When you have a raccoon in your home, crawlspace, or garage, you might decide to take care of the problem on your own. After all, it’ll save you money. And how hard can it really be? There are a number of DIY products on the market to choose from.
Unfortunately, many people underestimate how difficult raccoon removal can be. And they end up making mistakes that render their removal strategies useless.
Here are some common raccoon removal mistakes, and what to do instead.
1. Manually Remove It
Your first thought when you spot a raccoon in your home may be to corner it in order to grab it and remove it. This is one of the top three things you shouldn’t do when you encounter wildlife in your home. Raccoons can be unpredictable and vicious. Cornering it or attempting to grab it could put it under tremendous stress, which will likely provoke an aggressive reaction. You could end up getting scratched or bitten in the process. And in rare cases, you could also get rabies from such a situation.
2. Sealing Up the Entry Point
Many homeowners will wait until the raccoon leaves the home, and then seal up its entry point. Though this could stop the raccoon from getting back in, it could be a big mistake if there are baby raccoons inside.
Mothers will often enter homes in order to give their babies a safe place to nurse. Locking out the mother will not only kill the babies, but will likely result in excessive damage as the mother frantically and desperately tries to get back in to save her babies.
3. Trapping and Relocating
A common raccoon removal mistake made by homeowners is trapping and relocating. They believe this to be the most humane and effective way to get rid of the problem. Use a live trap, drive far away from your home, and release the animal.
This is a bad idea for two reasons. First, just because you relocated one raccoon doesn’t mean that others won’t find their way inside. And second, trapping and relocating leads to very low survival rates for wildlife. Placing raccoons, or any wildlife, in unfamiliar environments doesn’t bode well for them.
4. Cutting Down Trees
You might think that cutting down trees that give raccoons access to your roof and attic is an effective way to stop them from getting in. But you must realize that raccoons are clever and crafty—they’re also great climbers. Cutting down trees won’t stop them. They can and will climb up brickwork or downspouts.
5. Using Home Remedies
You might have read online that all you have to do is use ammonia or mothballs to deter raccoons. If this sounds too simple and easy to be true, you’re correct. These old wives’ tales don’t work to keep raccoons at bay.
6. Excluding the Raccoon and Calling It a Day
If you’ve successfully excluded a raccoon from your home, don’t think that your work is now done. If these animals have been nesting in your home, then you need to start cleaning up. There could be raccoon urine and feces all over the place. The animal could have destroyed your insulation and other parts of your home. The removal part is just the beginning of the required work.
7. Poisoning It
Poisoning a raccoon is a cruel and inhumane way to eliminate the problem that you’re having. Not only, that but it’s also illegal in Ontario. It also won’t stop other raccoons from coming in later.
What to Do Instead
Now that you understand all of the things that you shouldn’t do when it comes to raccoon removal, here’s what you should do instead: call a humane wildlife removal company instead. The company will humanely remove the raccoons from your home with a one-way door, ensure that no babies are left behind, seal up all entry points to prevent future re-entry, and help with decontamination and repairs.