Suburban Raccoons

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.

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