Raccoons Removal – How to Keep Raccoons Out of Your Home

Raccoons can cause significant damage, especially if they invade your house or business. Their feces and urine contain harmful bacteria and other pathogens.

They may also leave a mess in your garden or trash cans. Licensed nuisance wildlife control persons can trap, remove and clean up after them. They can also install one-way doors to prevent future invasions. To learn more, visit https://www.rodentretreattexas.com/.

Raccoons can cause serious damage to attics if they move in. Their droppings can contaminate insulation, ruin drywall and stain wood, and create a terrible odor that lingers for a long time. They also carry a host of diseases including rabies, canine distemper, leptospirosis and raccoon roundworm that can affect pets or humans. If you hear thudding and rustling in the attic, a female raccoon with a litter of young is likely living there. She will have to be removed before the babies die of starvation or rot in an unattended nest.

The simplest way to make raccoons leave on their own is to make them uncomfortable in their home. Keeping easy food sources like trash cans and pet feeders closed, and removing wood piles that can provide shelter are a good start. The most effective approach is to use a professional wildlife control company that can handle both pests and wild animals. Many local companies have a division that specializes in wildlife.

While some homeowners try to trap raccoons themselves, it’s generally better left to the professionals. Trapping a raccoon is a dangerous job, and it requires special equipment to catch the animal without harming it. Once a trap is set, it’s necessary to block possible entry points with 16-gauge wire mesh and metal flashing. The raccoon’s den must also be destroyed, which may require a roof rescue.

If you suspect a raccoon is living in your chimney, call a wildlife specialist to come remove it. It’s a dangerous job that will probably require the pro to manually remove the chimney cap and dig under the bricks to search for the mother raccoon and her babies.

When raccoons become residents in an attic, it is usually because there are a litter of babies in the nest, or a pregnant female is looking for a safe denning site away from her babies. She’ll often destroy soffits, shingle, siding and mushroom vents to gain access to the roof. Once inside, they’ll tear up insulation and change the structure of the attic to suit their needs. They will also urinate and defecate in various areas of the attic, which ruins insulation and can be very unpleasant to live with.

Walls

Most modern houses have wall cavities, and they are used to provide insulation, soundproofing, and other purposes. While these cavities are usually small, raccoons can still enter and use them as their dens. They may also make their way into the walls to give birth or raise their babies. This is why it’s important to monitor these spaces for signs of raccoons, such as noises or a foul smell.

When a raccoon has found its way into the wall cavity, it will usually make scratching sounds while attempting to leave. If the raccoons are not successful in getting out, they will probably try to push their way back out through the hole, and this can lead to a lot of damage to the property. The scratching sounds can be heard by the occupants of the house, and they can be very irritating.

It’s not uncommon for raccoons to enter homes’ attics, chimneys, and walls to give birth and raise their young. As they move around, they will create a trail of urine and droppings, which can be very messy and unpleasant to deal with. If left unattended, these deposits can also cause serious health problems for the homeowners.

The best way to deal with this situation is to call a raccoon removal company as soon as possible. The professionals can locate the raccoon and remove it safely without causing more damage. They will also seal the openings in the walls, cracks and broken vents to prevent raccoons from entering in the future.

While raccoons are not aggressive, they can still bite if they are trapped in tight places or by people who are unfamiliar with handling wild animals. This is why it’s recommended to hire a professional for raccoons removal in the wall cavity. They can use thick gloves to minimize contact with the animal, which will reduce the chances of a bite. They will also use cages to contain the animal after it is caught, which will keep it safe from harm.

It’s also important to note that raccoons often gnaw on electrical wires and pipes, which can cause a fire. Therefore, it’s imperative to take prompt action to remove the raccoons from the walls and repair the damage that they caused.

Chimney

As cities grow and forests shrink, mother raccoons must find new places to raise their babies. Chimneys often look like safe den spots and make ideal home for young raccoons. The critters can move in, take refuge and avoid predators that are better able to climb up high.

If a mother raccoon feels threatened, she may attack. This is why you should never try to get a raccoon out of the chimney yourself, and call a professional wildlife removal expert instead. A trained animal control specialist will use a long chimney snare pole or other specialized device to grab the animals and bring them out. This should be done without starting a fire, as it will cause smoke to rush into the house and scare the raccoons away.

The most common reason for a raccoon to live in a chimney is that it is in the middle of an ongoing foraging and food search. Raccoons are natural-born climbers and a chimney offers them a great place to escape from predators that aren’t as good at climbing up high.

A raccoon in the chimney may be looking for a place to nest, or it could have gotten in there looking for shelter. In the latter case, a professional will carefully inspect the critter and determine what it needs to do to stay out of the chimney. They will also remove any debris that has fallen down the flue, and then cap the chimney to keep it from re-entry.

Unlike an attic, there isn’t much for a raccoon to damage inside a chimney. The critter will defecate, but it’s easy to clean up afterward. Rather than trying to force them out, you can usually wait until the young raccoons are older and ready to leave on their own.

A professional wildlife removal expert will have a special trapping system that mounts right on top of the chimney flue. This trap will have a pole-and-trap system that forces the adult raccoon to go upwards into the trap and out of the chimney. Once they have moved on, a wildlife control professional will seal the chimney and prevent it from being re-used by the raccoons.

Yard

Raccoons are cute until they begin rummaging in your garbage or digging up your yard. These wild animals are looking for three things: food, water and shelter. If they can’t find what they need, they’ll move on. You can help keep raccoons out of your property by making it less welcoming. Keep trash cans securely tied and away from trees. If you put out a bird feeder, remove it after the birds finish eating. Do not place pet food outside. And make sure that compost piles have secure lids. You can also discourage raccoons from entering your vegetable garden by putting up an electric fence around the garden, especially before vegetables begin ripening.

If raccoons do make their way into your yard, you can try to frighten them back out by making a loud noise, walking quietly behind them with a broom or vacuum cleaner or putting a trail of marshmallows, cheese bits or fig bars in front of them. Alternatively, sprinkle a band of flour in front of any openings to see their footprints if they are leaving. You can also use a motion-activated scare device, such as a solar-powered deer/raccoon-deterrent device that emits a high-pitched sound when triggered by an intruder.

Another option is to contact a professional pest control company that deals with wildlife. They will likely have a division that specializes in large mammals. These companies typically charge more than an insect-only pest control company, but the price is well worth it to have a raccoon problem handled professionally.

In addition to the cost of raccoons removal, you may need to spend money on cleaning up the mess they leave behind. You’ll need bags for raccoon poop, and you might have to repair some damage, such as chewed wires that must be replaced or a hole in the side of your home that needs to be patched. You might also need a good supply of repellents and other materials to block the raccoons from returning.