HELP! I have raccoons in my attic!

[ninachamile]

I have been hearing noises in my attic for sometime. It is a family of raccoons. I have tried and tried to find where they getting it. I even had a new roof placed while they where here. I thought the noise would run them off. I did not get the roof because of the raccoons. I needed one badly.

I did call for an estimate but I do not have that kind of money and the gauranty of getting them all and not having them return is too risky, plus if they did return or one was left behind I would have to pay another fee. That's just not right.

Plus the other night I heard something in my wall. It was a mouse. I have three indoor/outdoor cats. I have seen their victims on my front porch so I know they could catch this little bugger but they show no intrest.

Also, my house is very clean. I do not leave food out and I have things contained properly.

I love animals but not ones that destroy my home.

I do not want to place poison. If it dies in the wall the smell would kill me and if one of my cats catches and eats it they may get sick. Plus I don't want a raccoon to eat the poison or the poisoned mouse either. I could place a trap I will have to place a trap.

Any advice on the raccoons to rid them myself?

Thank you.

[Seraphim]

Do not trapped these animals yourself!!! Raccoons are pretty dangerous. Number one they could do you a serious injury. They could rip your hand right off. A mother with babies is extremely dangerous. Number two they could carry rabies. Rabies is 100% fatal. Number three they could kill your cats. Cats are often killed by raccoons. Number four raccoon feces carry lots of diseases. They are using the attic part of your house to eliminate their feces in. Look for someone who will extract them from your home but return them to the wild. I repeat do not do this job yourself!!

[ninachamile]

Thanks Victoria66. I figured, they are a force not to be messed with. I will have to call someone out. But 600.00 on up!

 

[ALovingKitten]

Gawd, a family of raccoons. Wonder if they went in there to have its babies for the winter? The adults would need a huge hole somewhere to get into your house/attic. Are they using your chimney? Can you find where and how they got inside? We had a mouse inside our walls before too it just ran around inside the walls and died we figured. The raccoons have to leave at night to get food anyway you can get a trap set up outside that area of your house with food in it to trap them and have the right people from the city come collect each one of them the babies might have to be removed by a person going into your attic though. Hope you can get them out the noise must be annoying and the idea of them up there must stress you out.

[lavenderdove]

there are some serious health risks that you can get catching disease/parasites from raccoons and raccoon feces in your attic. You need to look at this as you would an important medical bill to save your health, and pay the money to have them trapped and evicted. So spend the $600 to get the professional to analyze where/how they are getting in.

 

And be careful about trying to trap yourself. They are fierce fighters when threatened, and do carry rabies and other diseases, so you need to let a professional handle it.

 

Try calling your local animal control and asking their advice about how to remove them, and they may be able to recommend someone who is very good at figuring out where they are getting in and helping you get them out. Get an estimate from a couple different pest control people before you choose one, as you might be able to get better terms than your first estimate.

 

You may also need a professional cleaning company to come in and repair the damage and remove the feces (they will need special breathing equipment to not breath in any potential disease while doing the cleanup.

 

You also need the exterminator to take care of the mice and look for holes and plug them. They can eat thru wiring and your house can burn down. So you need to take care of it. The same hole the raccoons are using is probably also being used by the mice.

 

And one other caution... I had a mice problem in a very old house I moved into, and one day went into my bathroom and sat down on the toilet and looked over and not a foot from me was a SNAKE curled up in the sink... a BIG snake maybe 3-4 feet long. Apparently the snake was following the mice into the house to hunt them in there, and was napping in the cool sink after his midnight meal!... so snakes may be your next roommate, or may already be living in your walls because of the mice. If you get rid of the mice, the snake will leave, but not until then. A hole big enough for a mouse is also big enough for a snake.