Raccoon Removal: Getting Rid Of Raccoons in The Attic

Raccoon populations are increasing across the United States(Opens in a new window), implying that more raccoons will seek sanctuary in raccoon’s houses or businesses. Raccoons naturally seek shelter in existing structures such as hollow trees, ground burrows, and muskrat houses, but as habitat disappears, attics, crawlspaces, and chimneys are becoming increasingly common. Raccoon removal is a difficult chore for a property owner since these cunning creatures are superb climbers and intelligent problem solvers.

Raccoon removal is a specialty of our wildlife control technicians. Our wildlife specialist will control a full inspection to remove the severity of the raccoon infestation before removing and controlling a raccoon or family of raccoons on your property. They’ll create a specific solution to trap, remove, and seal all access points after the inspection. They’ll also provide you warranty choices and a quote for preventative maintenance.

Home Inspections For Raccoons

Footprints on, in, or around your home, wide openings leading to the attic or crawl area, and raccoon poop will all be looked for by the Wildlife Service Technician.

The most important phase in the wildlife eradication process is the home inspection. The animals in your attic have found a way in – but how? It’s not always easy to find. You’ll never be able to permanently solve the problem of animals in your attic unless you find all of the entry holes. Unless you can find the entry/exit holes, you won’t be able to remove certain animals at all. It’s crucial to remember that animals need to drink and eat, therefore they’ll leave and return to your attic on a regular basis. Animals leave many clues behind, but the entry holes aren’t always easy to find.

First and foremost, you must be comfortable climbing a ladder and crawling on the roof. All safety precautions must be followed. Don’t do it yourself if you aren’t sure! Invest in a professional! Use the ladder to inspect over the entire house: Look for badly screened roof vents, locations where the soffit meets the roof, eave vents, or chewed-through wooden fascia boards. Chewing damage, brown fur grease, and animal footprints are all things to look for. Look for ridge cap vents that have been chewed out, open piping stacks, or a hole in the roof itself. There could be multiple entry points in your home. Don’t forget about the chimney. This can occasionally lead to the attic, or you could wind up with creatures living there. Read Everything There Is To Know About Animals In The Chimney. A thorough understanding of both building architecture and wildlife behavior is quite beneficial in this situation. An experienced wildlife professional knows what to inspect for and how animals exploit various weaknesses.

Climbing into the Attic: Next, go into the attic. To see, you’ll need a headlamp, as well as a HEPA filter mask to avoid inhaling fiberglass insulation or animal feces. Make sure you’re only walking on the wooden beams or trusses! You might fall through if you step on the drywall ceiling! Examine every portion of the attic, as well as all wires and ducts, for signs of damage. In the insulation, look for animal feces, footprints, and tunnels. Furthermore, you must find the nest of baby animals in specific species such as raccoons and squirrels.

Humane Trapping and Removal Process

The most effective and humane technique to get rid of a raccoon is to use live traps. Raccoons are a rabies carrier species, hence direct capture is rarely done. A healthy captured raccoon will be relocated with written permission if it is legal. Our wildlife professionals seek assistance from a local wildlife rehabilitation organization when infants are removed from attics.

The animal can exit through a one-way door, but it cannot return. The animal normally exits into a live trap, which the technician then retrieves and releases somewhere safe and appropriate away from your property. However, there are instances when immediate contact is required, particularly when babies are around.

The process for removal may differ, but the technician will undoubtedly complete the task safely and effectively.

If a one-way door is available, the technician will work by caulking, meshing, and installing wire grates to close entry points. They’re going to leave one entry point open. They will install the one-way door through that entry point.
The technician will check to see if the animal has made its way out the door. Keep in mind that the process could take several days. The technician will take the animal to a new, safe area once it has been captured.

Habitat Modification and Raccoon Exclusion

The most effective way to keep a raccoon out of your home is to use preventative exclusion services. To avoid future raccoon access, all entry sites must be sealed after the raccoon has been removed. Making sure you don’t establish a raccoon haven outside your home can also help you avoid attracting raccoons. However, after coping with a raccoon invasion, habitat modification will become critical for prevention. Fear-inducing gadgets only work for a short time, and there are no toxicants that are regulated for raccoons.

Raccoons in the wild may not be a problem, but it’s a different thing when they decide to hang out at your house. Canine distemper, which can be dangerous to unvaccinated dogs, and rabies, which can be transferred to people and other animals, are two diseases that these mammals can carry. Furthermore, the eggs of Baylisascaris procyonis, a species of roundworm that may be exceedingly hazardous to people, are frequently found in their feces. It is not always easy to get rid of raccoons and their droppings, but there are various raccoon removal methods that can be used.

What is the best way to get rid of a raccoon?

Raccoons are protected by state law in most cases and are categorized as furbearers, which means trapping or hunting them requires a license or permit. As a result, the legality of killing a raccoon varies from state to state, and it’s a job best left to the pros. The easiest way to get rid of raccoons, like many other nuisance animals and pests, is to not invite them in the first place. Removing their food sources and making your environment less welcoming should urge any raccoons there to leave. The following raccoon control methods are recommended by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

“Do not leave pet food out on the porch.” Feed pets only as much as they can remove at one sitting and discard any leftovers. Place pet feeders in an enclosed space, such as a porch, garage, or barn, if necessary. Garbage bags and a metal can should be kept in an entryway [sic] or garage. Attach a rubber strap, rope, or soft wire to the can handles by running it through the lid. Hang the can one foot above the ground, or use a rack to attach the cans upright, to make it difficult for raccoons to remove the lids. Surround gardens with an electric fence consisting of two wires attached to an insulated post, one four inches above the ground and the other eight inches. Before the vegetables ripen, put up the fence. Block the entrances that raccoons use to get access to your attic, porch, or other site. When the raccoons go on their nighttime search for food, make a temporary cover and a permanent seal later. Sprinkle twigs, grass, or flour in the opening and look for tracks to see whether the raccoons have truly left. Caution: do not seal entrances permanently until all animals have exited the den. Look and listen for animal noises, especially in the spring.”

What is the best way to get rid of raccoon poop?

Raccoons form groups and choose one spot to use as a communal feces area, referred to as a raccoon latrine. Because raccoon poop often contains roundworm eggs, this can be a problem if that spot happens to be in your yard. The effects of the roundworm on people might vary from no symptoms to significant problems with the eyes or neurological system. This parasite is most commonly caught when people come into touch with raccoon feces or inadvertently consume contaminated water or soil. Raccoon feces have a strong odor and are often dark in color and tube-shaped. Decks and patios, attics or garages, near the base of trees, and large rocks or woodpiles are all common latrine locations. These cleanup methods are recommended by the Centers for Disease Control in a factsheet on raccoon latrines.

“Be careful not to contaminate your hands or clothes.” Put on a pair of disposable gloves. To avoid bringing eggs into your home, use scrub-able rubber boots or cover your shoes with disposable booties that can be thrown away. If you’re working in a confined place, put on a N95-rated respirator (available at local hardware stores) to avoid accidentally ingesting eggs or other dangerous items. … [Outdoors] Raccoon feces and contaminated feces should be removed (with a shovel or an inverted plastic bag) and burned, buried, or packed and thrown away at a landfill. Roundworm eggs are not killed by most chemicals, however they are killed instantaneously by heat. Boiling water or a propane torch can be used to clean feces-soiled decks, patios, and other surfaces. Boiling water should be used to disinfect hard, flat surfaces (including shovel blades). Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm running water to further lower the risk of infection. Use hot water and detergent to completely clean/launder your clothes.”

When prevention isn’t enough

If preventative methods fail, there are a variety of raccoon traps on the market. Traps, on the other hand, frequently require a permit, and the animals must subsequently be released in a safe, unpopulated region. When raccoons have infested your home, it is usually preferable to hire a professional. Call a professional today to get rid of raccoons the correct way. They provide wildlife control plans to remove you in removing raccoons and keeping them out of your home.