor. The routes we found for the areas this site covers are in who picks up dead animals.
Source: Gwinnett County Animal Welfare and Enforcement, checked 2026-10-01.
Before you pay anyone. Check for contact. DPH's manual says all bites and scratches by raccoons, skunks and foxes must be considered possible exposures to rabies, and Georgia's rabies statute requires a person bitten by an animal reasonably suspected of being rabid to notify the appropriate county board of health immediately. If someone was bitten, DPH says to report it to the county health department or 1-866-PUB-HLTH (1-866-782-4584). For other contact by a person or pet, ask the county health department what to do with the carcass.
What this covers
- A skunk lying in a yard, a garden bed or beside the driveway
- A skunk under a deck, porch or shed that can be reached from an existing opening
- A skunk in a garage, or in a crawl space with a door or hatch
- A carcass you do not want to bag and carry to the curb yourself
Where the limit is
A live skunk, including one that looks sick, is outside this site; DNR's line for sick wildlife is 1-800-366-2661. So are medical and veterinary questions. DPH says the Georgia Poison Center gives rabies consultations to the general public around the clock at 404-616-9000. Nothing routed through this site involves opening walls, floors or ceilings, and no odor treatment is offered.
What Georgia's agencies say. DPH's rabies page says rabies usually occurs among wild animals such as raccoons, skunks, bats and foxes, and DPH's Rabies Control Manual names raccoons, skunks and foxes as rabies vector species and the most common land wildlife infected with rabies in Georgia. DNR's nuisance wildlife permit conditions give their own rabies vector species list: raccoon, skunk, bobcat, fox and coyote. DPH's manual says the state lab accepts a specimen for rabies testing only when a person or domestic animal was exposed to the animal, so a skunk nobody touched is not routinely tested. Title 27's definitions, as reproduced in DNR's 2008 statute excerpt, list the skunk among fur-bearing animals.
What a removal service can help with. When nobody touched the skunk and it can be reached, the work is bagging it and getting it to a place that will take it. Each hauler, cart program and landfill sets its own terms, and Chatham County's drop-off centers, for one, cannot accept dead animals. Where an operator covers the address, price and availability are settled on the call.
How a call goes
- Say whether anyone, or any pet, had contact with the skunk.
- Say where it lies and how it can be reached, including the height of any gap under a deck or porch.
- Give the address or ZIP. Calls reach this site's routing line, which passes them to an independent operator where one covers the area.
- Price and availability are settled on the call. Independent operators set their own prices.
Questions about this animal
Will a dead skunk be tested for rabies?
The state public health lab tests one only after an exposure. DPH's Rabies Control Manual says the state lab accepts a specimen for rabies testing only when a person or domestic animal was exposed to the animal. If someone was bitten, DPH says to report it to the county health department or 1-866-PUB-HLTH (1-866-782-4584). For other contact by a person or pet, ask the county health department what to do with the carcass.
Who removes a dead skunk from the road?
On a state highway, GDOT has the duty under O.C.G.A. 4-5-4, and some cities and counties print a GDOT number: Atlanta's ATL311 article prints GDOT at 404-635-6800 for the interstate, or 911 if it is a traffic hazard, and Gwinnett gives 404.631.1990 for state roadways during regular business hours. Some counties and cities publish their own road channel: Forsyth County Roads and Bridges at 770-781-2155, unincorporated Cobb through 911's non-emergency line at 770-499-3911 ext. 5, and Johns Creek through City Hall at 678-512-3200.
Will Augusta pick up a dead skunk from my yard?
Augusta Animal Services lists disposal of dead animals on city streets among its services, and its paid pickup is for owned pets. We found no city service for dead wildlife in a yard. Animal Services also says it does not handle nuisance wildlife complaints such as foxes, coyotes, opossums, raccoons or snakes; that concerns live animals, and it refers wildlife issues to Georgia DNR at 706-557-3333.
Can a dead skunk go in the garbage?
We found no EPD or DNR text that bans a small dead animal from household garbage, and EPD's rules list dead animals as putrescible waste. Acceptance is up to each hauler, cart program and landfill. Some local codes say no, such as Macon-Bibb's rule that dead animals shall not be placed in garbage containers, so check with your hauler first.
Where it was found
- In the yardNo current state or local service we found collects a dead wild animal from a yard. Atlanta collects at the curb once you carry it there, and Athens-Clarke's pickup page asks the same, though its FAQ 279 calls an animal off the street or right of way the resident's responsibility and FAQ 142 points private property to a wildlife removal company or the landfill. From private property, Gwinnett takes only small carcasses, bagged and set roadside.
- Under a deck or crawl spaceNo current public service we found goes under a structure. Calls here are for carcasses reachable through an existing opening, with no cutting.
- Attic or garageNo current public service we found removes a carcass from inside a home. Calls here are for attics and garages reachable without cutting anything.
Not sure who is responsible? Who picks it up · How to dispose of it · Dead deer in the yard · Georgia dead animal laws
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