5 Tips On How To Get Rid Of Raccoons In Your Attic

5 Tips on How to Get Rid of Raccoons in Your Attic

Due to instincts, raccoons seek shelter and a warm environment, so they’ll often make their way into your home. This is a typical occurrence and if you want to know how to get rid of raccoons in your attic, there are tips and tricks you can follow. If you’ve been hearing strange noises in your attic, you may have a raccoon problem.

Signs You Have a Racoon in Your Attic

Raccoons are sneaky creatures who often like to travel together when seeking warmth and shelter. There are some signs you’ll begin to notice that will let you know that you have a raccoon in your attic. Based on the amount of destruction and what is left, you’ll be able to tell if this is a new problem or has been occurring for some time.

• You notice feces inside your attic.
• You hear noises that include chewing and scratching. 
• You have furniture or wall paneling that is pulled off. 
• You notice scratching on wooded areas.
• You’ve noticed raccoons around your home such as on your roof or yard.
• You have holes in your vents. 
• You have raccoon trails through your attic insulation. 

Tips and Tricks on How to Get Rid of Racoons in Your Attic

If not dealt with properly, raccoons can cause large amounts of destruction and can become dangerous. To minimize the dangers, it’s important to inquire about a raccoon removal service and let our professionals do the dirty work. We’ve come up with 5 tips and tricks on how to get rid of raccoons in your attic.

1. Make Changes to the Environment

If you’ve been figuring out how to get rid of raccoons in your attic, one way is to make changes to the environment and make it less appealing. Environments that are less appealing to raccoons will often keep raccoons from entering. Some ways you can change the environment are

• Removing any food or crumbs in your home.
• Eliminate any water problems. 
• Seal up any possible entry points. 
• Remove any shrubs or trees that may be located close to your home that act as ladders for raccoons.

This first tip can help make your attic less desirable for raccoons to seek shelter and prevent them from entering other parts of your home.

2. How to Get Rid of Raccoons in Your Attic Using Repellant 

One trick to get rid of raccoons is to use a repellent that would be an annoyance to rodents. To repel raccoons, you’ll want to use light, noises, and certain smells. You can place radios for large sounds, spotlights for dark areas, and use smells such as vinegar, garlic juice, or hot pepper.

If you’ve been looking at how to get rid of raccoons in your attic, there are other safe approaches you can use to repel raccoons. These available products include trash bags since raccoons tend to favor ripping open trash. If you plan to use some type of repellent, know that mother raccoons may be more determined to enter your attic.

3. How to Get Rid of Raccoons in Your Attic Using a Trap

Setting a raccoon trap is one way to trap raccoons without causing harm. If this is the route you’re planning to take, you can call your local wildlife department which will assist in supplying traps. Remember to never handle a raccoon on your own and to call a professional about our raccoon removal service when needed.

4. Seal Up Any Known Entry Points

One of the most important tips that will show you how to get rid of raccoons in your attic is sealing up any known entry points. To locate all attic entry points, you’ll need to conduct an attic cleanup to ensure that you’re finding every possible entry point. Once you have sealed off every entry point, this will lower the chance of a raccoon entering your attic.

5. Clean Up & Repair Your Attic

Once you have successfully eliminated raccoons from your attic, you’ll need to clean up the mess and have any damage repaired. Following remediation in your attic, your attic may have debris and bacteria from raccoons. Raccoons can leave feces, urine, and other potential health risks behind.

To ensure that the scent and any other unpleasant attractions are gone, you’ll want to have your attic sanitized and decontaminated in affected areas. Not only is sanitizer decontamination beneficial for keeping raccoons away, but it can also help prevent mold growth. Our Master Attic professional will use a safe and effective sanitizer, along with wearing proper gear to make sure raccoons stay away for good.

What Type of Damage Can Raccoons Cause in Your Attic?

If you have raccoons roaming around in your attic, you more than likely will encounter damage along the way. Raccoons can cause damage to your roof, insulation, ductwork, and even electrical wiring. When these rodents cause damage to your insulation, this will make your attic space unsanitary and will require attic insulation removal and replacement.

Raccoons have a way of creating holes in your roof by tearing through shingles and plywood and making their way into your attic. If you have an opening that water can enter through, this could cause a potential mold problem. If you suspect that raccoons have caused damage to your home, you can contact our Master Attic professionals about scheduling a raccoon removal service.

Insulation 

Raccoons can get up to 30 lbs and can quickly damage your attic’s insulation. Mother raccoons will even shelter and nurse their babies in these comfortable areas. If this type of activity damages your attic’s insulation, you’ll want to contact our professionals at Master Attic for attic insulation removal. 

Chewed Wires

Raccoons are top-notch chewers and will chew anything they come across. While raccoons are roaming around your attic’s insulation, they will also chew wiring by removing the plastic and exposing the inner wires. Any exposed wiring should be dealt with immediately by a professional.

Damage to Your Roof

If you notice there is damage to your roof, this is most likely the raccoon’s point of entry. Sometimes these rodents can chew directly through your roof by finding a small hole and creating a larger one. This type of damage will not only cause damage to your roof but to your attic space.

Damaged roofing can lead to water damage and cause rotting within your shingles, along with mold growth. Roof repairs can be costly, so you’ll want to   ensure you’ve taken every precaution to keep these rodents out of your home.

Final Thoughts

If you’ve been wondering how to get rid of raccoons in your attic, these tips and tricks are the first steps in keeping these pesky critters out of your attic space. If you’re having trouble removing a raccoon from your attic, you can contact our professionals at Master Attic to schedule a raccoon removal service. Removing these rodents as soon as possible is essential to preventing further damage to your home.