Suburban Raccoons

There is no easy way to repel raccoons. These are smart animals who have gotten used to living around humans in suburban settings. Many web sites will suggest cutting down all of the trees around your house that are close to the roof to decrease access to your roof. You can cut down the trees, but this will not stop them, you have to try other approaches, and who wants to cut down the trees anyway? There is just no way Repelling Raccoons.

Other websites will suggest placing mothballs in the attic or placing speakers that make loud music all night long in the attic, and still, other sites will try to sell you some magic potion that will drive the raccoons away.

The fact is, that raccoons have become used to living in urban areas and the sounds and smells that go with living close to humans. They just will not be deterred by these types of things. They can climb the side of a house as the picture shows, and they seem to intuitively know where the good places are to find a den inside your home’s attic!

While it is a good idea to remove obvious things that the raccoons can use to gain access to your attic, as the picture shows they can climb straight up a brick wall over 4 stories!

Best Approach to Repelling Raccoons

The best approach is to keep all potential food sources away from them and ensure that all potential entrances to your attic are blocked in a way that they cannot gain entry. Blocking raccoons successfully involves placing strong wire mesh over all potential openings to your attic.  There are companies that will do this for you, however, if you do it yourself there are a couple of things that you need to be aware of.

If your neighbors are having raccoon problems and you are not, now is the time to block any potential entrances. It is just a matter of time before they find your home and create a raccoon den inside your attic. Do it now before it is too late. Forget trapping them, other raccoons are just going to come around later. The best long term solution is to block all entrances with strong wire mesh!

If Raccoons are Already in Your Attic

If you already have raccoons in your attic you need a plan. Your raccoon repel plan must first include getting them out and keeping them out.

Some companies will recommend the installation of a one-way trap door over the entrance to the den. The surrounding area is covered with strong heavy gauge wire mesh. This way the raccoons can get out, but they cannot get back in! This is an effective raccoon repel approach, however, you must make sure the young babies can also get out as well. If not the mother raccoon is going to do everything in her power to get back in. This includes tearing roof vents off to return to her young.

If There are Raccoon Babies Involved

If there are babies involved, you are just better off to wait until they are old enough to come out on their own. Then install the one-way trap door as a means of repelling the raccoons from your attic.

Also, make sure you cover all other potential entrances with heavy gauge wire mesh. Screw nail it into the roof and seal it to avoid any potential water damage. This is very important since you are penetrating the sealed portion of your roof. Unless it is sealed properly water damage is going to result.

Damage Caused by Raccoons

Raccoons can cause a lot of damage to your home. First, there is the entrance location which must be repaired. Second, there is the damage they do to the interior of your attic. They displace the insulation or even damage some of the vents that let fresh air into your attic. Finally, they are living in your attic so there is raccoon scat or feces. There is also the remains of the birthing process if they have young babies. You must get this all cleaned up if you are going to live in your home.

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