Suburban Raccoons

Raccoons have taken up residence in the attic of your home. You wonder how to remove raccoons so that they do not ruin your insulation and make a huge mess. It is important to deal with this problem early before they have babies in your attic. The picture on the left could be your home or anyone else’s home that has an infestation of these animals.  They are very resourceful, smart, condition of dealing with humans and they will fight to protect their baby raccoons. You need to take all of this into account when you are trying to remove raccoons from your attic or anywhere else on your property.

How to Remove Raccoons – Don’t Waste Your Time

The first thing we want to say is do not waste your time with all of the things you may find on the internet. We had raccoons in our attic and we tried the following to get rid of them:

• Loud noise and music
• Mothballs
• Animal urine
• Humane traps

None of these solutions which we found by searching on the internet worked. They are immune to loud noises and music, it bothered us more than them. The mothballs did not work at all, nor did the animal urine. (note this was a product you can buy at a local hardware store which is supposed to be the smell from their enemies). We also tried trapping and we were successful in trapping the younger inexperienced raccoons, however, the older adults were too smart and just would not enter the cage to get at the food. You can read more about raccoon traps on our website on other posts we have written.

After we had tried all of the above so-called solutions ourselves we finally turned to the experts for a solution on how to remove raccoons.

OutSmart the Raccoons

The thing you have to remember is that once a den has been created in your attic or anywhere else, even if you remove the current resident raccoons, other families in the area will be able to tell that the den is vacant and they will move right in unless you block the entrance securely.

If you block the entrance with the raccoons still inside you have a huge problem on your hands. At the very least they may die inside your attic and really cause a bad smell. They will try to get out and they might just tear a hole somewhere else in the roof, the side of your home, or worse into your home. If the young babies are inside the adult raccoons are outside, they will do everything they possibly can to get inside the den. this includes tearing a new hole in your roof or siding to rescue their babies. You will just have more damage to deal with a new hole to deal with.

The solution is to build a one-way trap door that allows them to get out but not back in!

One Way Trap Doors for Raccoons

Now it is important to only apply this solution when the young are old enough to leave the dean. Otherwise, you risk more damage to your roof or siding as the adults try to enter the den.

Building the one-way trap door when the young are old enough to get out is the best way to get rid of them and keep this family of raccoons out as well as all future raccoon families that might try to take over the vacant den.

Cover this entrance and all other possible entrances with coarse gauge chicken wire. Screw nail this wire into the roof so that it cannot be torn away. Use silicone caulking that is waterproof around all points where you have to penetrate the roof with screw nails. This will prevent water leakage into your home.

The trap door needs to open out words and not inwards. With this approach the raccoon can find its way out but not back in. the picture on the left shows the construction of a one-way trap door on the side of a building, however, the same approach can be used on your roof as well.

Hire Professionals

Note that if you are not a do it yourself type of person or you do not like to get on the roof, hire a professional to build this trap door. Also, you really should hire animal control experts who are skilled in this type of thing. They will deodorize your attic as well and they will repair any damage the raccoons may have caused.  If the raccoons have been in your home for a long time, you may have to replace all of the insulation as well. It can be soaked with urine and feces. Again hire experts who know what they are doing. The feces from raccoons can cause humans to become very sick.

Once you are sure that all of the raccoons have left via the one-way trap door, you can replace the trap door with a permanent wire mesh cover. This will keep all animals out including squirrels and birds out of your attic.

This is by far the best solution we have found on how to remove raccoons from the attic of your home. The same applies to other locations around your home or business. For more information about how to remove raccoons, click here.

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Many people have tried raccoon traps to no avail. The writer even tried using a raccoon trap. We eventually gave up with the trap turning to a professional who had a much different solution. Before you spend $100 buying a raccoon trap read the rest of this post and then decide what you want to do. These raccoons are smart enough not to go inside the trap and trigger the door to close.

We had raccoons in the attic and tried to trap them. We manage to get two of the young raccoons into the traps and took them out into the country, but could never trap the adults. They were just too smart for us and we found it very frustrating. Somehow they were able to get the food we put inside the trap, but they would not go inside and they did not trigger the trap to close. This was a humane trap like the ones shown in the picture. We tried loud music, moth balls and of course trapping. None of these worked at all.

Raccoon Traps – Install a One Way Trap Door Instead

The solution is to install a one way trap door across the entrance to the den, so they can get out of the den, but they cannot get back in. This is very important. You do not want them to be able to get back into your attic, however you must make sure the babies are old enough to get out. Installing a one way trap door will keep this family of raccoons out and all of the other families living in the area out as well. They just seem to know when there is a den that is vacant. Trapping will  only deal with the current family and within months another family of raccoons will take their place. This is one of the most frustrating challenges to deal with around your home. You cannot control them and that is what is really frustrating!

Make sure the Young Pups are Old Enough to Travel

Adult raccoons will try to get back inside by tearing the roof apart if their babies are still inside, so make sure they can get out. Our last post talked about raccoon poison and why this also does not work. If  you are lucky enough to trap a raccoon, you are going to have one spitting clawing biting mad raccoon on your hands so be very careful. Just remember that other raccoons will be along soon to claim the vacant den. Installing a one way trap door is the only way to deal with them.

Also if you do catch a raccoon in a raccoon trap, some cities and municipalities have bylaws that make it illegal to release them more than a half mile from were they were trapped. Rest assured they are just going to come back to your home the next night! This law may seem ridiculous, at least to us it does, but we are not going to try and break the law or suggest that you do. It is just a whole lot easier to install that one trap door, wait for them to leave and replace the trap door with a permanent wire mesh so they can never get back in again.

Block Squirrels and Birds

Don’t forget to also place a wire mesh over any other locations that might be possible for the raccoons or squirrels to gain access to your attic. Birds also like to make a nest in locations that are protected from the weather and a bit warmer. They have even been know to make a nest around chimneys or in chimneys. A wire mesh over all potential locations will keep the birds and squirrels out as well. When you do the job , do it right the first time and block all animals from access to your attic.

We welcome comments and helpful stories about dealing with raccoons. Remember that raccoon traps really do not work well at all.

Using raccoon poison to get rid of raccoons is absolutely the wrong way to go about it and not for the reasons you might suspect. The animal’s rights people will like this post. We are against the use of poison to get rid of raccoons. But not because we like raccoons or are concerned about being inhumane. Our rationale is quite different. You need to really understand how raccoons live and travel to understand the issue. There is just a much better way to deal with raccoons around your home. Especially if they are in your attic the way this one is shown in the picture.

First all they find a den in your home or some location where you do not want them to be. Usually, it is in the attic of your home. They climb the brick wall or they gain access via a tree that is close to your home to get onto the roof. Next, they push the soffit up at a point like the one shown in this picture and crawl inside in your attic. Now they have a nice safe place and a warm place to live, have their babies and make a mess of your place. They come and go every night as they go at night to forage for food. If the den is left vacant for any length of time another family of raccoons will just move into the vacant den.

Why Raccoon Poison Does Not Work

If you are unlucky enough to poison them, they may die inside your attic and create a really bad smell in the attic. Now you are facing thousands of dollars to get rid of the bodies of the adults and the babies that are smelling up your home. When it is all cleaned up, another family of raccoons is just going to move in. If you are lucky enough for them to die outside of your home or attic, then for sure another family will move in shortly. They can all tell when a den is vacant and unused!

In the worst case, you kill a family pet or the neighbor’s pet with the poison and the raccoons also die inside your attic. Now you have the neighbors mad at you and the bad smell inside your home.

Install a One Way Trap Door

We have written lots of posts about what you should be doing instead of using raccoon poison, so we will summarize here. We recommend you read a number of our posts about bylaws dealing with raccoons, trapping raccoons and also installing one-way trap doors to the entrance to the den inside of your home. Installing a one-way trap door across the entrance to the den is the only way and the best way to deal with raccoons compared to using raccoon poison. We tried loud music, mothballs and trapping raccoons. None of these work!

Once the baby raccoons are old enough to travel, install a one-way trap door across the opening into the den. Install strong wire mesh across all other potential entrances. The raccoons will be able to get out but they will not be able to get back in, which is very important. Once you are sure they are out, replace the one-way trap door with permanent wire mesh to block them and any other raccoon families from ever getting into your home again.

Make sure the Raccoon Pups are Old Enough to Travel

Making sure that the young are old enough to travel is VERY important. If they cannot get out and the parents cannot get in, it is very likely that the parents are going to destroy your roof trying to get to their young pups. They will do thousands of dollars in damage to your roof!

So forget about raccoon poison and try the tried and true method of dealing with raccoons.  Your comments are welcome. let us and the readers here about your solutions in dealing with raccoons! For more information about dealing with Raccoons around your home, click here.

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This topic probably brings shivers to all of the animal rights activists. As soon as you hear the word trap, you probably think of a poor animal struggling in a less than humane trap trying to get away from very sudden threatening situation.  Let me reassure you, this post is about the proper way to get rid of raccoons that may have found their way into your home in your attic. There are humane traps that you can use for raccoon trapping.

We have shown a picture of one on the left.  They do work on young raccoons who do not have a lot of experience around humans. However, the older adults know how to deal with these traps. They manage to steal the food out of the trap without setting it off. So our message to anyone reading this post is don’t waste your time with various raccoon trapping endeavors.

One Way Trap doors

There is actually another reason to not bother using traps for raccoons. Once raccoons have established a den, whether it is in your homes attic or elsewhere other raccoons can smell a den. They can also tell if it is occupied or not as well. So if you trap the raccoons and remove them to another location which is also illegal in some locales, another family of raccoons is just going to move right in.  The best way to avoid trapping raccoons is to install a one-way trap door at the entrance to the den so they can get out and not back in. Just make sure that the babies are old enough to travel, otherwise, the adults may do a lot of damage trying to rescue their young.

Does Raccoon Trapping Work

In other words, will the adults go in the trap? In my experience, the adults will avoid the trap altogether. They have had experience with traps and know that they are dangerous.  I have tried baiting the traps with meat, with peanut butter, with cheese and even jam which they like! As you can see from the picture above, the wire mesh of the trap is reasonably tight. In other words, it looks like they would have trouble getting through the mesh to get at the food without going inside the trap.

Somehow when I used a humane raccoon trap like this and baited it with one of the above treats, they somehow reach through the mesh with their paws and got most of the bait! Amazing dexterity and agility, as well as the smarts to stay out of the trap. We did manage to catch two of the young raccoons, but the adults were too smart for us and even if we did, we found out later that it would have been a waste of time. Another family of raccoons in the area would have just moved in.

One Way Trap Door

Instead of focusing on raccoon trapping, we ended up hiring a company to block all potential entries from any animal to any spot on our roof. As well as a one-way trap door at the main entrance. They were gone within a few days since once they exited the den in our attic, they could not get back in. Raccoons are nocturnal so they go out at night to hunt for food and water. They might have received a surprise when they could not get back into their home that first night even.

Before you feel sorry for the raccoons, know that they just found another unsuspecting home to move into. They are smart and they know were to look for dens in nice warm attics and I am sure they found another that night.

If you are planning on trapping raccoons to get rid of them don’t bother wasting your time. they will just come back or another family is going to move in. We have other posts that provide more detail about installing one-way trap doors, so if you have this problem you may want to read one of these. Readers who want to contribute a comment about their experience with raccoons and in particular trapping raccoons are welcome to leave a comment. We will even approve a link for good comments

If you have just learned that you have raccoons in your attic, you should know that there is a right way and a wrong way to perform raccoon removal from your attic. Most people are so mad that they want to shoot them or poison them on the spot. The problem with that approach is that there are a lot of issues associated with killing them in your attic. As well if the animal rights activists find out they will come after you as well. If you do nothing they are going to wreck your attic. They will destroy the insulation as well as leave raccoon scat all over the place. Can you imagine all of that raccoon poop in your attic!

How to – Raccoon Removal from Your Attic

Raccoon removal from your attic is actually pretty easy if done the right way. First you must decide if there are babies in the attic. If there are, you pretty much have to wait until they are mobile. They must be able to travel on their own with the adults. Once they are travel-ready, the recommended approach is to install a one way trap door across the opening into your attic. Using this approach, the raccoons can get out and not back in. If the babies are trapped inside your attic, the adults will literally rip your roof apart trying to rescue their babies. Raccoons are very protective of their young and both adults will work together to raise them.

This is by far the best way to deal with raccoons in your attic. Some of the reasons are:

• No dead raccoons smelling up your attic
• A humane approach to dealing with the problem
• Blocking the entrance before the babies are out could mean serious damage to your roof by the adults
• Local bylaws prevent you from taking the trapped raccoons very far away
• Another raccoon family will just move in after the old family has been taken away unless you block the entrance.

We tried all of the usual stuff. Loud music, ammonia, bright lights, trapping, etc and none of that worked. Don’t waste your time or your money. do it the right way the first time and save yourself a lot of frustration.  None of the stuff people write about on the network except installing a one trap door. But even if you use this approach, it must be done correctly or the raccoons will do a lot of damage to your roof trying to rescue their babies if they have them in your attic.

Cleaning Up your Attic after Raccoon Removal

Hire experts, do not do this yourself. You need to avoid breathing in the dust particles into your lungs. These dust particles in the attic contain a variety of diseases and can cause you serious illness if you do not take the proper precautions.  Experts will clean up everything, remove the insulation and dispose of it properly. Next, you can install new insulation and bring it up to a standard that keeps your home warm during cold winter months. You also must ensure that the soffits are installed properly to ensure that there is sufficient air circulation into your attic.

We have a number of posts that talk about this issue in more detail as well as installing the one way trap door. Check these out before you waste your time and money trying to trap them or getting rid of them using other methods. They just do not work!

We would like to hear about your experience with raccoon removal. Any experience will help our readers deal with this frustrating issue. We will approve good comments with links as well back to your own site.

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One topic we have not touched on is what to do about raccoon poop on your roof. This situation often occurs when the access to the den, which happens to be in your attic is through an opening on your roof under one of the eaves. The picture on the left is a typical situation where the raccoons have gained access onto the roof and then pushed the soffit up to gain access to their den inside the attic of your home. Before you say, raccoons could not climb onto the roof of my home. Think again. They gain access by climbing up the brick if you have a brick wall, they can gain access from trees nearby. If there is a way to get there they will find it. They are smart animals. Back to dealing with raccoon poop or scat on the roof and what to do about it.

During their entrance and exit to the den they will also do some damage and have been known to scatter insulation as well as their own scat on the roof. A picture later in this post shows just how bad it can get when this sort of thing occurs.  Most people do not want to personally deal with removing raccoons and will hire an expert to remove the raccoons and place a secure guard of wire mesh over the entrance so that another family will not make the existing den their new home.

Raccoon Poop – Cleaning up Your Roof

Cleaning up though is usually left to the home owner and several precautions need to be taken. If you live in an area were you get heavy rains, chances are that the rain will wash the raccoon scat or poop off the roof and down the down spout. this is a good thing and makes the job easy unless there is also insulation and other pieces of your home mixed in. In this case you are going to have to clean it up and maybe even unplug the down spout and the eaves troughs as well.

In areas were you do not get much rain, it is going to be pretty much up to you. Otherwise the poop will just stay there and possibly clog up your eaves trough and down spout.

Take Precautions When Cleaning up Raccoon Poop

If you do need to clean things up yourself take the following precautions:

• Were a mask to prevent any spores from entering your lungs
• Were rubber gloves and through them out when you are finished
• Use tools as needed and wash them thoroughly when you finish
• Discard all material in a garbage bag that will go to the dump
• Clean up any raccoon poop around your yard in the same manner

The following picture shows an example of what some people have had to deal with. A combination of insulation, foam insulation, raccoon poop and possibly other material that they have pulled out of the attic. Not a pretty picture and very frustrating for the owners.

We want to emphasize that you need to stop the raccoons from getting into your home first before any clean up is done.  If you do not they will just keep making a mess. Also you need to do it properly so that other  raccoons cannot get in later after the first ones are removed.  A post we did a few months ago deals with this issue in more detail . Click here to go to that post.

If you have had to deal with this problem, we would like to hear from you. Leave us a constructive informed comment that will be interesting to our readers. We will even approve your comment with a link if the comment is helpful to our readers.

Finding out that you have raccoons in the attic can be one of the most depressing as well as frustrating things. Not only can you not get rid of them, you know they are making a mess in the attic. They are probably tearing things apart to make a nice warm den for themselves. In addition, both they and their babies are leaving their scat or poop all over the place.  Raccoon Scat in the Attic can be a significant problem. This post is focused on the raccoon scat that will be left in your attic. However, first, you must get rid of these pesky animals. Before you can even think about what to about the mess. There is a right way to get rid of raccoons and a whole bunch of wrong ways. Don’t waste your time, get rid of them in the right long term manner.

Check out several of our posts about how to get rid of them properly and permanently. This is important. You do not want to get rid of this particular family of raccoons only to have another family move into the vacant den.  Read up on this subject and do it right or you will continue to have more raccoon families inside your attic making a mess. They might even get into your home as well which would be even worse!  Read our post about how to get rid of raccoons!

What to do about Raccoon Scat in the Attic?

The first thing you need to do is to make sure they are out of your attic and that they are not coming back.  Now that they are out you need to take several precautions to ensure that no harm comes to yourself or the people removing the material. Most people will just hire professionals to remove all of the existing insulation and then install brand new insulation. Make sure they know what they are dealing with and have the proper tools to protect themselves and your family while removing the raccoon’s scat and the insulation from your attic.

Raccoon scat contains small organisms that can be harmful to humans if ingested through your nose or mouth as you are breathing. These organisms can cause blindness and even death over time so it is important to take precautions. Typically what happens is that the raccoon scat will dry in the heat of the attic. When it is disturbed, it will break down into a powder form. Many small particles will float into the air. If you breathe this or somehow get some in your mouth, you could end up with it in your lungs which is not a good thing.

Always were a proper mask when you are in the attic and especially if you have had raccoons in the attic to protect yourself.  Professionals may even use air breathers with good filters and they also may negatively pressure the attic so that all of the insulation and raccoon scat is sucked out through a large vacuum and packed in sealed bags for this purpose.

New Insulation in the Attic

Once everything is removed, make sure all of the proper weather barriers are in place. Check the soffits are where they should be before blowing new insulation into the attic. This is a good time to increase the level of insulation in the attic as well. It makes your home somewhat warmer in the wintertime and conserves energy. Also, make sure that all potential entrances to your attic that raccoons or squirrels might use are sealed. Use heavy gauge chicken wire and that it is screw nailed and sealed to your roof. Sealing each screw nail will make sure that your roof does not begin to leak around the screw nails.

This may seem extreme, however, it is your life you are dealing with and why take the risk. In preparing this post we came across lots of situations where people are going into their attic where raccoons have spent some time. They had no protection at all. They could also have been dealing with hostile raccoons who are only trying to protect their babies and their dens!

If you have a comment or story to tell feel free to leave us a comment on this subject. Good well, written comments are welcome. We will even provide you with a link back to your site for comments that are instructive and helpful to our readers.

It is bad enough to have raccoons in your attic, but when they also dig up your lawn and make a mess of it,  this is adding insult to injury! We have had raccoons in our attic which is what prompted this website. In the process of getting rid of them, we learned a lot about them and some of the things to do and not to do.  You can read all about this aspect in some of the other posts if you are interested or have this same problem. We strongly encourage you to read up on this issue to avoid experiencing additional major problems such as Raccoons digging up the Lawn.

We managed to deal with the raccoons in our attic and solved that problem. Unfortunately for us and our neighbors, they just moved to another home and now someone else has the same problem. This also means that this family of raccoons is still in the neighborhood scrounging for food. Before you think, well why didn’t they just take them into the country or a long way away from our home, there is a reason for that. It turns out there are lots and lots of raccoons in suburbia and if one family moves away for whatever reason another just moves in.  You need a permanent solution which we describe in one of our other posts called getting rid of raccoons.

Raccoons digging up the Lawn

Anyway, they are still in the neighborhood and they scrounge for food in people’s garbage cans, their gardens as well as look for grubs and even berries.  This is where our lawn comes into the picture. Apparently, we have an infestation of grubs in our lawn. They are about an inch long and about 3/8th’s of an inch thick. They eat the roots of your grass and they are just under the root system of your lawn. They are juicy and good to eat I guess! This may have been what attracted the raccoons to our area in the first place. Skunks also apparently like grubs. We are actually not sure if it is raccoons or skunks that are doing this damage to our lawn. It really does not matter. The damage is the same as far as we are concerned. We have to get rid of these grubs.

The raccoons or skunks will dig up the lawn wherever they smell these grubs. They can really make a mess of the lawn. In one night they dug up almost 10 feet square of the lawn! The only way to get rid of them is to kill the grubs which we promptly did and we have not seen them back since. No food means no reason to visit our place at night.

Raccoons and Garbage Day

Also on garbage day, I wait until the morning to place our garbage out at the end of the driveway. They pick up early in our area. So that means I have to get up early and get it out there to the street. Otherwise, I would be out the next morning picking up garbage that is scattered all over the road!

It does cost some money to get rid of the grubs. There really is no choice in the manner. You either get rid of the grubs or you replace the lawn at some point when all of the grass dies during the hot summer months. The grass will literally have no root left. It cannot withstand the hot sun, since it has limited access to water.

So if you do not want raccoons around or other predators such as skunks, make sure there is no reason for them to visit. No food and they will just head off somewhere else hopefully!

Are you wondering how raccoons could possibly get in your attic? Well, there are numerous ways they can get to your roof and from there into your attic. It is nice and warm and protected from the elements! We had a family of raccoons in our attic. We will tell you about how they found their way into ours. If you need information about getting rid of them, we have lots of articles and posts about dealing with this problem. Also some of the safety issues on our website. Check out the categories and recent posts about raccoon issues that you will need to deal with. These include: getting rid of Raccoons, Dealing with Raccoon Scat and also once they are out, how do you keep them out.

How did Raccoons Get in the Attic

This post, however, is all about how they get into the attic. Our home is pretty typical. We have a brick front and the sides and back are clad with siding. There are trees in front and on the side, but they are not touching the house or the roof. so when we first found that raccoons were in our attic, we wonder how they got there. Well, it turns out they are great climbers as the picture on the left shows.  This guy is on the 6th floor of an apartment building! They climbed right up the brick on the front of our home and then onto the roof over the garage!

Once they were on the roof, it was a simple matter to get into the attic space over the living room. Our house has a roof that overlaps another roof. Where it overlaps there is a spot were the soffit ( that is the areas under the roof on the side of the house were your roof juts out, away from the side of the house usually or in this case over a lower roof) is easily accessed and they were able to push one of the metal flanges up and then crawl into the attic.

Difficult Task to Remove These Raccoons

They had a grand time in there burrowing under the insulation and creating a little raccoon family home to have and raise their young.  Once I figured out that they were there and how they were getting in,  you might think that it is a simple matter to get these raccoons out of our attic. Not so, due to the time of year and the age of their pups.

It seems that if you block the access to the attic, they will try desperately to get back inside and may even tear your roof apart in order to get inside and back to their babies. There is the right way to stop them and there is also the right time to get them out as well.  We strongly suggest you read some of our other posts before you proceed with removal so that you do not waste your time and your money or just make the problem a lot worse.

Forget About Trapping Raccoons in the Attic

If you think that you are going to trap these pesky critters, chances are you’re going to fail since they are really smart and urban raccoons are well versed in avoiding traps. If you are lucky enough to trap one, check with your local community on the bylaws concerning what you can and cannot do with raccoons. You may be surprised to learn that you are not allowed to take them very far away from your home.

Even if you can take them many miles away, you really have not solved the problem. Once your attic has become a den, families of raccoons can tell that there is a den and secondly whether it is occupied or not. When one moves out for whatever reason another family is just going to move back in. The best way to get rid of raccoons is to install a one-way trap door over the entrance to the den in your attic so they can get out but not back in. check out some of our other posts on this subject.

We have lots of posts about this subject and what to do on this web site so check out the posts that deal with getting rid of raccoons. Happy reading and good luck.

We have written a lot about how you should get rid of raccoons, safety in handling them and health issues related to raccoon scat. We thought it was time to write a funny story that actually happened to the writer when we had raccoons in our attic and we were trying to get rid of them.

Raccoons in our Attic – Humane Trap

I had purchased a humane trap and placed it on the roof near the entrance they created into our attic. I had placed peanut butter, jam even some meat in the trap in an effort to try to get them into the trap. They would be released in the country. Unfortunately, I was never able to capture one of them in the trap. They were just too smart and the parents obviously trained their youngsters to stay away from the entrance. They did manage to sneak their paws through the wire and get at the peanut butter without setting off the trap. Pretty amazing and pretty smart if you ask me.

Raccoons in our Attic – My funny Raccoon Story

Anyway this one evening I had just finished working outside and needed a shower. After my shower, I put on a pair of shorts and walked outside to look at the roof to see if there were any results. As I am standing on the porch looking up at the roof, a gust of wind blows the door to our home shut and it automatically locked. This should not have been a big problem until you hear what happened next.

Let me set up the picture. I am standing on our front step, with the front door locked. All I have on is a pair of shorts, no shirt and I am in my bare feet. As I am standing there a raccoon comes around the corner of the driveway and he is in a hurry. He runs halfway across the driveway towards me before he realizes that I am standing there. He needs to get past me so that he can climb the wall and get to his den which is in my attic.

Raccoons are Shocked

Imagine the raccoon’s surprise and mine when we both realize that each other is there. I have a look of shock on my face. He is shocked when he sees this human who he knows is a mortal enemy.

The raccoon’s reaction is to stand on his haunches and become as large as possible and hiss at me. This is a standard defense mode of many animals when confronted with a possible enemy and then he takes a step forward towards me and hisses again. For a moment all I can think of is that he is going to attack me and I have nothing to defend myself with. I cannot get in the door that is locked and I do not have a stick or anything to use to even throw at him. So what would you do in a situation like this?

Dealing with Wild Animals

I thought of the training videos I have seen when confronted with a bear. You do not turn and run, Instead, you put your arms up to make yourself look larger than you are and then you yell or make a loud noise. They just might back off and leave you alone. Now I know this is just a little raccoon, but what are you going to do in a split second when you have nothing to defend yourself with?

I raised my arms, stood on my tiptoes, and hissed right back at him. It was amazing. He stopped and took a second look at me as if to say what human is crazy enough to do this to him. I hissed again and waved my arms and he suddenly took off back the way he had come around the side of the house.

I rang the doorbell and have endured ridicule and teasing from my wife and friends ever since then once they have recovered from laughing so much. Imagine being afraid of a little raccoon. I once told this story at a party and had people in stitches, they were laughing so hard.

How to Get Rid of Raccoons

Anyway if you have raccoons in your attic or just want to know how to get rid of raccoons, take a look at some of our other posts that deal with this serious subject. Hope you enjoyed my story. It is a true story and it really happened the way I wrote it.

Removing Raccoons Safely – If you have raccoons in your homes attic, there is a safe way to remove them which will not harm the raccoon and will not put you at risk either of being scratched or bitten. Of course, you might say, just hire someone to do it. However, if they do not know what they are doing, they can be hurt. They could violate local bylaws as well. Local bylaws, believe it or not, protect the raccoon. In our locality, you can release a live raccoon more than 2 blocks from where it was caught. You also cannot poison them as well.

You may ask why, since these rules seem ridiculous. Well the simple answer is that there are many raccoons in a neighborhood. Once you remove one set, another bunch will just move into the old den unless you do something to keep them permanently out of the den. So what can you do and how can you remove them safely and permanently? This is really what this web site is all about. Getting the raccoons out of your home and keeping them out forever without harming the raccoons in any way. It is a win, win for humans as well as animals.

Removing Raccoons Safely

The answer is pretty simple. All you or a company you hire needs to do is to install a one-way trap door at the entrance to the den in your attic. This way the raccoons can get out but they cannot get back in. Once you are sure they are all out, remove the one-way trap door and install heavy gauge wire mesh across the opening and no more raccoons are going to get into your home.

Now there is one thing you must be aware of and if you do not wait, you could have a lot of damage done to your home and your roof. Raccoons who have young pups in your attic will do just about anything to get back into their young, including tearing the roof apart. If the young pups are too young to travel when you install the one-way trap door, they are not getting out and the parents are going to do what they can to get back in.

While this may be frustrating to read, what is recommended is that you wait until they are old enough to travel by themselves.  When the can move around and get through the door, it is time to install this door. Once they are all out, they cannot get back in and you are clear of all raccoons as well.

This is the safest way to get rid of raccoons and avoid any scratches, bites or infections from wild raccoons. It is also safe for the raccoon as well. They are not dangerous and the young are also protected as well.

What Else Should You do?

Have the company you hire or do it yourself. But cover all potential openings with heavy gauge wire mesh so there is no chance of raccoons getting into your home again. You will have to screw nail the wire mesh into the roof. Seal each spot with waterproof outdoor sealant to avoid any potential leaks.

We have written extensively and will continue to post articles about this problem on this web site. check out various posts we have made in the past about various issues with raccoons including dealing with raccoon scat, poisons and the dangers of cleaning up after raccoons.

If you have problems with raccoons leave us a comment to let us know how you are making out and what you did to get rid of them. For more information about removing raccoons, click here.

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Raccoons cause a lot of damage for a very specific reason, especially when it comes to tearing a roof apart. If you have raccoons inside your attic and these raccoons have babies in the attic of your home, there is pretty much nothing that will stop them from getting into the den where their babies are. They are very maternal and care for their young. They can cause a lot of Raccoon Roof Damage

Many people will block the entrance to the den as soon as they realize that raccoons are in the attic. They may not realize that they may have young babies inside. They often are too young to travel on their own. Once you block the entrance to the den, these parents hear the cries of their young raccoon pups. They will do just about anything to get to them. Humans react in much the same manner. The roof in the picture on the left is an example of what can happen. A raccoon is trying to rescue their young pups.

What Can You Do About Raccoon Roof Damage

No one wants raccoons inside their attic or anywhere near their homes. Once they have babies, they are faced with some tough choices.  You can close off the entrance to the den,  let the babies die inside your attic which will cause a smell, and take the risk that the parents will not try to get back in and do a lot of damage in the process. Just take a look at the picture we included as part of this post! Not only is the roof damaged, if it rains, but water is also going to penetrate your home and cause even more damage.

The other approach is to allow the babies to grow and once they are mobile on their own, seal all possible entrances to the den and also install a one-way trap door across the main entrance so that all of the raccoons can get out, but not back in. There are several advantages to this approach:

• The raccoons are not going to do any damage to your roof or siding since they can all get out.
• The young raccoons will not die inside your home which avoids creating an even worse mess
• They will all be forced to leave to follow their parents once you install the one-way trap door and the most important part
• No new families of raccoons are going to move in after the current ones are gone. There are lots of raccoons living in suburbia and they are constantly on the lookout for a vacated den.

Raccoon Damage  in Your Attic

Sure they made a mess in your attic and you are going to have to deal with that, but this is much better than having holes in your roof and further damage from wind, rain, or snow to your home.

Besides if you kill the raccoons, someone is going to complain and you may get in trouble with the police. You have to dispose of the bodies and you might even have them die inside your home, which is going to cause a huge bill to clean the place and get rid of the smell. Better to get rid of them with heavy gauge wire mesh across all entrances and not let any more into your attic. This solution is a permanent solution and keeps all future raccoons outside of your home. We have tried it and it works.

Loud noise, mothballs, and all of the other things you will read on the web just do not work. This approach is by far the best approach for many reasons. No mess and they are kept out of your home permanently, which works for us.

Let us know if you have roof damage from raccoons and what you did about the raccoons who caused it.

We have talked about what to do with raccoons in your attic. Or someplace that you really do not want them to be. But we have not really spent a lot of time discussing what to do with a raccoon once you have caught one in a trap. We are assuming that most people will use live traps like the one in the picture. They have the intention of removing the raccoon from another location once it has been caught.

What is really surprising to many people and myself included is that in some cities and towns there are bylaws about what you can and cannot do with a trapped raccoon. First of all, you can only use what are called live traps. Live traps basically capture the raccoon in a live trap without hurting the animal. This is by far the preferred way to remove animals of this type. However, what do you do with the raccoon when you catch one in this manner? Another point to remember that if you do catch one, it is important that you act quickly.

Wild animals are not used to being in a confined space. Left in a trap for any length of time and they will become very stressed and possibly go into shock. Left too long and they will die of shock. If you do catch one, be prepared to move it to a new location immediately.

City Bylaws for Removing Raccoons

The bylaws in my city basically tell you that you can only move the captured raccoon approximately 2 to 4 blocks away from where it was caught. Anyone who knows raccoons knows that this is absolutely a waste of time. Any raccoon can make its way back to what he thinks is his den in no time at all.

In fact, 2 to 4 blocks will be his likely roaming area in terms of looking for food. So it really is a waste of time. They will be back at the den in your home the very next morning and now they know not to go near your trap. They are very intelligent and learn quickly.   If you are going to dispose of a captured raccoon, you are better off to take them out into the countryside and release them. Just make sure that no one sees you release the animal into the wild. You could be charged and the local farmers may not like it very much either.

So What to do with Raccoons When You Catch One.

Don’t waste your time trying to catch one in the first place. We will summarize here, but refer to some of our other posts for details about what you should do. Do what we did and you will have a proper long-term solution that will prevent not only the current family from spending time in your home but stop other raccoon families from moving in when the current family of raccoons is moved out.

Install a one-way trap door at the location where they get in. Make sure that the young pups are old enough to travel on their own and get out on their own. Place heavy gauge wire mesh over all other possible entries. Once the raccoons are out of your home, remove the one-way trap door and cover this opening with the same wire mesh. Now, these pesky animals cannot get into your home ever and no other raccoon families can get in either. this will also keep squirrels out as well as birds from your attic.

So save yourself the trouble of trying to catch them and also what to do with raccoons when you catch one. Just prevent them from getting into your home in the first place! If they are already in, follow this approach to get them out and keep them out.

For more details about bylaws and how to get rid of raccoons, click here.

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The 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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It 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.

Let’s just say right at the outset of this post that “how to poison a raccoon?” is the wrong question for a whole bunch of reasons! Before the animal rights groups start applauding, the reason I am taking this position is that it is just not practical. You risk poisoning too many other animals including pets from around the neighborhood. The right questions is, “how do I keep raccoons from coming back to their den, which happens to be in my attic”!

This post is really aimed at suburban dwellers who cannot fire a gun in their neighborhood. There are too many pets running around. There are also actually lots of raccoons running around looking for a new den to set up home in after the old dwellers leave. That is exactly what will happen if you kill the current set of raccoons using poison or any other method. Trapping is no good either. For example, most municipalities have bylaw’s about raccoons. It is supposed to prevent you from taking a trapped animal more than a few blocks away. Which is really useless. Even if you do take it a long way away, other raccoons will just move in.

How Not to Poison a Raccoon

So instead of talking about how to poison a raccoon, we are going to give you the best way to get them out of your attic and keep them out for good.  To begin with, if you are not handy and nervous about getting up on the roof, hire a wildlife company that specializes in dealing with animals that get into people’s homes. You want them to install a strong wire mesh across all openings were they can get into your attic. While you’re at it get them to cover any that squirrels and birds can get into as well. Once the mesh is installed there is no way for them to get inside, short of tearing your roof apart unless their young pups are locked inside.

Tips to Get Rid of Raccoons, instead of How to poison a Raccoon

So here are a couple of tips that you need to be aware of. You have to wait until the pups are old enough to travel with their parents. If you don’t the parents will try to rescue the young ones and may damage your roof. Besides, you do not want the young pups dieing up in your attic and causing a big stink.

Next, install a one-way trap door so that all of the raccoons can get out of your attic. But cannot get back in. Chances are they will be gone the first night. They will get a big surprise when they come back and find their way blocked. They will have to find another spot that is not your home!

One Way Trap Door

Once you are sure they are out, remove the one-way trap door. Cover the opening with heavy gauge wire mesh so that the entrance is permanently blocked. You may see raccoons or their tracks for a few years as they come back to investigate, but they will not get back into your home! This is so much better than finding out how to poison raccoons and killing family pets or neighbors pets. You just do not want that problem, and they might get animal cruelty, people, after you as well, which has happened to a number of people.

If you have dealt with getting rid of raccoons and have the advice to leave our readers, please leave us a comment.

This post is really for urban consumers who have a problem with raccoons getting into your garbage at night or worse getting into your attic and setting up home. When this happens they can really make a mess and they are dangerous as well due to the infections they can cause through their scat. We won’t go into that here, there are other posts on raccoon scat, instead, we are going to focus on why even the best poison for raccoons is not really the long term answer. There are good practical reasons for not poisoning raccoons and not because we are interested in protecting animal life. There is nothing more than we would like to be able to permanently get rid of these raccoons, but this really does not do the job.

Here is Why Even the Poison for Raccoons Does not Work

First of all, there are many families of raccoons in your immediate neighborhood, which may seem surprising to many people. They can smell a vacant den. They will move from den to den based on food sources and where they feel the safest. The Raccoons will and do move into a vacated den almost as soon as you get rid of one family of raccoons. Poisoning raccoons is not the answer. You cannot get them all and will be forever plagued with these pests unless you take another approach.

Secondly, if the raccoon were to be poisoned and die in your attic, you have an even worse problem. The raccoon’s body will rot in your attic and really smell the place up.

Thirdly, if you were to capture them in a cage and take them miles away, other families are still going to move in. Most cities have bylaws that say you cannot do this.

Fourth if you do kill them and someone sees you doing this they may report you to the animal control office of your city and you could be charged with animal cruelty.

Fifth, killing them in some manner is probably inhumane and although I would just as soon do away with them this way by poisoning these raccoons, you risk also poisoning local pets and now you are really in trouble.

So what is the answer if you agree with all of these reasons?

One Way Trap Doors instead of Poison for Raccoons

The permanent solution is to install heavy gauge wire mesh over all potential openings into your home. They will never get through this and this wire mesh will also keep birds and squirrels out of your home. Use strong wood screws to hold the mesh in place. Apply silicone to plug any holes you create so that water does not leak in.

If the raccoons are still in your attic, you need to install a trap door so they can get out. There are a couple of reasons for doing this. First of all, you do not want the young or the adults to die inside your attic. They will smell up the place. Secondly, they will try to get out and in the process could cause a lot of damage. Thirdly if the adults get out and the young are still inside, the adults will literally tear your roof apart to get to their babies.

Once you are sure they are out remove the one-way trap door. Install a permanent covering over the opening so they can never get in again.

This is by far the best solution. We had this problem 5 years ago and used the wire mesh approach. We have not had a problem with raccoons since. However, I have seen tracks in the snow on our roof where they are looking for a place to get inside. Fortunately for us, they cannot get in and are forced to move on somewhere else. Most of our neighbors have also employed this solution and are very happy.

Your comments about dealing with raccoons would be appreciated. We know our readers will also like to hear about your experience’s.

Using raccoon poison to get rid of raccoons is totally the wrong way to go about it. I used to think that getting a gun and shooting them was the best way to get rid of raccoons. However, this is totally the wrong approach for a number of reasons that are actually quite practical. If you are trying to get rid of raccoons, read on for the best solution.

Now before everyone gets excited, we do not condone guns and raccoon poison because it is inhumane. It probably is inhumane. However, when they are in your attic, all you want to do is to get rid of them. You really do not care how it is done.

Raccoon Poison – Getting rid of Raccoons the Wrong Way

Recently a person in Toronto had a problem with raccoons and took a hammer to them. Killing them and disposing of their bodies. Of course, an animal rights activist heard about it. The police were forced to take the person away in handcuffs. He was just trying to get rid of these pests and remove them from his home’s attic. Now he is in jail! How frustrating!

The above story is a deterrent for not killing them, but there is a good reason to deal with them in another manner. Basically, there are many families of raccoons in every square mile inside and outside of the cities across the country. They are everywhere and if you kill them more will just move in a month or two later. When a den is vacated, another family is just going to move right in. Apparently, they can tell if a den is occupied or not by smell alone, so unless you deal with the main problem of access you are just going to have more raccoons in your home’s attic or where ever they have set up residence.

The same thing goes for using raccoon poison to get rid of raccoons. You do not want a decaying raccoon in your attic and you certainly do not want to kill any of the local pets.  Also, you might poison the adult raccoons, leaving the babies to die in the attic and smelling up your attic. Can you imagine the smell and how bad it would be? no one really wants this problem.  Even if they all get out, more will just move in like squatters shortly.

How to Get Rid of Raccoons Safely

The answer is to use heavy gauge chicken wire and seal all possible entrances. You will have to wait until the young pups are old enough to travel before you do this. At the main entrance to the den into your attic, build a one-way trap door so that the raccoons can get out but not back in. Once you are sure they are out then permanently seal this entrance as well with this same heavy gauge chicken wire. This way, no more raccoon families will ever move into your attic ever again.

There are companies that provide these types of services and will do a professional job to keep the raccoons out of your home and attic. Using raccoon poison to get rid of raccoons is only a temporary solution and will only get the animal rights activists mad at you. You may not care about the activists, but you really want a permanent solution.  Besides within a month, a new raccoon family will have moved into the now vacated den unless you take these steps of placing heavy gauge chicken wire over the opening.

Babies Must be Able to Travel

Just make sure that the babies are old enough to get out by themselves. If they are not the parents will try to get back into the den any way they can and this means literally tearing your roof apart to do so. We have pictures on this website that show just what damage a raccoon can do to your roof when they are determined. You can actually have more damage from the rain and the weather after your roof has been wrecked than from the raccoon itself. Try the one-way trap door after the babies are old enough to travel on their own and get out the door and you should have no further problems.

Comments are welcome about your experience with using raccoon poison and building one-way trap doors to keep them out.

We have seen a number of searches and comments about exposure to raccoon feces and we thought that since this issue is so important, that we would write a post specifically about this subject. Exposure to raccoon feces can be serious and can cause health issues if proper care is not taken. This is in addition to the ugly mess that they can leave in your homes attic or wherever else that they take up residence. Deal with the situation quickly so that you do not have a mess like this one to clean up. before proceeding read more about the problems associated with raccoons in your home on this website.

Exposure to Raccoon Feces

The best way to deal with raccoon feces is to stop raccoons from entering your attic in the first place. Read this post, How to get rid of raccoons, to find assistance in dealing with raccoons in your home. Ask professionals to deal with these pests!

Raccoons carry a parasite that can cause death if contracted by humans. You can come in contact with these parasites by touching raccoon feces and then putting your hands near your mouth. In most cases it is young children who contact this parasite, however, adults working in areas inhabited by raccoons can also contract this disease. ALWAYS WASH YOUR HANDS AND WEAR A MASK IF WORKING IN A CONFINED AREA.

Parasitic Worm in Raccoons etc

This parasitic worm is common in raccoons, squirrels, and mice as well as, rabbits, birds, woodchucks, and dogs. It is referred to as a parasite, or a roundworm called Baylisascaris procyonis. The roundworm larvae cause problems as they travel through the person’s muscles and various organs, including the liver, brain, lungs, and eyes. The severity of the infection depends on how many of the parasite’s eggs were ingested, and where the larvae migrate. Although serious infections are rare, raccoon roundworm can be fatal in people.

Raccoons will shed millions of the microscopic roundworm eggs in their feces or scat. It takes about a month for newly deposited eggs to develop to the infective stage. The eggs can only develop into worms when they’re in an animal’s body, but the eggs are hardy and may survive for years in soil, sand, or water.

People may encounter the eggs through direct contact with raccoon droppings or by touching a contaminated area or object. Attics where raccoons have lived can be particularly bad as their feces will dry out and the parasites will float in the air as the attic is disturbed. You may breathe these parasites into your lungs or get them on your hands unless proper precautions are taken.

Small children are particularly vulnerable because they tend to put their hands, and any objects such as bark, wood chips, toys, soil, or even droppings, into their mouths. Constant care must be taken when outdoors with small children in areas where there are raccoon feces about.

Other animals such as your dog or cat may become infected by eating an infected animal or through contact with the feces of an infected animal.

Symptoms

Symptoms in people vary but may include nausea, skin irritations, tiredness, liver enlargement, loss of coordination and muscle control, blindness, inattentiveness, and coma.

Treatment

Get treatment immediately if exposure is suspected. It can be very difficult to diagnose.

Protection

If you’re working in an area such as an attic that’s contaminated with raccoon feces, wear a proper respirator, rubber gloves, rubber boots, and disposable coveralls. Because the eggs are resistant to common disinfectants, the feces and any contaminated materials should be burned. If that’s not feasible, double-bag the materials and bury them deeply.

Contaminated clothing can be double-bagged and discarded, or washed in boiling water with bleach. Scrub rubber boots with bleach and a scrub brush. Clean traps before storing, to remove feces while they are fresh. Traps and other equipment that can withstand the heat can be flamed. If that’s impractical, clean with boiling water and bleach.

Advice for customers

• Have your pets “de-wormed” three to four times each year.
• Keep them away from areas that are frequented by raccoons.
• Cover their sandboxes.
• Train them to wash their hands and scrub their fingernails after playing outdoors, especially if they were in your garden or the sandbox.

Prompt removal and destruction of raccoon feces will reduce the risk of human exposure. Raccoons typically defecate at the base of trees, on fallen logs, on large rocks, and woodpiles, and in barns or other outbuildings. Raccoon feces may also be found in children’s sandboxes, attics, fireplaces, garages, decks, rooftops, haylofts, and compost piles. Exposure to Raccoon Feces can be almost found anywhere.

Areas of soil or concrete are best decontaminated by a thorough flaming using a handheld propane torch (weed burner). Wooden decks and patios can be cleaned with boiling water. Soil can be turned over with a rake or shovel, then flamed. Repeat this process several times. To decontaminate a fireplace or woodstove and chimney, build a roaring fire.

Raccoon droppings are a potential health risk. Many people who end up with raccoons in their attic or somewhere around their home are focusing on the potential damage that they are doing. They should also focus on the associated potential health risks that might affect them. Sure we don’t want any damage and we do not want the mess that they leave etc. We want them out of the attic before something like what we see in this picture happens. Who really wants to go in and clean out this mess? Raccoon droppings and health risks go together. It turns out that there is a good reason why you should not clean stuff like this out yourself. You need to use proper protective equipment. Read on to find out more!

We want them away from our home as quickly as possible. But what about the associated health risks? Earlier posts have dealt with getting rid of raccoons. If you want to read some of these posts, check our archives or our categories for the appropriate post that you would like. In the meantime read on about what we consider to be a health risk. Also about the steps, you should consider if the raccoons are in the attic.

Raccoon Droppings and Health Risks – Details

There are several health risks associated with Raccoons. First is the health risk from raccoon droppings which is commonly infected with roundworm. If the eggs are ingested by humans they can cause nausea, organ malfunction, blindness, loss of muscle control, and even death.

Great care must be taken if you are going to enter a raccoon den to clean up the raccoon droppings, repair damage from raccoons, or even to remove the raccoons.It is usually very hot in the attic which drys out the raccoon scat or droppings. It can turn them into powdery dust. As you work in the attic, you are disturbing this dust. Particles will float in the air for you to breathe. This is where you can get into trouble.

The eggs of the roundworm are very resilient, so you may breathe some of the eggs into your lungs. They can be contracted when they are on the ground as you are cleaning or from cleaning dirt out of your eaves trough. It is always wise to take extra precautions. If raccoons are in the attic, chances are they have left raccoon poop on the roof which washes into your eaves trough. Use gloves and wear a mask at all times when you suspect there are raccoon droppings in your work area.

The feces or raccoon droppings are often dry from being in the attic, which can be quite hot during the summer months. They can be disturbed and migrate through the air in small particles to be breathed as you move about the attic. Proper precautions must be taken such as ventilation. A breathing mask should be worn to avoid any possible health risks.

Raccoon Droppings and Health Risks – Hire Professionals

If you are uncomfortable with this or do not have the equipment, it is a good idea to hire professionals to clean up the mess. They can complete any repairs that need to be looked after. If you successfully remove the raccoons early before they have their babies in your attic then you will not have to be concerned about raccoon droppings or damage to your attic and the insulation. Deal with this problem quickly to avoid significant build-up of raccoon droppings. See our post about getting rid of the raccoons from your attic once they have raccoon babies and avoid potential significant damage.

Raccoons also contract rabies and a raccoon with rabies is very difficult to distinguish from one that does not have rabies.  Abnormal behavior such as seeing them in the daytime and aggressive behavior are two indicators. Avoid being bitten by a raccoon since rabies is usually transmitted through the saliva. If you have been bitten, seek medical treatment immediately.

If the raccoons have young babies, you will want to read the page on avoiding raccoon damage. Essentially, adult raccoons will tear your roof apart to re-enter the den. They will do this if the den entrance is blocked. You could have major damage to your roof as well.

Most experts recommend that you wait until the young can leave on their own. Then you can install a one-way trap door and close up the entrance to the den. You must make sure that they are all out before sealing the entrance to the den. Use a one-way trap door for this purpose.