It’s that time of year again. Raccoons are beginning their mating season. Male raccoons have begun their search for females. Once the male and female mate, the female gives birth and raises the young without any help from the males.
Now that raccoons are mating, the females will begin looking for places to give birth and raise their young. One of their favorite places to do this is the attics of homes. They will quickly take advantage of any openings or weak spots. Attics are warm, dry and protected from many predators. Raccoons have opposable thumbs just like humans, which means they can grasp and handle objects, rip open holes and climb very easily. Some of the most common spots for raccoons to enter an attic are unsecured gable vents, soffits and places with rotten wood that can be torn open. Once inside the female will pick a spot to give birth. Many times the places they choose are inaccessible, making it difficult to find the newborns. This can create a situation where holes must be opened to get to the young.
Another problem with them raising young in an attic is the destruction they can cause. Raccoons are notorious for destroying things. I have had customers tell me “it sounded like they were having a frat party up there!” If you store things in the attic there is a good chance they will rip things apart just out of curiosity. They can also shred the duct work for central air conditioning systems. If the raccoons are not removed in a timely manner, a very serious situation can occur. They will urinate and defecate all over the place. This can be very costly to clean up. The insulation becomes contaminated and must be removed. Raccoon feces contain a parasite called roundworm. If the feces are ingested accidentally, it could result in roundworm infection of the brain, organs, or eyes. There are really no effective treatments for this and can be fatal. Young children and pets are especially vulnerable to roundworm.
The best thing you can do to prevent them from getting into the attic in the first place is looking over your home top to bottom for any vulnerable spots. If you are concerned about anything you found please give us a call and we can inspect the home inside and out. We are experts at raccoon removal and we will get rid of them and secure any openings allowing them access.