Raccoon Removal
Do you need to get rid of raccoons? We can help!
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Raccoon Removal Strategies
Raccoons live practically everywhere in the United States except for parts of the Rocky Mountains and some parts of southwestern states like Utah, Nevada, and New Mexico. Raccoons prefer woodlands near water but adapt extremely well to urban and suburban environments.
Because raccoons are omnivorous, urban environments provide plenty of food sources like backyard fruits and vegetables, pet food, bird feeders, and trash cans. Attics and crawlspaces provide an excellent location for dens. Female raccoons typically give birth in April or May.
Our humane raccoon control and raccoon removal services will remove any and all raccoons from your home effectively and properly. Once all raccoons are removed, we seal all potential entry points, repair raccoon damage, and restore your home.
Hear what a raccoon sounds like
Raccoon Problems
Signs a Raccoon Infestation
Raccoons are ever recognizable with their black-masked face and nocturnal habits. Mother raccoons may destroy and enter parts of your home, especially your attic, in order to create a suitable place to raise their young.
Raccoon Noises
The most common sign of a raccoon in your house is the noise. Homeowners hear movement noises like thumping and scurrying and vocal sounds. Typical vocalizations include purring, chittering, growling, snarling, hissing, whimpering, and even screeching.
Physical Evidence
Nocturnal critters, spotting a raccoon is rare. Homeowners are more likely to see physical evidence like raccoon tracks and raccoon poop.
Trash cans flipped over and the bags of trash in them destroyed is a telltale sign of a raccoon.
Raccoon Damage
When raccoons decide to den in attics, they can cause significant property damage. They can create entry points through soffits, gable vents, roof returns, roof vents, and shingles. Once in your home, they will use available materials like insulation to create dens. They also destroy home gardens, birdfeeders, and make messes of trash cans and garbage bins.
They establish latrine sites that can pose serious health risks if located on your properties. Raccoon feces carries Baylisascaris procyonis (raccoon roundworm) which can spread to people and pets.
In addition to raccoon roundworm, raccoons spread diseases and parasites like rabies, tularemia, giardia, salmonellosis, canine distemper, and leptospirosis.
Ectoparasites like fleas, ticks, lice, and mites can live on raccoons. These parasites can find news hosts once they have been introduced inside your house.
Humane Raccoon Removal & Control Strategies
Home Inspection
The purpose of the inspection is to develop a custom plan to solve your raccoon problem, repair raccoon damage, prevent future raccoon problems, and apply sanitization agents. We first inspect the area you first noticed an issue. From there, they will look for entry points inside your home, investigate your property including your roof, and identify physical evidence like raccoon tracks and droppings.
Traps and Removal
Live trapping is the most effective and humane way to remove a raccoon. Direct capture is not commonly used because raccoons are a rabies vector species. Relocating trapped raccoons depends on local laws and ordinances. Habitat modification will keep raccoons out of your home after an infestation. Securing garbage cans and keeping pet food inside are simple measures to keep raccoons away. Repellents offer temporary solutions. Raccoons grow accustomed to frightening devices, and there are no toxicants regulated for raccoons.
Prevention & Exclusion
Preventative exclusion services are the most effective raccoon control. After raccoon removal, we seal all entry points with raccoon-proof material to prevent future entry. Ensuring you don’t create a home for raccoons outside your property will also help prevent attracting raccoons. However, habitat modification will become very important for prevention after dealing with a raccoon invasion.
Raccoons in House
Raccoons thrive in suburban environments and frequently invade homes where they benefit from central heating and steady access to foods. Female raccoons primed to raise litters are particularly fond of infiltrating buildings to set up nest sites in attics, between walls, and inside chimneys. As the pests are adept climbers, they take advantage of nearby trees, downspouts, and utility poles to gain access to homes. Uncovered chimneys and vents, torn screens, loose shingles, and broken windows also heighten the possibility of finding raccoons in the house.
SIGNS OF A RACCOON IN THE HOUSE
Individuals will be clued into the presence of raccoons in houses by sounds and smells. For instance, the pests designate areas inside homes to be used as latrines, which spread pungent and vulgar smells throughout buildings and even stain walls and ceilings. Scurrying and squeaking sounds that intensify over the course of the night also alert residents to raccoon presence. Finally, missing shingles, torn insulation, and holes in the wall generally point to the existence of raccoon infestations.
Raccoon in Attic
Raccoons are agile and intelligent creatures that often make their nests inside attics. They gain access by climbing downspouts, scaling siding, and walking across overhanging tree branches. Unsecured vents, chimneys, and attic windows also aid in easy entrance. If raccoons are determined enough, they may even rip apart siding and bend open vent covers to enter attic spaces. The raccoons most likely to choose attics as nesting sites are females seeking warm, sheltered places to raise their young, which makes them very defensive and difficult to remove.
SIGNS OF A RACCOON IN THE ATTIC
Thumping, rustling, and scratching sounds coming from the attic are clear indications of animal infestations. Raccoons are especially playful and like to tumble about, making loud noises that disturb residents. Young raccoons also like to chatter and chirp when calling for their mothers. Additionally, while raccoons generally dispose of waste away from nesting sites, they may let their droppings and urine collect in attics. The overwhelmingly foul smell quickly permeates houses.
Raccoon under the Deck
The spaces beneath decks are especially inviting because they allow raccoons to remain in close proximity to sources of food and water.
SIGNS OF A RACCOON UNDER THE DECK
Property owners may be alerted to the presence of raccoons under decks through various sights, sounds, and smells. The pests designate an area to eliminate waste, known as raccoon latrines, that smell abhorrently and contribute to the spread of disease. Finding a latrine in the yard is a sure sign of infestation. Additionally, raccoons make scratching noises and vocalizations throughout the night that may keep residents awake. The presence of tracks around private properties also points to the existence of raccoons under decks. Finally, individuals can test for the presence of the pests by situating a few sticks just outside deck openings. Placing them so that no animal could move through without disturbing the sticks allows for safe raccoon detection.
Raccoons in Trash
Raccoons keep varied omnivorous diets and common meals include berries, nuts, fish, insects, waterfowl, and bird eggs. As the pests are also opportunistic feeders, they won’t hesitate to scavenge in trash cans and compost piles for discarded bits of human food. Raccoons are especially enticed by garbage bins without well-fitted lids as their nimble hands and impressive dexterity allows them to easily break into the trash.
SIGNS OF A RACCOON IN THE TRASH
Since they are voracious and messy eaters, raccoons leave behind telling signs of their presence. In the search for bits of digestible food, the pests discard paper products, plastic bags, and similar pieces of garbage. Therefore, when property owners are dealing with raccoons in trash, they’re likely to wake up to debris strewn about their yards. Additionally, given the prospect of a steady food source, raccoons will construct nests nearby. Individuals may also be alerted to raccoons in the trash by the sighting of adults, tracks throughout lawns, and the odorous presence of raccoon latrines.
Raccoons in Backyard
Signs that raccoons are in the backyard include ransacked trash cans, empty bird feeders, tracks, the presence of urine and feces, and garden damage. Their unique ability to grasp objects with their opposable thumbs coupled with their natural curiosity frequently leads raccoons to break into homes and outdoor sheds. Finally, expensive landscaping is often damaged in the pest’s search for insects found in the soil.
Raccoons in Trees
Though sightings of the pest are rare given their nocturnal nature, property owners are able to detect the presence of raccoons in trees many other ways. For instance, raccoons often leave tracks in the dirt around the base of trees they’re living in. These tracks are distinct in their resemblance to tiny human hands. Their claws, which make them excellent climbers, are used to scratch trees, walls, and fences, and finding scuffed paint and tree bark typically points to raccoon infestations. At night, residents may hear chattering, growling, or snarling sounds. Finally, the presence of droppings at the base of trees points to the existence of raccoon populations in the area.
Wildlife problem? Call us for immediate help
Frequently Asked Questions
Raccoons typically cause problems by rummaging through garbage cans, raiding pet food, and disrupting quiet neighborhoods at night. However, like most wildlife, raccoon behavior may turn aggressive when these pests feel threatened.
Raccoon teeth and claws are sharp, and these powerfully built animals can reach up to 20 pounds in weight. As a result, a raccoon attack, though rare, can be dangerous to people, cats, and dogs.
There are a number of diseases that people can be exposed to by coming in contact with raccoons. The common ones include rabies, leptospirosis, and baylisascaris infection. These raccoon diseases have symptoms like pain, fatigue, fever, vomiting, and diarrhea that mimic the flu, making many victims underestimate the need to seek medical attention. Left untreated, more serious ailments like organ failure can develop.
Many residents want to know how to deter raccoons rather than how to trap them. Trapping is an effective way to remove these pests, but it also comes with some dangers to users. Several raccoon deterrents may help while posing less risk.
Scare and Harassment Tactics
Raccoons prefer dark, quiet places like attics, chimneys, or gaps beneath decks. Keeping these areas well-lit and playing loud music can disturb their rest and force the pests to move. Pinwheels, balloons, or empty soda cans blowing in the wind may also deter raccoons.
Unfortunately, sound, light, and frightening tactics become less effective as the animals get used to them. These cheap, easy methods are a good first step but may not be enough to keep raccoons away for good.
Habitat Modification
Eliminating sources of food and shelter in the yard is another raccoon deterrent. Homeowners can:
- Screen attic, porch, and foundation vents with heavy duty wire mesh.
- Secure the garbage can lid with bungee cords or buy a new bin with a tight-fitting lid.
- Remove outdoor pet food or seal it in secure metal or glass containers.
Certain tastes and smells may also repel raccoons. Homeowners can buy a wide variety of sprays, granules, and oils that claim to drive away these pests.
Taste Raccoon Repellent
Since raccoons dislike spicy tastes, some homeowners spread hot pepper products over areas where the pests like to climb or dig. Many sources suggest cayenne pepper, but this is often not potent enough to keep raccoons away. Hotter oils may harm plants, pets, birds, and beneficial insects like lady beetles and honey bees.
Odor Raccoon Repellent
Many stores also sell fox, coyote, or bobcat urine as a raccoon repellent. While the smell of fresh waste from one of these natural predators may keep the pests away, urine granules usually don’t have much effect.
Mothballs are another common scent deterrent that pest experts do not recommend. They can be toxic and are harmful to pets, humans, and other wildlife as well as raccoons. In fact, these intelligent pests may just bury or remove odor repellents to get rid of the smell.
Property owners may be alerted to the presence of raccoons under decks through various sights, sounds, and smells. The pests designate an area to eliminate waste, known as raccoon latrines, that smell abhorrently and contribute to the spread of disease. Finding a latrine in the yard is a sure sign of infestation. Additionally, raccoons make scratching noises and vocalizations throughout the night that may keep residents awake. The presence of tracks around private properties also points to the existence of raccoons under decks. Finally, individuals can test for the presence of the pests by situating a few sticks just outside deck openings. Placing them so that no animal could move through without disturbing the sticks allows for safe raccoon detection.
Thumping, rustling, and scratching sounds coming from the attic are clear indications of animal infestations. Raccoons are especially playful and like to tumble about, making loud noises that disturb residents. Young raccoons also like to chatter and chirp when calling for their mothers. Additionally, while raccoons generally dispose of waste away from nesting sites, they may let their droppings and urine collect in attics. The overwhelmingly foul smell quickly permeates houses.
Since they are voracious and messy eaters, raccoons leave behind telling signs of their presence. In the search for bits of digestible food, the pests discard paper products, plastic bags, and similar pieces of garbage. Therefore, when property owners are dealing with raccoons in trash, they’re likely to wake up to debris strewn about their yards. Additionally, given the prospect of a steady food source, raccoons will construct nests nearby. Individuals may also be alerted to raccoons in the trash by the sighting of adults, tracks throughout lawns, and the odorous presence of raccoon latrines.
Though sightings of the pest are rare given their nocturnal nature, property owners are able to detect the presence of raccoons in trees many other ways. For instance, raccoons often leave tracks in the dirt around the base of trees they’re living in. These tracks are distinct in their resemblance to tiny human hands. Their claws, which make them excellent climbers, are used to scratch trees, walls, and fences, and finding scuffed paint and tree bark typically points to raccoon infestations. At night, residents may hear chattering, growling, or snarling sounds. Finally, the presence of droppings at the base of trees points to the existence of raccoon populations in the area.
