Raccoon dropping removal from attics
As humans build their homes and businesses closer to natural raccoon habitat, the animals will take up residence in manmade living spaces. These locations are warm and often surrounded by food sources. Females, in particular, enjoy the safety of human areas. They must protect their babies from predators, including males that desire to harm them. Attics are a hot spot in your home where they seek shelter. Some mothers go so far as to tuck their babies down into wall cavities. If a male enters your home when a female is already living there, you will surely hear the sounds of mating or fighting, or both.
Raccoons usually live for about six years in the wild, and if they find a comfortable place in your attic, they will keep returning over those years unless you call raccoon trappers to remove them and keep them out. When a raccoon is living in your attic, he may also be looking for food. Popular food sources are trash cans and pet-food containers. They eat both plants and animals.
Raccoons also go to the bathroom just like any other animal. They have a habit of choosing a particular spot as their “toilet,” and this is where your insulation will become a trampled bed of fecal matter and urine. Eventually, these bathroom smells can spread into your living area, causing a very unpleasant odor. You might get used to it, but your house guests, neighbors and prospective home-buyers will not.
Raccoon waste can carry roundworm, a parasite whose eggs can cause health problems in humans who inhale or ingest them. Roundworms can live in human intestines for years and can cause abdominal pain, diarrhea, lung problems and, in severe cases, neurological problems and even death.
It is best to contain or properly secure any food sources the raccoons may have been enjoying, such as garbage cans, dumpsters, bird feeders and pet-food dishes. Don’t entice other raccoons to return. Call the experts to ensure the building is in proper repair to deter any future furry friends from entering.
Cleaning up droppings and urine is crucial in the raccoon-prevention process. If you leave any raccoon waste behind, it will entice other raccoons to come make a home in your attic or crawlspace, and the mess will provide a breeding ground for raccoon disease and insects. Remember that raccoons are wild and unpredictable. Though experts will have many years of experience in the field, a particular animal situation may require them to return more than once to get the job done right and to prevent raccoons in your house in the future.
Most cases where a raccoon enters an attic involve a litter. The first step is to determine how the raccoon got in. The next step is to determine if a litter is present. If a litter of babies is around, they should be removed by hand from the attic. The raccoon litter is removed by hand once located in the attic.
Traveling the attic for the extraction means carefully distributing one's weight across the attic beams so as not to puncture the ceiling dry wall. This step involves quite a bit of skill. The litter will usually be together. Most commonly the mother will birth 3-5 babies. Raccoons leave behind a large mess in the attic. Decontamination services are strongly recommended.
Just chasing the animal out somehow and then sealing off the entry point will, almost always, not work because the raccoon will return and force its way back in again. At this point, it will cause more damage than it did before. You need to convince the raccoon that this is not a place it wants to be.
Home remedies may be attempted such as moth balls, loud music, and bright lights. These home solutions are typically ineffective. Ammonia or ammonia-soaked cotton rags should not be used. If there are baby raccoons in the chimney, concentrated ammonia vapors or other caustic mixtures can damage the infant raccoons' mucous membranes. They can also cause an adult raccoon to become extremely agitated while attempting to flee from the vapors and it may provoke an attack. Do not attempt to capture it yourself. Because of the danger of rabies and other diseases and just plain agitated wildlife, avoid any confrontation with the raccoon itself.
For cleaning the feces, contact a reliable professional or wear rubber gloves and a mask and clean up such waste promptly, burying or burning the feces.
As humans build their homes and businesses closer to natural raccoon habitat, the animals will take up residence in manmade living spaces. These locations are warm and often surrounded by food sources. Females, in particular, enjoy the safety of human areas. They must protect their babies from predators, including males that desire to harm them. Attics are a hot spot in your home where they seek shelter. Some mothers go so far as to tuck their babies down into wall cavities. If a male enters your home when a female is already living there, you will surely hear the sounds of mating or fighting, or both.
Raccoons usually live for about six years in the wild, and if they find a comfortable place in your attic, they will keep returning over those years unless you call raccoon trappers to remove them and keep them out. When a raccoon is living in your attic, he may also be looking for food. Popular food sources are trash cans and pet-food containers. They eat both plants and animals.
Raccoons also go to the bathroom just like any other animal. They have a habit of choosing a particular spot as their “toilet,” and this is where your insulation will become a trampled bed of fecal matter and urine. Eventually, these bathroom smells can spread into your living area, causing a very unpleasant odor. You might get used to it, but your house guests, neighbors and prospective home-buyers will not.
Raccoon waste can carry roundworm, a parasite whose eggs can cause health problems in humans who inhale or ingest them. Roundworms can live in human intestines for years and can cause abdominal pain, diarrhea, lung problems and, in severe cases, neurological problems and even death.
It is best to contain or properly secure any food sources the raccoons may have been enjoying, such as garbage cans, dumpsters, bird feeders and pet-food dishes. Don’t entice other raccoons to return. Call the experts to ensure the building is in proper repair to deter any future furry friends from entering.
Cleaning up droppings and urine is crucial in the raccoon-prevention process. If you leave any raccoon waste behind, it will entice other raccoons to come make a home in your attic or crawlspace, and the mess will provide a breeding ground for raccoon disease and insects. Remember that raccoons are wild and unpredictable. Though experts will have many years of experience in the field, a particular animal situation may require them to return more than once to get the job done right and to prevent raccoons in your house in the future.
Most cases where a raccoon enters an attic involve a litter. The first step is to determine how the raccoon got in. The next step is to determine if a litter is present. If a litter of babies is around, they should be removed by hand from the attic. The raccoon litter is removed by hand once located in the attic.
Traveling the attic for the extraction means carefully distributing one's weight across the attic beams so as not to puncture the ceiling dry wall. This step involves quite a bit of skill. The litter will usually be together. Most commonly the mother will birth 3-5 babies. Raccoons leave behind a large mess in the attic. Decontamination services are strongly recommended.
Just chasing the animal out somehow and then sealing off the entry point will, almost always, not work because the raccoon will return and force its way back in again. At this point, it will cause more damage than it did before. You need to convince the raccoon that this is not a place it wants to be.
Home remedies may be attempted such as moth balls, loud music, and bright lights. These home solutions are typically ineffective. Ammonia or ammonia-soaked cotton rags should not be used. If there are baby raccoons in the chimney, concentrated ammonia vapors or other caustic mixtures can damage the infant raccoons' mucous membranes. They can also cause an adult raccoon to become extremely agitated while attempting to flee from the vapors and it may provoke an attack. Do not attempt to capture it yourself. Because of the danger of rabies and other diseases and just plain agitated wildlife, avoid any confrontation with the raccoon itself.
For cleaning the feces, contact a reliable professional or wear rubber gloves and a mask and clean up such waste promptly, burying or burning the feces.
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MICHIGAN CONTACT NUMBERS:
SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN: 877-782-6667
NORTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN: 989-348-2753
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SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN: 877-782-6667
NORTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN: 989-348-2753
UPPER PENINSULA MICHIGAN: 989-390-5712