Raccoon Removal – How to Keep Raccoons Out of Your Home

Raccoons can make messes by raiding your trash, garden, or chicken coop. They can also cause damage to your home’s roof.

One-way doors are useful for keeping raccoons out of attics and crawl spaces and for preventing them from entering the area where they have defecated. Contact Raccoon Removal Texas now!

Raccoons are notorious for their destructive nature,; when they enter your house, it’s often a costly mess. They are known to gnaw on wood, cables, and electrical wiring, which can lead to fires, short circuits, or even complete home destruction. Their feces can also carry diseases like rabies, ringworm, giardia lamblia and rickettsia rickettsii that are contracted by exposure. If you notice chewing marks on wood or wires, you should contact a wildlife removal specialist to deal with the issue.

Other clues of a raccoon problem are their footprints in your yard and attic. Their tracks are small and round and look just like the print of a dog’s paw. They can also rip open soffits and vents, causing severe structural damage. If you are hearing scratching or loud noises in the attic or walls in the morning or evening, this is another sign that raccoons have invaded your house.

If you have a garden, raccoons can destroy it by digging up flowers, vegetables and other plants. They also raid garbage cans, pet food containers, compost bins and bird feeders to find food. To deter them from your property, you should keep your trash cans tightly closed and store your compost bin in a secure area away from the house.

While you might be tempted to try to trap raccoons yourself using steel traps, this is not recommended for several reasons. First and foremost, raccoons are wild animals that may attack if they feel cornered or threatened. In addition, they can bite you and carry diseases like rabies and ringworm that can be transmitted to humans. Finally, if you are not experienced in raccoon control, you could end up killing the animal unnecessarily.

A better option is to hire a professional wildlife removal company that uses humane trapping methods. Unlike steel traps, humane traps are designed to capture the animal without harming it. The raccoon will then be relocated to a new habitat far from your home. This method is much more effective than poisons which can cause the death of the raccoon as well as other animals and pets that may ingest its toxic substances.

Deterrents

Trying to keep raccoons away from your home can be a difficult task. They are opportunistic hunters and scavengers who will take advantage of any food source that you leave out, including trash bags, bird feeders, compost piles, fruit trees, vegetable gardens and fish ponds. You can reduce the attraction of these food sources by covering them at night. You can also use insecticides to keep pest populations low in the garden and yard.

Another deterrent is to trim the plants and bushes around your house and the base of any trees on your property. This will decrease the number of places for raccoons to hide and seek shelter. You can also place metal sheeting along the roof to prevent them from entering the attic. This will also help to prevent raccoons from damaging your gutter system and getting into chimneys and vents.

Many homeowners use raccoon repellents, such as ammonia and mothballs, to try to get raccoons to stay away from their homes. These products are not safe for pets or children and they can be toxic to the environment as well. These chemicals can also cause respiratory problems.

If you have a raccoon problem in your attic, it is important to hire a professional wildlife removal company to remove the animal and clean up the mess. Wild animals can carry a wide variety of diseases and bacteria, including salmonella, E coli, leptospirosis, mange and rabies. These pathogens can be spread through feces and even through bites.

The best way to avoid a raccoon invasion is to prevent the raccoons from getting into your house in the first place. You can do this by removing the things that attract them, such as scraps, pet food and garbage, and making sure that all entry points are sealed properly.

It is also important to remember that raccoons are protected by law and that it is illegal to kill them without a license or permit. Using traps and poisons to kill raccoons can actually make the problem worse, as they will move into other areas of your home.

Humane Relocation

As raccoon populations continue to increase, more and more of these animals are taking shelter in places they are not meant for, such as attics, crawl spaces, and chimneys. They are incredibly good climbers and smart problem solvers, making them difficult to remove from these spaces once they have taken up residence. If you have an intruding raccoon, there are several humane trapping and transport techniques that can be used to remove the animal safely without harming it.

Relocating a raccoon to a new location may seem like a good solution, but the truth is that relocation can have many serious consequences for both the displaced animal and its environment. For example, relocated raccoons can be at high risk for disease and have trouble adapting to a new territory that they don’t know. They may also face a variety of other dangers, such as predators and competition from established raccoons. Relocation may also be illegal in certain areas, so be sure to check the laws before attempting it.

Using deterrents and habitat modifications to make your property less attractive to raccoons is a safer and more effective approach to wildlife control. This can include removing potential hiding spots, such as brush piles and woodpiles, and clearing away any cluttered areas where raccoons might seek shelter. You should also seal any possible entry points that they might use to get into your home, such as gaps in your roof and walls and a capped chimney.

Lastly, you can reduce the attraction of your yard by securing any food sources that are attracting raccoons, such as loose garbage can lids and improperly secured compost bins. You can also protect gardens and other areas that have a high value to raccoons by using fencing or netting. If you have been dealing with a persistent issue, contact a wildlife control professional for safe and humane capture and removal. They can also help you implement long-term prevention strategies that will stop raccoons from returning to your property.

Pest Control

Raccoons can cause major problems on your property. They raid gardens and chicken coops, strip bark off trees and destroy outdoor structures. They can also scavenge in garbage cans and dumpsters. A raccoon that gets inside the house can tear ducts, insulation, and even structural beams. They often make a big mess and leave droppings all over the place.

Raccoon feces can spread roundworm (Baylisascaris), Salmonella, E coli, leptospirosis, and canine distemper. Young children and pets may be infected when they play with or eat raccoon poop. Raccoons can also carry and transmit rabies, endangering humans and other animals.

Prevention is the best way to avoid raccoons. Remove easy sources of food, such as pet food left out overnight or trash cans that are not securely closed. Also, keep the garden and chicken coop as far away from the house as possible. Installing an electric fence around a garden can deter raccoons from entering. Fencing around fruit trees and bushes can keep them out as well. Lastly, keeping the backyard free of wood piles and other shelters can discourage raccoons.

When raccoons do enter a home, a professional wildlife control company can help with exclusion and relocating the raccoons. Some companies specialize in large-animal pests, while others can handle raccoon removal as part of their insect-control plans.

If you want to try a DIY approach, the first step is to block any potential entry points with loosely wadded newspaper. Then, cover those entry points with 16-gauge wire mesh or metal flashing to prevent raccoons from returning.

Another option is to set a trap in the attic, but it can be dangerous since raccoons have sharp teeth and powerful claws. If you do decide to trap a raccoon, make sure that the trap is at least 12 inches away from any openings. Also, be careful when handling the animal because it can bite and scratch.

Finally, a pest control company can use one-way doors to get the raccoons out of your attic and stop them from returning. They can also trap the raccoons and humanely relocate them to a safe place away from your home.