Your home is cozy and welcoming – it’s a place you want to spend your time, so it only makes sense that raccoons stranded outside also want to make your home their home. While they want to be cozy in your attic, it’s understandable you don’t want them to stay very long.
Removing them from your home doesn’t have to hurt them, so you can feel comfortable knowing they’re gone from your attic but haven’t been harmed in any way. Here are some methods and processes used in the humane removal of raccoons from your home.
Installing One-Way Doors
Raccoons break into your home through holes and openings. They crawl into these small spaces looking for food and warmth, especially during the cold weather. Eventually, though, they will need to leave to perhaps looking for more food or to bring their offspring into your home as well. Once you have found where they’re getting into your home, you (or a professional) can install one-way doors so they can leave your home, but they cannot get back in. This method doesn’t harm them, but it will lock them out of your house. If there are other raccoons still inside, or they are determined, they may try to break into your home in another spot. This option is useful, though, and will help to push them out of your house humanely.
Reinforcement
The best way to get raccoons out of your attic or crawlspace is to ensure they never get in there in the first place. Each year, or every couple of years, take some time to inspect the outside of your home and make sure there aren’t any spots raccoons can easily crawl through or break through to get into your home. Reinforce eavestroughs, facia and even your roof. This exercise may be costly up front, but it could save you money in having to have them removed later on.
Live Trapping
A professional can set traps in your attic to live trap any raccoons that may be up there and then come back to pick up the trap and remove the animal. This method involves the relocation of the animal.
Depending on the city you live in, there could be laws in place that prohibit animals from being relocated a specific distance from where they were trapped. Raccoons can travel up to 5KM in one night, and if they remember where you live, they might be able to find their way back to your home quickly. It will be essential to check the laws in your area to see if this is a worthwhile option for you and your home.
Consulting with a professional about the best approach to humanely remove raccoons from your home will be the best start to making sure once they are gone they stay out of your home.
