One of the most common and damaging nuisance wildlife problems near you is a raccoon infestation. Raccoons are curious and resourceful and have adapted to thrive in an urban setting. They have a knack for finding their way into residential areas, often causing a host of problems for homeowners.
Recognizing the signs of a raccoon infestation early will help mitigate the damage they’re causing. The telltale sign is damaged or overturned garbage cans, garden damage, or holes in your yard. Homeowners can also find damage on the siding of their house, in the eaves, soffit, and along the roof. But the most common sign of a raccoon problem is the loud raccoon noises at night.
How Raccoons Get into Your Attic
Raccoons are excellent climbers. They use tree limbs, downspouts, or even siding to gain access to your roof. Once on your roof, entry points include shingles, loose soffits, eaves, vents, or roof returns. Raccoons can take a small entry hole and create a bigger one.
Raccoon Trapping in Panama City Beach
The best way to get rid of a raccoon is a cage trap. Direct capture is not commonly used because raccoons are a rabies vector species. If legal, a healthy trapped raccoon will be relocated with written permission. When babies are removed from an attic, our wildlife specialists seek help from a local wildlife rehabilitation center.
At Critter Control, we secure a raccoon trap and set it where raccoons frequent. Inside your home look for signs of tracks or paw prints and raccoon droppings. Outside of your home, look for raccoon droppings, dens, or animal runways. Setting multiple traps in different locations along their pathways can yield better results. Because the raccoon trap needs to be checked, we do place it in a somewhat accessible location.
Critter Control uses only humane raccoon trapping techniques that are environmentally friendly and ecologically safe to remove raccoons from attics. We bait the trap with sweet items to reduce non-target captures. You can purchase sweet pasts. Fruits like cherries or grapes, marshmallows or jelly work effectively as raccoon bait.
The raccoon trap is secured to protect the animal. If the trap is outside or on the roof, we typically cover it to protect the animal from the elements. In certain situations, we can install a raccoon excluder. We install it over the raccoon entry point. It allows the raccoon to leave, but it prevents their return.
Exclusion for Raccoon Pest Control
In general, repellents and deterrents have limited effectiveness in solving a raccoon problem. Sometimes the best offense is a good defense. Rather than deal with a problem after it happens, do what you can to prevent it.
Exclusions are the prevention methods for deterring raccoon activity. They work by creating a physical barrier to stop raccoons from accessing resources. In your home, exclusions seal any potential raccoon entry points. Typical entry points are fascia boards, soffits, and vents. For the garden, they protected specific areas.
Exclusions for the Home
- Seal all cracks and holes that a raccoon may see as a way to enter your home.
- Secure vents, chimneys, crawlspaces, and basements.
- Install tree and roof barriers to prevent climbing.
Raccoon Exclusions for the Garden
- Install a motion-activated sprinkler system.
- Install an electric fence around your garden and chicken coop.
- Add fencing around fruit trees and bushes.
- Hire pest control to eliminate grubs and other insects from your yard.
How We Get Rid of Raccoons in Panama City Beach
Critter Control experts specialize in raccoon removal and control. To remove and control a raccoon or family of raccoons on your property, we perform a thorough inspection that helps us develop a personalized raccoon removal plan. We build custom traps that are safe and humane but effectively remove the animal without putting you or your family in danger. We also seal all entry points to prevent future raccoon visits.
