Suburban Raccoons

Bylaws & Raccoons – We have had raccoons in our attic for 6 months this past spring until I hired a company to help me get rid of them. If you would like to hear more about this experience as well as about raccoons, go to our main index page. Also, check local Bylaws Regarding Raccoons in your area to ensure that you do not break the law by mistake. It turns out that you are not supposed to take them very far away from their habitat, even if this habitat is in suburbia.

Bylaws & Raccoons – Serious Business

A lot of people at this point are saying that I must be joking. Who would enact a law like that and why? Well, it turns out that there are a lot of municipalities that have these laws. We are not sure why, but we really think it is ridiculous, but even if you do take them a long way away, this action will not solve your problem.

Can you believe that the Bylaws Regarding Raccoons in our area actually say that if you trap a raccoon, you have to release them within two blocks of where you caught the raccoon! We all know what this means. The next night they will be right back where they started, in your attic!  While this sounds ridiculous and it is, there is actually a good reason for this approach.

What Good Reason Could There Possibly Be

You have to know something about raccoons to help you appreciate this bylaw. It actually does not matter if you drop them off 2 blocks away or 100 miles away. You will have another family of raccoons move into the old den before you know it, hence why bother dropping them so far away. At least this is the logic of the city where we live. Here is a little information about why this makes so much sense.

In many urban areas, there are 20 families of raccoons per square mile. That is really a lot of raccoons. In suburbia, there is lots of food and there are lots o homes for them to move into.  They each will have 4 to 5 dens in the area that they reside in. It is almost as if they were a rich family and liked to have multiple homes and cottages to move around too. And they like to move around.

They are able to distinguish between a den that is in use vs. one that is not and move right in. So even if you take your trapped raccoons 100 miles away, another family will move in shortly and take up their new home much to your annoyance. You might get lucky and not have any move in for 6 months, but it is a guarantee that there will be another family in your house unless you do something to prevent them from getting into your house.

What Can You Do About the Raccoons

The Bylaws Regarding Raccoons was enacted to get people to focus on deterring them from coming into your attic etc. in the first place. So first make sure that they are out of the den, including any young ones. Place a  strong wire mesh securely fastened to the entrance so they cannot get back in and then complete repairs.

If you do not make sure that the babies are out, the mother will literally tear your roof apart in order to get to them. Even if you have to wait until the baby raccoons are old enough to travel, it is definitely worth it.

There is also a chemical spray that can be used to deodorized and remove the scent of the raccoons which attracts them in the first place. Do not go into the attic without protection. Breathing the small particles created by dried feces can cause sickness and even death.

Hire professionals to remove the insulation and repair all damage. They will have the right equipment to get rid of the raccoon smell and plug any and all potential entrances. So much for Bylaws Regarding Raccoons that restrict you from taking them more than two miles away. It actually makes sense. Click here for more details about bylaw issues.

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