Suburban Raccoons


Raccoon Behaviour

September 22nd, 2022 ernie Posted in Deterrants, Raccoon Removal $, Raccoons in the Attic, Removing Raccoons No Comments »

Raccoons exist in virtually every city across North America and these pesky animals have adapated to living in dense urban environments as well as in suburbia. There is generally abundant food for them available in our yards and especially on garbage day. most people believe they are friendly and cute and should be protected. However once consumers have to deal with a family living in the attic of their home, it is another story. undrestanding raccoon behaviour can help a great deal in preventing problems with these resourceful animals.

Raccoons can climb walls, trees and even downspouts to reach the roof of your home. They know how to puch up the soffit to gain access to your attic where it is warm and protected from the cold weather, rain and snow. Your attic is a great place for them to have their babies and raise them until they are old enough to travel outside the den.

Raccoons can do a great deal of damage. The insulation will be soaked in urine, there are feces everywhere and there is an entrance to the attic which can allow other rodents, birds, and rain to penetrate potentially causing further damage. Raccoons will have at least four dens and travel back and forth depending on food sources and the stage of their pups.

How to Avoid Raccoons In your Attic

Once they are in the attic, the best way to remove them is to install a one-way trap door which lets them out but not back in. after they have left, remove the one-way trap door, make repairs to the entrance and cover the spot with heavy gauge wire mesh to prevent their return. Trapping is a waste of time. Other raccoons will smell the den, check it out, and move in at a later time.

Be proactive and have all potential openings to your attic covered in wire mesh before they move in, especially if you are aware of raccoons in the neighborhood.

Do not leave dog or cat food outside where they can get at it. Place all of your garbage in raccoon-proof containers to avoid providing them with a food source and also spilling the contents of your garbage all over your driveway.

Raccoons love grubs on your lawn and will dig up the grubs which make a mess of the lawn. Treat your lawn to remove all of the grubs, which will improve your lawn as well.

 

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Removing Raccoons – What you Need to Know

January 21st, 2015 ernie Posted in Raccoon Removal $ No Comments »

removing-raccoonsMany consumers try a do it yourself approach to removing raccoons. If they have gotten into the attic or somewhere else in their home it can be a big problem. There certainly is no reason you cannot do this job by yourself. You can save money by not hiring a professional, however, there are lots of thing s that consumers need to know when removing raccoons. We review some of the main items that will not only protect your health, but also keep you from being arrested, and make your job easier as well. Being prepared will make sure that you get them out, they stay out and your home is not damaged further. In addition, your health will not be compromised. Health issues are serious and should be considered before trying to remove them yourself.

Removing Raccoons – Health Issues

Always wear a face mask that protects you from breathing dust particles that are stirred up when going into the attic or the den. Raccoons are infected with microscopic worms. These worms can cause lots of problems for humans even death. You really need to protect yourself with a mask and proper clothing.

They also bite and scratch, so make sure that you are also wearing protective clothing and gloves.  Adult raccoons can be quite ferocious and will defend themselves. In rare cases, they could also be infected with rabies and you do not want to risk being bitten by an infected raccoon.

Removing Raccoons – Be Aware of Local Bylaws

In many areas, cities and towns will have local bylaws designed to prevent cruelty to animals including raccoons that live in your home. You cannot kill them or mistreat them. If you trapped them with a live animal trap you cannot let them out any further than a mile away from your home. Raccoons with babies that are younger than 6 weeks must be left n place. If you remove young pups they must be placed in a box outside with water so the parents can find them and take them away. People have been arrested and charged for not following these bylaws. If you are faced with this situation you will be angry and upset. Take a moment to think the situation through and then follow the laws and do the right thing.

Removing Raccoons – Keeping them Out

By far the best way to keep raccoons out is first to install a one-way trap door over the entrance so that they get out but not back in. Once they are out to remove the trap door. Then install heavy gauge wire mesh over the entrance so that they can never get back in. Cover all other potential entrances at the same time. If you do not block the entrance, even though they have been removed another family or even the same family of raccoons will just move back in. Keep the raccoons out on a permanent basis by doing the job right in the first place. Trapping is really a waste of time and money.

You may also have to remove the insulation inside your home if they have been there for a while. The insulation will be soaked with urine and there will be lots of feces or raccoon scat lying around. Hire experts to dispose of it properly and avoid getting infected yourself.

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Catching Raccoons

March 21st, 2014 ernie Posted in Raccoon Removal $ No Comments »

catching raccoonsWhy would you really want to catch raccoons? Catching raccoons can be a dangerous messy business. Let’s assume that you use a live animal trap and you were successful in luring an adult raccoon into the live animal trap. This is actually pretty difficult since they are very intelligent animals and know enough to stay out of these traps.

Now you have a very upset raccoon that weighs between 20 and 40 pounds. This raccoon is snarling, biting, and clawing at anything that comes close. He is desperately trying to get out of the trap and he’s scared. Everyone knows that a trapped animal will fight for his life. Even a rabbit will snarl and hiss and claw if it is cornered.

Raccoons can be Dangerous

Raccoons are much more dangerous than rabbits! They have sharp teeth, and sharp claws that can do a lot of damage if you place your hands too close to the live animal trap. Even just the act of picking up the trap using the carrying handle might be enough to get scratched badly. They have a lot of diseases and infections can transfer very easily. Many raccoons may be infected with rabies. Rabies can be given to humans causing serious consequences for anyone bitten by a rabid raccoon.

What is the best way to deal with raccoons?

As it turns out you do not want to catch raccoons at all. The best way to deal with raccoons that are in your attic is to install a one-way trapdoor. They can get out of the den but not back in. Install heavy gauge wire mesh over all other potential entrances. Even if they get out of the den through the one-way trapdoor they cannot find another way to get back into the den.

You also must make sure that the babies, if there are babies, are able to travel on their own. They need to get out of the one-way trapdoor. If the raccoon babies are left inside the den with no access by the parents, the parents have been known to literally tear the roof apart or tear a building apart in order to rescue their young. They are very loyal parents and will do anything to get to the babies who by this time will be crying for their parents.

Consumers with this problem really have two choices. One is to wait until the babies are old enough to travel on their own and have been observed outside the den. At this point, you can safely install a one-way trapdoor and know that the raccoon babies will be able to exit with no problem. The second approach is to install a one-way trapdoor and make sure that the adults have left the den. At this point, you can go inside the den, pick up the babies and take them outside and give them to the adults. If you do take this approach make sure that you wear adequate breathing protection to avoid ingesting any bacteria that could be floating in the air.

Safety Concerns when Catching Raccoons

Make sure that you disinfect all of your clothing. Take a shower after having left the den to avoid the transfer of infection from the raccoons to yourself. Leaving the babies to die inside the den is not an option. If the raccoon parents do not rescue them while ruining your roof etc., then you will have a very bad smell from the rotting carcasses of the baby raccoons. This is certainly not pleasant and could ruin your house.

Hopefully, you’ve understood that catching raccoons is not a satisfactory approach. They’re much simpler, better, and long-term solutions to catching raccoons. Installing a one-way is a permanent solution to keep raccoons and other animals out of your house and other buildings.

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Removing Raccoons

October 21st, 2013 ernie Posted in Raccoon Removal $ 1 Comment »

Removing RaccoonsIf you have raccoons living in your home or in one of your outbuildings, the best way of Removing Raccoons is to install a one-way trapdoor over the opening so that they can get out of wherever they are living and not back in. This is the best way to remove raccoons and there are a number of solid reasons for this approach.

Why Trap Doors for Removing Raccoons

Otherwise, if you try to trap them, or poison, or use loud noises they’re just going to come back again. Either the one you removed or a new family that will move in. They will move in within a few weeks of getting rid of the raccoons that you had in your home. Roving raccoons are always on the lookout for a safe, dry, and warm den to settle into. In fact, many raccoon families will have at least 4 or 5 dens they can go to. This depends where they end up at the end of a nights foraging. Installing the trapdoor prevents all raccoons from getting back into your house.

We also suggest that you place heavy gauge chicken wire over all other potential openings that the raccoons could enter. This will also prevent squirrels and birds from getting into your house or into any of your outbuildings in the same way. You do not want any of these animals to be in your home in your attic. Or in any of the buildings around your house. They leave feces in your attic. They routinely make a mess of everything they get into. Deal with your issue quickly before too much damage has been done.

Use Heavy Gauge Chicken Wire

The heavy gauge chicken wire is one of the most effective ways to keep raccoons from getting into your home. Or any other animal for that matter. It is easy to install this heavy gauge chicken wire over all potential openings. Do this before raccoons get into your home.

Screw nailing the wire into the roof or anywhere where there is a potential for rain water to penetrate can be an issue. We suggest using silicone caulking that is suitable for outdoors and will not be affected by cold or heat or damp conditions. Before you screw the nail into the roof, place a dab of silicone over the spot where you plan to insert the screw nail. Then cover the area after the screwnail has been inserted into your roof. This will avoid rain water leaking into your attic causing further damage.

What if there are Baby Raccoons?

Well, this is a major problem for some people. If you block the adults from getting into their den inside your home, one of two things is going to happen. The young pups are either going to die inside your attic and cause a bad smell or the adults are going to tear your roof a part trying to rescue them. This is why it is so important to deal with the issue immediately before babies are born. Once they are born you almost have to wait until they are old enough to travel on their own and can get out by themselves. Otherwise you risk a lot more damage to your attic.

This can be a major issue for many people. If there is a lot of damage, you may have to remove all of the insulation and place new insulation in your attic. In addition, special arrangements must be made for disposal to avoid contamination and disease spreading to the people who are removing the insulation and dried feces. Refer to one of our other posts about dealing with raccoon feces.

You do not want to deal with the mess the raccoons will create in your home. Install the chicken wire as a preventative measure before any raccoons or any other animals find their way into your home. Estimates of the cost to do this varies a great deal depending on the number of potential entrances and whether raccoons are already inside your home.

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Free Raccoon Removal

September 7th, 2013 ernie Posted in Raccoon Removal $ No Comments »

Free Raccoon RemovalThere is no such thing as free raccoon removal! First of all there is all of he damage they cause to your home or wherever they have their den. Depending on how quickly you notice the problem and how quickly you deal with the issue, they can leave a lot of feces in the attic on the insulation and make a real mess of the attic. There is also the issue of the damage they did getting into the attic which must also be repaired to prevent other animals from getting in and to prevent rain or snow as well from getting into your home. This picture shows a particularly bad mess and is not something that most homeowners would want to deal with. This is not going to be Free Raccoon Removal, in fact it will be very expensive.

Getting Rid of the Raccoons

2nd, you will either purchase a trap to get rid of them or hire someone to get rid of them for you. Buying a trap can cost anywhere from $50 to $100 for a humane animal trap and although you may be lucky enough to remove the raccoons, there is still the damage they did to repair as previously discussed. If you do not do the repairs properly another family is just going to move in and you get to do this all over again.

At least you still have the trap. The right way to get rid of raccoons is to install a one-way trap door so they can get out and not back in. Once you are sure they are out, then remove the trap door and install heavy gauge chicken wire over the opening so no others can get in either. Make sure that the babies are old enough to travel, because the parents will literally tear your roof apart to rescue them if they are left inside.

If you do not hire the right person to get rid of them in the right manner they of other raccoons are coming back to cause more damage and more removal cost as well.

Install One Way Trap Doors

Make sure they use a one way trap door so they can get out of the den and not back in. You want a permanent solution and this is the one to use no matter what you read on the internet or anyone tries to tell you. We have seen people try to trap them and find that they end up just having to pay someone to come over again and repeat the process. With the damage and the removal costs, it can get expensive. If you plan to trap them yourself, imagine a mad spitting adult raccoon weight 20 pounds or more in a trap. I certainly do not want to come anywhere near a trap that has one of these raccoons in it.

With the wire mesh approach, you can cover all possible areas with the heavy gauge wire mesh so that raccoons, birds and squirrels will not get into any of the usual areas. Birds like to make nests in air vents from the bathroom for example or the kitchen fan exhaust vent. Don’t bother waiting to go and cover these right now with a wire mesh to prevent them from making a nest inside the vent. You can do the same thing with toilet vents to the roof. But the main thing is to cover any possible area where the raccoons can get into your attic, since they are the ones that will cause the most damage. Use screw nails to hold the wire mesh in place and seal the area around the screws with outdoor waterproof caulking.

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Raccoon Removal

June 21st, 2013 ernie Posted in Raccoon Removal $ No Comments »

raccoon removalRaccoon removal can be a very frustrating activity unless you really know what you are doing. The owner of this trap was lucky enough to capture this raccoon in a live humane animal trap. He will probably take the raccoon out into the country somewhere to let it go. We hope that he does not get scratched or bitten in the process of moving the trap. Or letting the raccoon go. When they are mad they can be quite vicious. A snarling biting raccoon is not something you want to fool with unless you are well prepared. He also appears to have caught one of the pups as well in this trap.

It is usually very difficult to capture any raccoon in a trap. Let alone the parent and one of the pups. They are very intelligent and will avoid these traps like the plague. But the sad part of this story is that the owner of this trap has not really solved his raccoon problem. He will just have to continue trapping and dealing with raccoons getting into his attic.

Raccoon Removal

The problem with raccoon removal in this manner is that consumers are just dealing with one raccoon. There probably is another adult raccoon since they live in pairs. There may also be cubs that are hiding away somewhere as well that should be dealt with. Good luck trapping the rest after they have seen what happens when you go inside one of these traps. Raccoons are very smart and learn quickly.

In addition even if you are lucky enough to get rid of these raccoons, there are many other families of raccoons in your area. They are just waiting to move into a vacated den. They like to have 4 or 5 dens to travel around to. Raccoons can somehow tell when a den is not being used. They will be more raccoons in your attic within a few months. Unless you do something about the entrance to the den it self.

Then there is the damage they caused. If they have been in there for any length of time, they may have left feces or raccoon scat in the attic The insulation will also be compressed and generally made a mess. Most consumers may not even be aware of this issue. It is a good idea to check on the status of your attic after you have removed them from your home.

the Best Approach

Really the best way to deal with raccoon removal is to install a one way trap door over the entrance to the den. This will allow the raccoons to exit through the one way door, but not get back in. Once you are confident that all of the raccoons are out, then you can remove the one way trap door. Install a permanent heavy gauge wire mesh over the opening after you have properly repaired the entrance. Make sure that the young pups if there are any are old enough to travel. They need to get out on their own. If not they will either die inside your home or the adults will make another hole into your home to rescue their youngsters.

This is by far the best way to deal with raccoon removal. They will be permanently kept out of your home and although you might even see them investigating to see why they cannot get back in, that is about all they will do. Pretty soon they will give up and head off to one of your neighbors to see if they can get into their homes attic. You may want to warn your neighbors as well if they have homes that appear to be good candidates for raccoons to get into. On our street, almost every home has had a problem with raccoons and most have had to resort to the heavy gauge chicken wire solution.

While you are installing this heavy gauge wire mesh over the opening, also take the time to cover any other potential areas that they might be able to get into. This will protect against birds and squirrels as well.

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Raccoon Removal

April 21st, 2013 ernie Posted in Raccoon Removal $ No Comments »

Raccoon RemovalRaccoon Removal when they are in your attic or perhaps inside your cottage or some other building can be pretty daunting for a lot of people. They might have climbed the brick wall to get to the eaves, then pushed the soffit up so they can crawl inside your attic to get warm in the wintertime and to have their babies in a safe warm dark place. They might be happy and content, but the homeowner sure is not.

Raccoon removal and prevention is best left to the professionals. If you have raccoons in your neighborhood, now is the time to take the steps necessary to keep them out before they gain entrance and do a lot of damage. Install heavy gauge wire mesh across all potential openings. Screw nail it into the roof and the eaves and use silicone over the screws to prevent any water leaks around the screw nails.

Raccoon Removal When They are in Your Attic

If they are already inside your attic, you have a bigger problem. Deal with it as soon as you know they are in there and before they have babies. Once they have babies you are just going to have to wait until the young are old enough to travel and get around by themselves. Some consumers will try trapping the parents with a humane trap and they take them several miles away to let them out. I do not know about you, but I do not want to get bitten or scratched by an angry snarling adult raccoon. As well if they do have babies, they are going to die in your attic, and now you have a mess with a smell as well which is not pleasant as well. Besides, it is not very humane.

Wait until they are old enough

Wait till they are old enough and then install a one-way trap door so that they all can get out by themselves and not back into your attic. Once they are all out, remove the trap door and install a permanent wire cover over the entrance so that no raccoons can ever enter your attic again.

You will see their tracks in the snow in the wintertime when they have come calling hoping to get inside. But the wire mesh will stop them cold and you will have no more problems with raccoons unless they are getting into your garbage at night.

Raccoon Removal – Hire a Professional

Some consumers who are handymen may install this wire mesh themselves. If you are handy and have no problem getting up onto a roof then by all means do the work and save yourself some money. On the other hand, if you do not have the tools or are uneasy about getting up on the roof, you are better off hiring someone who has the equipment to keep them safe and who will do the installation in a professional manner protecting your roof from water leaks as well.

If any company plans to try to trap the raccoons, find another company. They are just wasting your time, their time, and your money. Unless you stop the raccoons from entering the attic, which they consider home, and have established a den, they or other families will just keep coming back again and again.

Installation

Installing the wire mesh is a great long-term solution that meets all humane issues and city bylaw issues as well. Some cities and towns have bylaws that prevent the transportation of live-trapped animals more than a mile from where they were trapped. If you let them out of the trap that closes to your home they will be back within days. They will move right back into your place. If you poison them, many people do not consider it to be humane and you take the chance of poisoning family pets, other animals, and your neighbor’s pets.

Definitely not a good situation to get into and one to avoid. If you are in an urban area or in an area with homes or cottages nearby, shooting them is also not an option. Once you have thought about these options, most people come to the conclusion that keeping them out on a permanent basis is by far the best approach.

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Raccoon Removal Attic

February 21st, 2013 ernie Posted in Raccoon Removal $ No Comments »

Raccoon Removal AtticOur neighbor just found that raccoons were in his attic and he acted immediately to get them out which probably saved him a great deal of money. Raccoon Removal Attic They got up on a small roof, pushed the soffit up and crawled into the attic crawl space over his living room. This was beside his son’s bedroom just like what is shown in the picture. The kids could hear these sounds coming from the attic. Some bumping and scratching sounds coming from the other side of the wall, as they made themselves a home and moved the insulation around.

It was loud enough to wake them up at night with all of their movements. This usually took place around 5 in the morning after they return from an all night session of foraging for food. Raccoons are primarily nocturnal animals and look for food at night. They will come out of their dens around dusk and return prior to sunrise.

How to Arrange for Raccoon Removal Attic

We have a problem with raccoons in the neighborhood and they have been into almost every house on the street. So when they got into his house, our neighbor had lots of advice on the best way to deal with them and keep them out of the house as well on a permanent basis. These urban raccoons climb up the brick onto the roof and then were a second roof comes down to meet the first they punch up the soffit and in they go. They seem to pass this information down from generation to generation, because they have been getting into houses on our street for years.

As soon as someone finds that they have this problem, they call the animal control people and they come out to install a one way trap door made of heavy gauge wire mesh over the opening so that they can get out of the attic but not back in. Raccoons are nocturnal, so they are usually in the attic when this trap door is installed. They come out at night and find that they cannot get back in the following morning. I guess at that point they have to scramble a bit to find some other place to stay for the day. I did read somewhere that they will have three or four dens that they move around to, so maybe they just go to one of the other dens when they cannot get into the first one.

Make Sure That there are No Baby Raccoons

Baby raccoons are usually born in the spring in the north, however in warmer climates; raccoons may have more than one family a year. Either way you must make sure that the babies are old enough to travel on their own and can get out through the one way trap door on their own. If they cannot, they will remain inside calling for their parents who will respond and try to find a way back into the den. Raccoon parents are extremely loyal and will do almost anything to get to their young. This can include literally tearing your roof apart to find an opening to rescue their babies.

If you think that there are babies inside you are just going to have to wait until they are old enough or install the trap door, get the parents out and then go into the attic and get the babies out by hand. We do not recommend this ever. First of all you are going to have one angry set of parent raccoons that can be quite vicious when they want to be. Secondly, by this time your attic is going to be pretty dirty and smelly and thirdly, raccoons can carry a number of diseases that can be dangerous to humans.

Replace the Insulation

You may have to arrange for a special team to come in and remove the insulation and the remnants of the raccoons living in the attic. These people will wear special protective clothing and air masks to prevent them from contacting any of these diseases.

This is by far the best way to remove raccoons from the attic and to also prevent other families of raccoons from entering your attic ever again. It is humane, the least intrusive and the least dangerous for you and your family. The cost can be around $400 to $700 depending on the home, however this is far less than the cost of replacing all of the insulation and cleaning your attic.

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Raccoon Removal Cost

February 7th, 2013 ernie Posted in Raccoon Removal $ No Comments »

The cost to remove raccoons from your attic can be minimized if you act immediately as soon as you find that they have invaded your attic. If you ignore the Raccoon Removal Costproblem and do nothing until it becomes too big a problem. Raccoon Removal Cost and the cleanup is going to cost thousands of dollars. You may even have to replace all of the insulation in your attic. This is due to the urine and feces that they leave behind. Not to mention damage from rain or snow getting in through the entrance to their den in your attic.

Consumers will try a variety of solutions to get rid of the raccoons, prior to calling in the experts to remove raccoons.  There are many different solutions and none of them work at all.

Here is a shortlist:

  • Playing loud music in the attic
  • Placing mothballs in the attic
  • Trapping the raccoons with a humane animal trap
  • Poisoning the raccoons, risking danger to pets, and also rotting raccoon bodies in the attic
  • Chasing them
  • And a host of things.

None of these solutions work and if you spend time trying them, the raccoons are just going about their business, making a mess of your attic and ignoring your attempts. There will be more feces in your attic, there may even be babies born in the attic and they will do more damage to the insulation which in the end is going to cost you more in heating costs as well as cleanup costs.

Raccoon Removal Cost

The Correct Way to get rid of Raccoons and the Raccoon Removal Costs

Hire an animal removal company that places wire mesh over all potential entrances to your attic. The main entrance should have a one-way trap door in place so that the raccoon can get out of your attic, but not back in. We actually saw this solution just this week on our street and it works perfectly. The raccoons were only in the attic for a couple of days and then they were prevented from getting in again by this one trap door.

The company placed this trap door at the entrance, screw nailed heavy gauge wire mesh to the roof at this location, and three other locations where they might be able to enter. In a few weeks, they will come back and remove the trap door and place a permanent wire covering over this entrance so that they can never get in again.

The cost for this solution, which is permanent, was $450 plus tax and well worth the money. If this homeowner had waited, they would have had to remove all of the insulation and add new insulation to the entire attic costing thousands of dollars. $450 is a deal in this case and a permanent solution!

Services Provided

These companies provide a great service and the charges are based on the number of openings that raccoons might use to get into your home. While they are there, you may as well arrange to have an spots where birds or squirrels could also gain entrance. Might as well get the job done right, while they are there. Cover all vents including air vents that vent air from the attic, vents from the bathrooms, and from the fan over the stove. You do not want birds building nests in these places. Our cost for all of these, about six in all was $600!

Does Insurance Cover Part of the Raccoon Removal Cost

It really depends on the insurance company you deal with and whether they will cover damage caused by raccoons. In our case, there was a specific clause that precludes any damage from animals, including raccoon damage. So in our case, we had to pay 100% of the cleanup cost and also the cost of the animal removal company.

In case you thinking of doing this work yourself, make sure that you use heavy gauge wire mesh as a barrier to the entrance to the den. Also, use waterproof silicone around all of the screw nails to prevent any water from leaking into your attic through or around the holes you make with the screw nails. The last thing you want is more damage, especially from water leaking into your home.

Act quickly to minimize the damage and the cost. You can arrange all of the repairs and the prevention for under $700 in most cases. It is well worth the money and much better than spending thousands.

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Is Damage from Raccoons Covered by Insurance

December 21st, 2011 ernie Posted in Raccoon Removal $ 1 Comment »

Is Damage from Raccoons Covered by InsuranceThe answer is probably “No”, for most people. I do know that for my own insurance company. They would not pay for damage from raccoons done to our home by raccoons getting into our attic.  We had them in for about 2 months and they damaged the soffit as well as it cost me $600 to have someone come over and install heavy gauge wire mesh over all of the openings to ensure that they could not get back in. This company also installed a trap door so they could get out of our attic but not back in.

Once they were out of the attic, they removed the trap door and covered the opening with the wire mesh so they could not get back in. Fortunately, they did not do the damage shown here in this picture.  Damage from Raccoons can be much more significant than just spending $600. You can just imagine what the inside of the attic looks like.

Home Insurance – Damage from Raccoons

The home insurance we have is pretty good. We have had other claims for water damage and they were excellent, however, damage done by raccoons and the cost to block them from doing more damage is not covered and they do not provide any kind of coverage where wild animals are involved. I was a little upset, but at least it was only $600 to have the repairs completed and the wire mesh installed. I spoke to one of the supervisors from my insurance company and they point to a specific clause that had been there all of the time, which I had not seen or read. Sure enough, it was there and they do not cover damages done by raccoons or other wild animals such as squirrels, etc.

Check your Insurance Coverage for Damages done by Raccoons

So check your own insurance coverage for your home to see if damage by raccoons is excluded or not. Either way, you must get them out of your attic and you must stop them from coming back. Even if the den is vacant another family of raccoons will just move in. So killing the raccoons or trapping them and taking them far away just does not work. It also might be illegal in your city or town as well, depending on the bylaws. It is illegal in our city. Do not procrastinate, the damage they do will just get worse.

Why Use Heavy Gauge Wire Mesh

You cannot prevent all the raccoons in your area from trying to get into your home. There are a lot of them almost everywhere and once they can smell a den, they can tell if it is occupied or vacant and they know it is home, even though it is your home. Killing them one by one or trapping them one by one will be a never-ending job. There are more of them than you can trap and they will come back year after year.

Using the wire mesh will prevent them from actually getting into your home. They will try. We have seen tracks in the snow on our roof since we installed this heavy gauge wire mesh. But they cannot get into our attic anymore! Unfortunately, most insurance companies will not cover this solution or the damage that the raccoons cause. You need to make sure they cannot get back into your home to limit the damage they can do.

Please refer to some of our other posts to read more about the process of using and installing wire mesh. If you do it at the wrong time you risk more damage and a lot more frustration, which again the damage from the raccoons is not covered by your insurance company. For example, if the young pups are left inside the adults will literally take your roof apart trying to rescue their young. You may have to wait until they are old enough to travel before installing this one-way trap door.

Comments are welcome! For lots more information about damage from raccoons and how to deal with it, click here.

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Insurance Coverage for Damage from Raccoons

December 7th, 2011 ernie Posted in Raccoon Removal $ 1 Comment »

Insurance Coverage for Damage from RaccoonsIt is one thing to find out that you have raccoons in your attic or somewhere else in your home, but then you find out that the damage they caused is not covered by your home insurance, at least not in our case! We were furious that we had this problem of raccoons in our attic to start with. We focused on getting them out and blocking them from ever getting back in. But once we had a solution, we made repairs. Our home insurance coverage does not cover damages caused by raccoons. There was this small paragraph that was part of the fine print. It denied any coverage for damage caused by rodents and specifically raccoons. It turns out that Insurance Coverage for Damage from Raccoons is not available from many companies.

Now maybe we do not have home insurance from the right company. But if you are reading this and you have a raccoon problem, do not assume that your home insurance covers you. Call your insurance company right away. Find out if you are covered or not. Better to know as soon as possible rather than after all of the work is done and you have a large bill to pay. Ours would not cover the damage. Or even the repairs that would keep them out permanently. We did the right job of removing them, as you will read later in this post.

What did it Cost to Keep Them Out

In our case, it was not too bad. The cost for someone to come and install heavy-duty wire mesh across all potential openings in our attic was $600. It could have been worse. It took him a couple of hours and he came back one more time, which I will explain a little bit later. So for two trips, it costs $300 a trip. We have not had any problems since. He also repaired the entrance for us under the eave of one of our home’s roofs. I guess it is worth it. However, knowing what he did, I could have done the work myself. The cost would have been maybe $25 in materials. So if you are handy and not afraid of getting on the roof, here is what you do.

What is the Solution to Keep the Raccoons Out?

First, you block all possible entrances with strong gauge chicken wire, screw nailed into the roof, and sealed so water cannot get in.  There is no way raccoons and squirrels will get past this.

This is important. If the raccoons have babies in your attic, you must wait until they are mobile and leave the den independently. If you do not, they will either die in there, stink up your house, etc., or the parent raccoons will tear your roof apart to return to the den to their young. Wait until they are old enough to travel on their own.

Once they are old enough to travel, install your wire mesh with a one-way trap door that only opens out, so they can get out but not back in! This is the second trip that I spoke of earlier. Once you are sure they are out of your attic, you can remove the trap door and install the heavy gauge wire mesh across the opening so they can never get in again.

You can try to have your insurance coverage for your home pay for the damage the raccoons caused. However, there will probably be fine print that says this damage is not covered, so you are on your own. If you successfully get them to cover the damage and repairs, let our readers know which insurance company you are with.

Read our other posts about dealing with raccoon scat and droppings and cleaning up your attic after raccoons have been in to build a den.

 

 

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