What to Do When You Have Raccons in Your Attic
If you think a raccoon has turned your attic into its own personal den, the first thing that you should do is to stay calm. The problem is not as dangerous as you might think, and it can be dealt with easily. Here’s what you need to do.
Step 1 – Find Out How the Raccoon Infiltrated Your Alley
Inspect various parts of your home, especially your roof (raccoons are very good at climbing). Once you’ve found the possible points of entry, cover them with newspaper. Those areas where the newspaper are disturbed are the entry points of your raccoon tenants and they must be sealed off once their furry occupants have been expelled.
Step 2 – Make Them Uncomfortable
The first step in removing unwanted raccoons from your attic is by making them feel unwanted. To do this, try installing bright lights in your attic. You can also use items that smell bad to raccoons, such as a bowl of cider vinegar for example.
Do not turn off the light or take away the bowl. With any luck, the raccoon will leave on its own.
Step 3 – Contact A Professional to Expel the Raccoon
If the raccoon still refuses to leave then it’s best that you contact a animal control specialists. This is for the best as you don’t really know if the raccoon is a mother, which makes them more dangerous to expel
Once the raccoon has been removed, be sure to seal off all of the holes that it used to enter your home to make sure that they will never return.
Tips How to Stop Raccoons From Returning to Your Attic
After you’ve gotten rid of the raccoon in your attic, the next things that you will need to do is to make sure that they don’t return. To do this, you will need to make the following changes around your home:
- Check your nooks and dormers for holes. If you’ve heard the raccoon in the crawl space, search for broken vents that may be used as points of entry. Once you’ve found these areas, seal them off with wire mesh or sheet metal.
- Clean up any mess that the raccoons may have left behind. Raccoons often leave a lot of their feces in their nests, and the smell may attract other raccoons to enter your attic. So in order to prevent this from happening, you will need to thoroughly clean up your attic.
- Remove any branches that lead directly to your roof or attic. Raccoons are agile climbers, so removing the branches of nearby trees or any other item that would give them access to your roof will prevent them from returning into your attic.