Suburban Raccoons

This poor little guy was probably separated from his mother at birth and is now being raised by this lady. He just wants to snuggle and stay warm, bond with her and cuddle. For a period at least he will consider this lady as his surrogate mother, but that will change as he matures. They possess dangerous claws and teeth that become very dangerous and effective weapons. They are also wild animals and can become vicious raccoons. Although they can be domesticated to some extent, why would you ever take the chance.

Difficult to Understand

It is hard to understand how he could grow up to be a 30 pound snarling and dangerous animal that can cause a lot of physical damage to a person. You just have to look at the picture below to see what a raccoon can do to someone’s face and body if they are provoked in some manner to attack, to defend their space or their family of pups. This girl got off lucky compared to many pictures we have seen online of people who have been attacked by raccoons. She will be scarred for life both physically and emotionally. Her life is ruined unless she can get access to a really good plastic surgeon.

Raccoons have really strong teeth and claws that they use to open shells, nuts, etc. They are sharp and can tear and cut if they are provoked in some manner. They may look cute especially the babies, however, if there is an adult around and they think that you are endangering their babies, they will attack to drive you off. Raccoons always travel in pairs and will protect their young in the same manner. If one is removing the babies, the other may be attacking you if they feel that you are a menace.

Vicious Raccoons

Most raccoons are not that vicious unless they are provoked in some manner. They will typically ignore humans, especially in urban areas where they abound. They are used to being around humans and do not feel threatened normally. In most cases, they will just run off and will hide. The trouble starts when humans are too aggressive, the raccoons feel cornered or they have young babies to protect. This is when they can turn on you and become the vicious raccoons that they are. They have the tools to defend themselves and they will go on the attack so always give them your respect and steer clear of these animals. Call in professionals to deal with them if they are a pest in your area or worse have established a den in your attic. Never try to remove them yourself.

Raccoons will stick around if there is a food source for them. This includes garbage, food stored for other animals, bird feeders, and so on. Remove and or protect all potential sources of food for them. So that they have no reason to spend time in your area. They will move on and establish dens close to other areas of food sources. They will leave your home, pets, and children alone. If you have neighbors that leave their garbage out this will attract raccoons. You may want to mention to them that this is a source of food for raccoons and skunks. Same thing with bird feeders which also attract squirrels.

Are raccoons good pets or are they an animal that are inherently wild and not to be trusted? There are many people who actually keep raccoons as pets as shown in the picture on the left. This man and many other people consider them as pets having raised them as babies to be around humans and to mind the same way that a cat or dog might. Yet there are numerous stories of mauling by raccoons that has left many people scarred physically and emotionally for life. So is it a good idea to consider raccoons as pets or should they be avoided?

One couple recently in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan was recently ordered to get rid of her pet raccoon or the city would do it for them. Instead, she and her husband choose to move outside the city where the city bylaws could not touch her. She has moved in with friends who accept the notion of having a raccoon as a pet in their home. They must be really good friends. Because there are not many people would take a friend in with a pet raccoon to go along.

Raccoons as Pets

Compare the next picture to the one above. This is obviously an angry raccoon who is probably wild and has been trapped or cornered. He is ready to fight and could do a lot of damage with his teeth and his claws! The raccoon in this picture is ready to defend himself or his pups, one of the two. A raccoon and any animal once cornered will fight to get free, clawing and biting to defend themselves. A raccoon in this situation will do a great deal of damage to the person or other animal that might be attacking them. Also if a parent raccoon feels that their pups are in danger, they will also defend them viciously. This includes attacking and dealing as much damages as possible.

Sick or Diseased Raccoons

There is one other situation that raccoons can be very dangerous. This is when they are sick or diseased with rabies. They will act in a very different way than normal and will attack just about anything. Most animals in the wild will run the other way if they can when they encounter humans. But not those that are diseased, defending the young or if they are cornered.

So what does this have to do with raccoons as pets? Even though they are domesticated, perhaps even from when they are a baby, they still have a wild streak in them. They can turn on their owners as they get older and more temperamental. If they are exposed to other wild raccoons, instinct can kick in and the next thing that happens is that they turn on their owners.

We have seen many pictures online showing the results of mauling by raccoons. We will show one such picture in our next post along with a baby raccoon that is cuddling up to their owner which it thinks is obviously her mother! Imagine! How could such a cute animal turn on it”s owner? More to come, stay tuned.

He is on top of the world and surveying his domain!  This is a raccoon chimney for sure. This guy seems quite comfortable perched atop a warm chimney. Surveying his surroundings before he heads out for the night to look for food. He is probably spending his days in the chimney somewhere where it is dark and warm. It can be a major problem for home owners with this kind of situation. The raccoon is possibly doing damage to the chimney and also blocking the chimney from working properly. Carbon Monoxide could be building up inside the house. It could make the occupants very sick or even kill them.

There is an easy solution to this problem of raccoons in your chimney. However the first step is to make sure that they are out of your chimney. Most consumers will hire a professional to remove them and so they cannot get back inside the chimney.

They might still sit up on top, but that is not as big an issue as being inside the chimney. We cannot emphasize this enough regarding the safety of the occupants of the home. If your furnace cannot exhaust the gases from combustion out the chimney, they will need to go elsewhere and that is usually inside the home. This is serious and can cause you to become very sick or in the worst case, kill you from carbon monoxide gases which are odorless and colorless.

Solutions for Raccoon Chimney Problems

Once the raccoons are out of the chimney, install a heavy gauge wire mesh over the top. This will prevent them from getting inside the chimney. It still allows the smoke and exhaust gases to leave the chimney. It should not impede the chimney in any way. This mesh should have been installed by the builder of your home, however like many things, especially on older homes, they go missing or deteriorate over time. do a check right now and make sure that you have something covering your chimney.

At the same time heavy gauge wire mesh should be installed over any potential entry points that could be used by raccoons or other animals to get inside your home or your attic. You may as well bite the bullet and do it now, since these pests will just look for another home and your house is the nearest thing available.

While it may be expensive to hire professionals to do the job for you, avoiding raccoon chimney problems and raccoons in your attic will save you a great deal of money in the long run. The damage they can do is extensive and it could cost you thousands of dollars in repairs if not looked after properly.

We have lots of other posts on this site that talk about dealing with raccoons in homes and attics. Also some of the precautions that should be taken when dealing with damage caused by them and the danger to your health. We recommend that you review all of this information prior to doing any of the work yourself.

For more posts about health risks associated with raccoons, click here.

This is a really good reason to make sure that your chimney is covered with a preventable entry wire mesh of some kind. That keeps not only birds and squirrels out of your chimney, but also raccoons as well. Raccoon in chimneys can be a major problem for many different reasons. As readers can see from this picture there really is not a lot of room for this raccoon to move in this chimney and we are not even sure that it can climb out on its own. If he cannot go up, then he must go down and emerge somewhere in your home.

This would create a mess not to mention the potential damage that he would create while he scurried around your house trying to get out. He also may have babies somewhere as well which he or she may be trying to protect. If cornered they can be ferocious and do even more damage to your person. If cornered they can become quite vicious and cause severe injuries with their claws and teeth. What can consumers do about raccoons in chimneys?

Raccoon in Chimneys – Prevention

If your chimney is not capped to prevent birds and animals it should be. In fact, when it was installed, it should have had a cap installed on top. This cap prevents birds, squirrels, and larger rodents such as raccoons from getting into them. A wire mesh is great provided that it is properly secured and cannot be dislodged by a pesky raccoon.

Birds and squirrels can build nests and raccoons can block chimneys causing your furnace to starve for oxygen. A blockage can produce black smoke etc along with carbon monoxide. This is very dangerous for humans as well as these animals. Many people die each year from carbon monoxide poisoning. Make sure you have a cap installed on your chimney to prevent blockage caused by birds and animals building nests in the chimney.

Raccoon in Chimneys – Getting them Out

If you are lucky they will be able to climb out on their own. Once they are out, install the wire mesh over the top of the chimney so they cannot get back in. You may have to hire a professional to get them out and install the wire mesh. It is dangerous work for several reasons.

First, there is the height and not everyone is comfortable with getting up on a ladder. Second, there is a frightened, probably angry, snarling raccoon to deal with.  It may be as simple as turning on the furnace to heat the chimney to force the raccoon out in this case. Although there is a risk that he will be suffocated and fall further down the chimney. Better to leave the job of removing the raccoon from the chimney to the professionals to deal with. While they are there have the technician inspect the outdoor entry points of your home. He or she will recommend any areas that are possible entry points for raccoons or other animals and suggest a solution. While it may seem pricey, it is well worth it to not have to deal with these pests in your home.

Sometimes, there seem to be just too many raccoons around. They can do a lot of damage to homes and buildings. They can cause a lot of health issues for our pets. Even humans can be susceptible to raccoon roundworms. We discussed this in a previous post in case you are interested. The primary reason for raccoons appearing to grow in numbers is that there is lots of food available for them to eat. They have few or no enemies at all. Raccoons can obtain food from your neighbor’s garbage left out at night. Grubs in your lawn are another food source. Raccoons and skunks are going to be in your area for the food. Raccoon Abatement is a real problem for many consumers.

Animal rights groups may complain and even deter raccoon abatement programs when it involves killing the animals. In places where this is not a problem, trapping, shooting them, etc is acceptable. But this really does not deal with the fundamental problem. If there is lots of food around for them to eat and survive while having babies etc. The first step in any raccoon abatement program is to remove all food sources or protect them so that the raccoons cannot find food to survive on. They will have fewer babies and their numbers will decline over time to more manageable numbers. But this still does not solve the main problem of the damage that raccoons can cause to homes etc. They tend to get into attics, damaging your house and leaving feces and urine in the insulation.

Raccoon Abatement – Protect Your Home

By far the best way to protect your home is to install heavy gauge wire mesh over any potential openings. This step will ensure raccoons cannot get into your attic. If you are unsure of which areas need to be protected, there are animal pest companies who have experience in this sort of thing. They can provide guidance as to the areas you need to protect. This wire mesh will also prevent other animals such as squirrels and birds from getting into these same spaces.

If you have raccoons in your attic already, deal with it quickly before they have babies. Call the above-mentioned companies. They will recommend a one-way trap door to be installed over the opening so that the raccoons can get out but not back in. Once they are out, the trap door can be removed. A permanent heavy gauge wire mesh can be installed to keep them out on a permanent basis. If they already have babies you are going to have to wait until they have grown and can travel on their own before installing the trap door. If the babies are inside with the parents unable to reach them they may try to find another entrance and do a lot more damage!

Some homeowners will remove the babies and set them outside where the parents can find them. They cannot travel on their own so you need to make sure that as soon as the trap door is installed you make an effort to get them out to avoid further damage by the parents trying to rescue them. In addition, you do not want them to die in the attic, creating a smell that is very difficult to get rid of.

The last thing that you ever want to have happened to anyone including yourself is to be in contact with roundworms from raccoons. If you ingest these worms accidentally by breathing them into your lungs you can get quite sick. Also if you accidentally ingest them when they come in contact with a food source. They can cause really serious Raccoon Roundworm Symptoms leading to organ failure and even death. In case you are wondering these are microscopic worms. They cannot easily be seen by the naked eye.

They are extremely hardy. These worms can exist for a long time in harsh conditions, such as attics where it is hot and dry. If you have to deal with the situation shown in the picture, make sure that you take the necessary steps to protect yourself and your family. This man has a full protective gear on including a breathing filter to ensure that nothing is ingested into his lungs. Proper removal of the protective clothing and disposal is also required once you are finished with cleaning and making repairs.

Roundworm Symptoms

In humans the infection from raccoon roundworms is rare, however, they sometimes do occur. They sometimes will invade the eye, the brain, and other organs with quite drastic impacts such as blindness, organ failure, and death. If you are around raccoons or where they have been, take special care to protect yourself from accidental infections.

Symptoms in dogs include unsteady walking, difficulty eating, lethargy, circling, seizure, and confusion. Dogs and other animals will contract the disease from being around raccoons, their feces, and eating animals that have been infected with the roundworm. Often an animal that is infected will become easy prey for other animals. When they are caught and killed and then eaten the animal that has eaten the infected animal will often become infected repeating the cycle.

Adult dogs can often be cured if the disease or infection is caught earlier enough, it is almost always fatal in puppies. If you have raccoons in the area or see raccoon feces, take extra precautions when removing them. Protect your pets and children from coming in contact with these feces.

Raccoon Roundworm Symptoms in Cats

The symptoms and effects of the roundworm is pretty much the same for cats as it is for dogs. In the case of cats, they tend to get the disease from sharing areas. Or being in areas that are frequented by raccoons. In one way or another, they ingest the worms and become infected.

If you suspect the presence of infected raccoons, cats, or dogs, seek treatment for your pets right away. Also, protect yourself by frequent hand washing and staying away from feces. Use protection when cleaning up any feces that you find. They could be carrying the roundworm within the feces.

This post focused on symptoms. There are additional posts on this site that discuss clean up as well as the removal of raccoons if they are in your attic.

The raccoon life span is limited to an average of 1.8 to 3.1 years in the wild, which includes those living in suburbia. The most common danger for raccoons in suburbia are vehicles. Many are killed this way every year. They are considered a scourge in developed areas. They can cause a great deal of damage to homes and other structures that they encounter. In the wild they may live a little longer and in captivity, they have been known to live up to 20 years. The raccoon life span in the wild is often controlled by hunting and farmers who are trying to get rid of these pests.

Raccoons have literally penetrated all areas of our environment, including downtown in major cities as well as in suburbia. If you have ever had to deal with these pests then you know just what a nuisance-they can be. If there is a source of food around you can be sure that the raccoons will find it and flourish. The best defense is to ensure that all of the food sources around the outside of your home are eliminated. This will discourage them from spending time in your area. Also make sure that all potential entrances to your home and structures are well blocked by heavy gauge chicken wire. They like to get into the attics of homes where it is protected from the environment and from enemies.

Raccoons Life Span – How to Get Rid of Them

Face the facts and reality. You cannot get rid of them. They will continue to exist in your neighborhood scavenging for food and dens to live in. They can be discouraged by making sure that there is no food source available for them around your home. Store your garbage either inside or in animal-proof containers. They will eat just about anything that is a food source including your pet’s food if they can get to it. If there is no food source, they will move on to other locations to find food. They scavenge at night and are seldom seen during the day, unless they are sick or have not been able to get to their den.

Raccoons Life Span – How to Keep them Out of Your Attic

Many homeowners have this problem every year. Raccoons find an entrance to the attic and then raise pups or kits as they are called to start the cycle over again. They climb trees close to your house. They climb bricks on your house and they are very smart when it comes to finding a way into your home. The best way to keep them out is to install heavy gauge chicken wire across all potential entrances. If they are already in your attic, install a one-way trap door across the entrance so they can get out but not back into your attic. You also must make sure that their kits can get out. Otherwise the adults will tear another opening into your attic to rescue their kits.

There are three things that are really gross about this picture. The first is that these are raccoon feces in someone’s home and there appears to be a lot of them. The second thing is that someone must suit up, go into the attic to remove the feces and the urine soaked insulation. The really gross thing is that these feces from raccoons are filled with raccoon worm. If they find their way into the digestive system of humans or their lungs can cause serious health issues and possibly even death.

This is why the man shown in this picture is wearing protective clothing. He is also wearing an air breather as well to protect him from airborne eggs from the raccoon worm. Attics are hot and tend to dry things out quickly including the feces of raccoons. But the worms and their eggs somehow survive and are so tiny that they can become airborne if disturbed. This is how you can ingest them easily into your lungs if you are not wearing protective clothing.

Raccoon Worm – Dealing with Feces in Your Attic

The short answer is that all of the insulation and the feces must be removed using environmental procedures. The material must be disposed of in such a way that there is no danger to humans. The Raccoon worm exists in the gut of the raccoon and thousands of eggs are expelled in the feces of raccoons every day. They apparently are very hardy and will last a long time even in harsh conditions such as dry hot attics. Don’t fool around, this is dangerous to your health situation and you must deal with the mess appropriately. Hire companies that are equipped to remove and dispose of the material safely.

Raccoon Worm – Stop the Raccoons from Entry

If you have raccoons in your attic, the first step is to stop them from getting in. Professional animal control personal will install a one-way trap door so that the raccoons can get out but not back in. Once you are sure that they are out of your attic, the next step is to begin the cleanup.

You will want to follow this process as per the instructions outlined above to avoid any health issues. Also if the raccoons have babies in the attic of your home, you may have to wait until they are old enough to travel on their own. They have to be able to get out of the attic through the one way trap door themselves. If you do not wait, the adults may try to find another way into your home. They can and will do even more damage than they already have.

Once you are sure that they are all out, you can then begin cleaning up. Make sure that you install heavy gauge wire mesh over all potential entry points. This will ensure that they cannot return and cause more damage.

In our previous post, we wrote about raccoon roundworms, what they are, and how you can ingest the roundworms and what the impact might be if you were to ingest them.

We ended the post by indicating that no confirmed case in humans has ever been successfully treated which is pretty scary when you think about it. Sounds like it is pretty serious and something you definitely do not want to deal with.

If you have raccoons living in your area or raccoons living in your attic, there is a very high probability that there are literally millions of roundworms in your attic, on your roof, and in your eaves trough. We suggested how to protect your person and your family from ingesting roundworm.  This is something to take seriously and that is why we are continuing to add more posts about this subject and how to protect yourselves. We talked about how a person could ingest these raccoon roundworms but we did not discuss the symptoms.

Raccoon Roundworms – Symptoms

Symptoms can include irritability, weakness, lethargy, deteriorated speech, behavioral changes, and change in vision. The infection of the central nervous system may cause further problems as well. Contact with an infected person is not a risk factor since humans are considered an intermediate host and does not infect the intestine.

We do not shed eggs like the raccoon will, as many as several million every day. There can be many other diseases that have these same symptoms so it is best to see a doctor and have this problem diagnosed rather than ignore it hoping the situation will improve.

Prevention

Raccoons are here to stay in suburbia. They are very adaptable animals and can exist almost anywhere. Trapping them, killing them, or taking them miles away will not solve the problem. Many of them are just too smart to enter a trap and will ignore the traps much to our frustration.

Consumers need to make their home unattractive to raccoons. Eliminate all potential food sources outdoors to decrease the interest in spending time around your yard. Don’t feed raccoons and if you have such things as grubs in your lawn, kill the grubs with the appropriate treatment and eliminate that particular food source. Skunks also like grubs and eliminating the grubs will keep the skunks away as well.

If you must deal with raccoon feces, wear gloves and also a mask if the feces are dry and come apart or float in the air. Raccoon roundworms can exist for years and in very difficult conditions. Disturbing dry powdery feces in your attic is a perfect condition for the contraction of roundworms.

Remember your attic gets very hot in the summertime and just about anything is going to dry out, especially the feces of Raccoons, but not the roundworms.  They can last forever and that is one of the reasons that you must protect yourself in these conditions. Be sure to hire professionals to remove them, your insulation and arrange for proper disposal of the insulation as well. This should be considered an environmental hazard.

For more posts about health risks associated with raccoons, click here.

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When we were doing a little research about raccoon roundworms, we already knew that it was very dangerous for humans to ingest roundworms from raccoons. But we were a little shocked at what we found. Now we understand why being careful when dealing with raccoons is so important. You must avoid any possibility of ingesting the eggs of the roundworm.

The official title is Baylisascaris. However, we will just use the term raccoon roundworm in this post. Raccoons who are infected shed millions of eggs daily. The eggs take two weeks to turn into larvae and can remain viable for many years. They can withstand harsh weather and decontamination. They can easily withstand the heat and cold in your attic without any problem. Once they enter the host, ie, a raccoon or worse, a human, they like to head to the brain. Also, the eyes with apparent impacts.

How Do Humans Contract Raccoon Roundworm

The eggs are in the feces, which can be found just about anywhere. However, if you have raccoons in your attic, this means the feces will be on your roof. They will be in your eaves trough, and they will be in your attic as well. Raccoon feces can be found almost anywhere in the wild. Certainly around the outdoors of your home if you have raccoons in your attic. Anywhere there is food left outdoors, under shrubs and along fences, there will be raccoons and feces from the raccoons. We have a fence at the back of our yard. My neighbor on the other side of the fence calls it the raccoon highway!

By far, the greatest people at risk are young children playing outside and may come in contact with raccoon feces. They may not be aware that they have been in contact. We know that young children do not always wash their hands as often as they should and also tend to lick their fingers etc.

Raccoon Roundworm in Your Attic

If you have raccoons in your attic, you will have feces in your attic. This means millions and millions of roundworm eggs and larvae. They can exist for years in your attic. There will also be feces on the roof which will be washed into the eaves trough and onto the ground wherever they exit.

Environment precautions must be taken if you will remove the insulation if you enter the attic. Proper disposal of the insulation must be ensured, and anyone in the attic or handling the insulation must also be sure to wear protective clothing. They should also wear breathing apparatus to avoid any possibility of ingesting the eggs or the larvae. They are microscopic and will float in the air when the dry feces are disturbed as you move around the attic or clean it.

According to the research we completed, no confirmed case has been successfully treated.  Hire professionals with the proper equipment to deal with this problem of raccoon roundworms if you have raccoons in your attic.

Raccoons attic removal can be a messy job as shown in the picture on the left. Particularly if they have been in the attic for some time. They love attics because the attic is relatively warm compared to being outside. It is a protected place so no worry from enemies. It has lots of soft materials to make a den for their babies. If you suspect that there are raccoons in your attic make sure you deal with the problem immediately to avoid a mess like this one. It can even ruin your home’s value since the insulation is compromised.

Consumers just do not want to deal with this kind of issue. If you deal with the issue immediately, before they have babies you can minimize the amount of damage. Many companies will not remove adult raccoons when there are young raccoons involved until they can get around on their own. There is too much risk of further damage from the adults attempting to rescue their young.

Raccoons Attic Removal – Safety Concern

The scat from raccoons can contain roundworms. They are very tiny and can be accidentally ingested if you are cleaning an attic unprotected. They can cause all kinds of health issues for humans. Make sure that you hire professionals that know what they are doing to clean up your attic. Many will consider this as a biohazard and treat it accordingly. The feces and the urine-soaked insulation must also be properly disposed of. If you suspect raccoons in the attic, get rid of them immediately.

Raccoons Attic Removal – How to Get Rid of Them

The best way to get rid of raccoons in the attic and keep them out is to install a one-way trap door. They can leave, but not get back into your attic. Once they are out, install heavy gauge chicken wire across all openings. This will keep them out and any other animals out as well.  Trapping them etc simply does not work since there are other raccoon families that will simply take up residence and occupy the vacated den.

If they have babies in the den you are going to have to wait until they are old enough to travel on their own. Or you can physically remove them once the parents are out. If you leave them in the den to die, the parents will rip your roof apart. They will try to rescue them plus you are going to have a very bad smell in your attic.

Once you are sure they are all out of the attic or whatever space they are occupying, replace the trap door. Install heavy gauge wire mesh over all openings. Be sure to apply caulking to the roof wherever nails or screw nails are used to avoid water damage of any kind. You really do not want to replace one problem with another.

The picture on the left shows what can happen if you do not quickly remove raccoons from your attic. This is a mess with all of the raccoon scat or feces that are shown here. What you do not see is the urine that must also be in the insulation as well. The insulation is flattened out and also soaked with urine. This provides very little or no insulation value in this particular home. We strongly urge consumers to deal with the issue of removing raccoons from your attic quickly. Minimize the damage to your home and also avoid the significant cleanup bill that is also required. Also with so much feces and urine, there also has to be a bad smell inside the house in addition to the attic.

Remove Raccoons from Your Attic – The right Way

If you have raccoons in your attic, hire a professional to remove them only if they use one-way trap doors that will allow them to get out of your attic and not back in. If they tell you they will trap the raccoons and take them away, this will not solve the problem. Either these same raccoons will come back, or others in the neighborhood will move in. You must get them out and keep them out.

Once they are out, consumers with this problem can install heavy gauge wire mesh over the opening after repairing any damage at the entry point. This will keep these raccoons and others in the area along with squirrels and other animals from taking up residence. Also, make sure that if they have babies, these are also able to get out and away from your house.

If they remain inside your attic and the parents are outside, the parents will do everything in their power to rescue their babies. This could mean tearing your roof apart to gain access.  It could mean a lot more damage and a lot more expense.  Even if you have to wait until they are mobile, you might save some money if you wait until they are old enough to get out of the attic on their own.

Once they are out, you can focus on cleanup and repair.

Remove Raccoons from Your Attic – Cleanup

We do not recommend that consumers do the cleanup themselves. This is a messy job and a potentially hazardous job due to potential health issues. You will need to hire a company that specializes in the removal of this material. They must also arrange for it to be properly disposed of.

Once it is removed, including the insulation, new insulation can be installed to current levels in terms of R values. Although this will cost a great deal of money, consider that it will be impossible to sell your home otherwise.

A home inspector would pick this up quickly. Most potential buyers would run once they became aware of a problem like this unless it is repaired. Also, no one wants to live in a home with no insulation value and knowing that all of this material is in your attic.

For more about raccoons in the attic or around your home, click here.

Some people may feel that this is cute, a mother raccoon relaxing while her pubs play in a small recessed area in someones attic but raccoon trappers will tell you a much different story! Well not really when you consider the mess and the damage they are causing. First consider the feces and the urine that is being left by this raccoon family. Someone has to remove this and clean it up – and this is definitely not a fun job!

Secondly, these same raccoons did a lot of damage to the side of the house. They got into this attic and probably did a lot of damage to the front of the house in the process. Just take a look at some of the other pictures on this web site. Observe some of the potential damage that can be accomplished by determined raccoon parents looking for a den to have their babies.

Raccoon Trappers – Dealing with Raccoons

A lot of companies will promote the idea of trapping raccoons and removing them from the site of their den. They may relocate them to another location, hopefully far enough away that they will not return. However once a den has been vacated, chances are that another family will just move in. They will take over this already established den unless a permanent solution is found to stopping them. Raccoons can tell if a den has been vacated. Also, whether it is available for a family to move into or not. So unless you do something to prevent them from getting back into your attic, another group is just going to move in.

Don’t waste your money using raccoon trappers. We believe that a one-way trap door should be installed so that the raccoons can get out but not back in. If they do have babies, you also need to make sure that the babies are removed as well. You can place the babies in a box outside. The mother will move them to another location.

However, with a one-way trap door installed, she will not be able to get back inside your attic. If the babies are also removed, she will not tear your roof apart to rescue them. Once they are out, remove the trap door. Install heavy gauge wire mesh over the opening so that no other raccoons, squirrels, or birds can find their way into your attic. This is the best long term solution to dealing with any kind of animal or bird in your attic, including raccoons.

Raccoon Trappers – Not The Answer

We are repeating and summarizing the message here to make our point. Trapping raccoons is just not the right long term answer for many consumers. Block the main entrance to your attic that they are using. If not, there is almost a 100% chance that the den in your attic will be reoccupied within a few weeks or months. Forget about raccoon trappers. Block the entrance with heavy gauge wire mesh so that they can never get back in again. Unfortunately, your neighbors may also have a problem. You may want to pass along the message to them as well.

As cute as they are and as cute as this picture looks, we really do not recommend feeding baby raccoons. Rather, we should let nature take its course which in many cases would mean the demise of these baby raccoons. You are probably asking why we would take this seemingly harsh approach. The answer is that they are considered a menace in urban, suburban, and even rural areas. There are more than enough raccoons around as it is. In addition, these particular raccoons will grow up depending on humans. They will not learn to survive in the wild. They will end up not doing very well as young adult raccoons.

As they grow are you prepared to continue feeding them. You probably will have to keep them in cages so that they do not get into just about everything in your home? When they are finally released into the wild to be on their own, they will not have any of the skills needed to survive. They did not have the benefit of the training that adult raccoons would have given them. They will likely not survive very long.

Urban Areas – Feeding Baby Raccoons

There are actually many raccoons living in urban areas. They will have four or five dens often in the attic of people’s homes. Much to the distress of the people who own these homes. We recently saw a report on a news show where baby raccoons were removed from an attic and placed in a box outside. The mother had been driven from the attic so that the babies could be removed. Permanent repairs were made so that she could not get back in. These babies were so young they were still blind and needed the mother to support them.

The theory was that by placing them in an open box, the mother would come back later on. She would remove them taking them to one of her other 5 dens in the neighborhood. Since this was an urban area, this really means someone else’s home! Funny, this was recommended by the removal company which would mean another call for them. More profit for them as they remove the same raccoon family from someone else’s home. Capture them and take them into the country somewhere. Let them fend for themselves. The adult raccoons came and picked up every one of their babies. They took them somewhere they considered safe for their little family.

Damage From Raccoons

All of the animal rights readers will cry foul at this suggestion. However, after you have to pay the $500 to remove them from your own home and pay to clean up and repair damage to your own home. You may have a different opinion. The damage can run into thousands of dollars replacing the insulation and fixing the area that they used to get into the attic in the first place.  Dealing with raccoons and feeding baby raccoons just makes the overall problem much worse for someone since they will end up in someone’s home sometime.

If you have not had this problem and want to make sure that you avoid any issue with raccoons have a professional evaluate your home for all possible entrance locations for raccoons, squirrels, and birds. You can then decide if you want to take the next step in installing heavy gauge chicken wire across all potential openings so they cannot ever get into your attic.

This step should be taken by all new homeowners as far as we are concerned, but then the cost will deter many people until such time that they have to deal with the problem first hand.

If you have raccoons in your attic as this homeowner does, then you already know how much damage they can cause. Not only has the soffit been ruined, but they have also destroyed the insulation. Now there appears to be a large icicle hanging from the roof which means there is a lot of heat and moisture escaping from his home. It is costing him more to heat his home. There is the possibility of water damage to his ceiling, walls and floors inside his house. Then there are the feces and urine from the raccoons in and on the insulation to deal with. Basically you need to replace all of the insulation and make all repairs. The cost of repairs once he gets rid of the raccoons in his attic could go well into the thousands of dollars.  Deal with the problem quickly so that you do not have this huge bill. Most of us cannot really afford to pay for these damage repairs even if you have insurance.

Raccoons in Your Attic?

If you detect that there are raccoons in your attic, do something about the problem immediately. Before they cause a great deal of damage like what has been shown in this picture. Once they have babies and are nursing them in your attic, it is pretty difficult to get them out without causing more damage.

The best approach is to install a one-way trap door. They can get out but not back into the den they have created in the attic. If this is done as soon as you notice them, there will be a great deal less damage to your attic. Mothballs, loud noise and trapping them just do not work. Contrary to what you might find on other web sites.

Repairing damage Done by Raccoons in Your Attic

There is the obvious surface damage that is shown in this picture. Consumers may have to consider removing all of the insulation in the attic if they have been there for some time. Urine and feces will be everywhere. This also can cause health issues for humans if not handled properly.

Wear proper protective clothing. Wear a mask to prevent ingesting any floating particles into your lungs. This can cause severe health issues if you do not take precautions. If there are babies in the attic, you will have to get them out or wait until they are old enough to travel on their own. This may be frustrating. But the parents will cause more damage as they try to create another entrance to the den in your attic to get to their babies. Either wait until they are old enough to travel on their own or go in and get them out yourself.

While it might be frustrating to wait, the alternatives can be even more expensive. If the raccoons tear your roof apart trying to rescue their young pups or make another entrance somewhere else around your home. An alternative is to enter the attic once you are sure the parents are out and cannot get back in. Remove the young pups yourself by going into the attic. Place them outside somewhere where the parents can find them. Wear protective clothing a face mask and gloves if you decide to attempt this yourself.

What a mess this raccoon has made when they got into this man’s attic? Raccoons in attic’s can cause a lot of damage in several different ways. First of all, there is the damage to the exterior of your home as shown in this picture. Then there is the rain and snow if you live in areas where they get snow. Rain and snow can blow in and cause all kinds of water damage to the walls,  the ceiling, and the flooring if a lot of moisture enters the home. This damage can penetrate all of the ways into the living area of your home if the situation is not dealt with quickly.

What you cannot see is the damage that raccoons in attics do inside the attic. They will move the insulation around so that you now have cold spots in your ceiling. They will urinate and defecate in your attic leaving a terrible mess that is not only smelly, but it also poses a health issue as well.

Worms in the feces can cause serious health issues for humans if accidentally ingested by breathing them in when you are in the attic cleaning up the mess. Always wear protective clothing and breathing material to prevent any possibility of this occurring. The worms are tiny and are carried in the air once the feces dry out in the hot air of the attic.

How Can You Get Rid of Raccoons in Attic’s

It is actually pretty easy if done in the right manner. First of all, loud noises do not work, mothballs do not work, and trapping raccoons does not work. They are for the most part too smart to enter a trap, especially the older ones. They have live around humans too long and are suspicious of anything that could enclose them.

The best way is to install a one-way trap door over the opening so that raccoons in attic can get out but not back in. After you are sure they are out, repair the opening and block it with heavy gauge wire mesh so that they cannot get back into the den that they created in your attic. If you do not do this, the raccoons will just move back into your home.

What About Young Raccoons in Attic

If they have babies inside your attic, you are going to have to do one of two things. Either install the one-way trap door as described and then go into the attic and remove the babies from your attic. You can put them outside somewhere where the parents are sure to see them.

If you do not take the above step the raccoon parents will try to make another entrance to your attic. They want to rescue the young baby raccoons, causing even more damage. The other approach is to wait until all of the raccoons in the attic are old enough to travel on their own. Then install the one way trap door. You might have more of a mess, but this is the best approach by far since you will be sure they are all out and will not cause more damage.

Install wire mesh over all other potential openings to keep other raccoons out as well as birds and squirrels. While this may cost a bit more to implement, it is better to be safe than sorry.

Raccoons are living among us as comfortably as our pets. In fact they tend to ignore us as they go about their daily activity of searching for food. Or searching for a place to live or hide during the day.

They are primarily nocturnal, so if you see one during the day, it is a rare event. Most likely there is something wrong with them. They could either be sick and diseased which means you want to stay well away from them. Or they could have lost their den and could not find another location to spend the day. Also, keep your pets well away from them in case they are diseased.

Raccoon characteristics – Dens

Raccoon characteristics suggest that they will have 4 or 5 dens that they can go to within the area that they live in and search for food. They tend to move around from one den to the next in the search for food within the territory that they live in. As the picture shows, they search for food among the garbage.

They have become quite adept at opening garbage pails and garbage bags. Raccoons tend to make a mess when this happens so many people will keep their garbage inside until it needs to be placed at the curb on garbage day. They can also use animal-proof garbage bins. However, these are typically more expensive than the average garbage can.

Raccoon characteristics – Sickness

If you do see one out during the day, keep your distance. If they are drooling at the mouth or are exhibiting aggressive characteristics they are probably sick and you should stay well away from them. You will want to call animal control to remove them safely from your area.  It is also important to keep your kids and pets well away from the raccoons and also any feces that they may leave behind. Protect yourself from touching or coming in contact with the feces or call someone to properly dispose of the feces. They can be infected and can cause serious disease in humans.

If raccoons are in your home inside your attic, you need to get them out as quickly as possible. Install a one-way trap door to allow them to get out and not back out. Once they are out, you can replace the one-way door with permanent heavy gauge chicken wire that is securely screw nailed to your roof. You may want to also make sure that all other possible entry points are also covered with chicken wire as well. While it may not look really great, it is always better than having them in your attic.

Trapping Raccoons

If someone suggests trapping the raccoons, don’t waste your money. They are unlikely to enter the trap. If they do, you will have a very mad snarling biting raccoon to deal with. Other raccoons can still get into the now vacant den. The best long-term approach is to make sure they can get out with the one-way trap door approach and then seal the entrance with heavy gauge wire mesh so they cannot get back in.

If they have babies in your attic you will need to wait until they are old enough to travel on their own. or get the parents out and then go into the attic to remove the babies. If you leave then in the attic they will die and smell up your attic, the parents may tear another entrance into your attic causing more damage. Wear a protective mask when you enter the attic to avoid contracting any disease that may be present.

The picture on the left is pretty typical of the damage that raccoons can do when they get into your attic and set up a home. In this case, they have easy access from the roof. They have just pushed anything they do not want out onto the roof! Raccoon attic damage can be messy, increase your heating bills and contaminate your home as well.

They have easy access and so does the rain and snow which can cause more problems than just the raccoons. The rain and snow will cause water to get inside introducing mold and water damage to your walls and floors. A simple hole on the side of your home can transition into thousands of dollars in raccoon attic damages. Do something about it quickly.

The raccoons themselves have damaged your house. They have torn the wall apart and they have torn some of the insulation out. Which is going to mean that your home is now not as well insulated. In addition, they will leave feces and urine inside your home. Which over time is going to cause more problems. These include a bad smell and also chances of infectious materials being left in your home.

Call a Professional Raccoon Attic Removal Company

Forget about trapping them or trying to scare them away. Most urban raccoons have seen it all. They are very careful of anything that could represent a danger for them. In addition, even if you could trap them unless you complete repairs properly another family is just going to make a new hole and set up a shop.

The best way to get them out is to install a one-way trap door over the opening so they can get out but not back in. Once they are out the company you hire can replace the one-way trap door with a more permanent wire mesh covering. They can never get back in at that particular spot.  You will want to make repairs first to the siding or the soffit before placing the wire mesh over the opening.

Make Sure the Pups are Old Enough

If there are baby raccoons inside your home, you have to wait until they are old enough to get out on their own. Otherwise, the parents once they are locked out will literally tear your roof apart to try to rescue their young. They are very protective and will do just about anything to rescue them.

The other approach is to make sure the parents are out and if you can gain access to the young pups get them out yourself. Be careful you do not cause more damage. Wear a mask to avoid ingesting any spores and dust into your lungs which can cause serious health issues.

Hire Professionals who Know What they are Doing

If someone tries to tell you that they are going to trap them and remove the raccoons this way, tell them not to bother. First the raccoons are unlikely to enter the trap. Second, other raccoons in the area will eventually move into the now-vacated den. You need to put the wire mesh over the opening anyway so you may as well do the job the right way the first time.

Lastly, many local bylaws require that trapped animals be dropped off within a half-mile of where they were caught. This is next to useless. They will just come back to your home the same night or perhaps the next night.

Finally, have the company you are working with cover all other areas that are potential entry points for raccoons, squirrels and birds. You may as well get the job done right the first time. Above all, there is no need to call them back sometime later.

Why 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.

We recently found that raccoons had invaded our attic above our living room. This was particularly troubling to us in that they made a lot of noise, and they are making a mess of our attic. We tried various means to get rid of them but in the end, had to call a professional company to install a one-way trapdoor to remove them. Also, we had to wait until their babies were old enough to travel on their own. The Raccoon Gestation Period was another factor to take into account. We will discuss the one-way trapdoor in detail in a moment. Don’t waste your time and money on trying other solutions. Loud noise, mothballs, traps, etc just did not do the trick. They simply do not work and you actually can save some money by acting quickly to get rid of these raccoons in your attic doing it the right way and quickly as well.

Raccoon Gestation Period – Raccoon Pups

When we talked to the professionals, they informed us that raccoons have their babies in the January February, and March period after gestation of 65 days. They typically will have between two and five babies or kits as they are called. And most likely they had young babies in the attic above our living room. They also informed us that they needed to wait until the babies were old enough to travel before they could take any action.

The reason for this is that if they blocked the entrance to our attic and the babies were left inside the attic, the parent raccoons would practically tear our roof apart to rescue their young babies. Also, no one wants to see an animal die of starvation. It is a cruel way to go and is not something that anyone would recommend. We had no choice but to wait until they were old enough to come out of the den on their own. This is frustrating, but we need to rely on the experts in this case.

As we mentioned earlier that the gestation period is 65 days. They have 4 or 5 dens in our neighborhood all in homes and outbuildings. Unfortunately for us, they were not moving around because they had their young babies inside our attic. I was able to trap the two youngsters when they started coming out of the attic on their own. Unfortunately, I could not trap the parents. They were just too smart to go into the live animal trap.

Install a One Way Trap Door

This is where the one-way trapdoor comes in. The professionals will install a one-way trapdoor over the entrance to our attic, The raccoons can come out of our attic but cannot get back in.? They also installed heavy gauge wire mesh over all other potential spots they could be used by raccoons. This will also stop birds and other animals such as squirrels to get into our attic.

Although expensive, this was an effective long-term solution, This ensures that no animals, including raccoons, will ever be able to get into our attic again. For more information about one-way trap doors and solutions to the raccoons in your attic, please refer to other posts. Squirrels, birds as well as raccoons are looking for a home, If they can find their way in they will. Block all of the potential openings so that you do not have to deal with this problem ever again.

By the way, many cities and towns also have bylaws covering this issue. They say you cannot let a wild animal out of a trap more than a mile from its habitat or where it was caught. This is a ridiculous bylaw. Since they are just going to come back to your home in a day or two. Block the entrance to the den as previously mentioned.

For more posts about wild raccoons, click here.