It’s a common mistake for people to attempt to remove wildlife from their homes on their own. When you’ve discovered that there are animals living in your home, you feel the need to act right away. For many people, this means throwing on a pair of gloves and attempting to personally remove the animal from the home, but this will usually only make things worse. When dealing with a cunning and agile urban pest in your home, its best to leave it to trained professionals.
This is especially true of raccoons, which may seem fairly cute and innocuous. While they’re certainly unwelcome in your home, people largely view them as relatively harmless. However, they’re actually very smart and conniving creatures. Removing them from your home on your own is no easy task, and it can often be dangerous. The inclination to act right away is correct–but it should be to call a wildlife removal service right away, not attempt to remove the raccoon by yourself.
Here are some of the reasons removal should only be done by professionals.
They Carry Diseases
Like many wild animals, raccoons come with all sorts of diseases that need to be avoided at all costs. When you attempt to remove one of these critters from your home on your own, you risk coming into contact with those diseases and having them be transmitted to you and your family. For example, they are known carriers of rabies. Should they attack you, you could become infected. A much more common scenario is the transmission of two other diseases, which are roundworm and leptospirosis. Roundworms can be found in their droppings, which are likely to be scattered throughout your home. You can catch roundworm by ingesting or inhaling feces. Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection that is found in contaminated soil and water and is transmitted through contact with urine. All three of these diseases can be very serious when contracted by humans (or domestic pets).
While you may think that you can easily avoid these contaminations, they are much easier to come into contact with then you might imagine. It is not only through direct contact with an infected animal that diseases are contracted. The bacteria is spread through contaminated water, food as well as through the animals feces and urine and saliva.
Raccoons Are Aggressive
At first, you may think it’s possible to crawl up in the attic and attempt to snare the animal. But raccoons weigh on average 20 pounds and can be very aggressive. especially if they feel cornered. Human/raccoon interactions are amongst the most common out of all the wildlife found in urban areas. This stands to reason due to the sheer number of raccoons we coexist with.
Raccoons instinctively keep their distance from humans but if encountered in a closed space, the likelihood of aggressive behavior being exhibited increases drastically.
However tempting it may be to try and save a few bucks and remove the animal yourself, don’t. Take it from us, we have seen countless instances where this has cost homeowners thousands of dollars in avoidable repairs. Bottom line, it’s best to contact a professional wildlife company to perform the raccoon removal and subsequent decontamination.
There Could Be Babies
Depending on the time of year, there could be a high likelihood the raccoon has broken into your home to have its babies. This occurs in the springtime and can occasionally happen as late as the first week of June. Raccoons typically have several dens in any given neighborhood. As they are territorial animals they tend to stick to one area but will alternate between dens. If they are staying put for several consecutive days during the spring, there is a high likelihood there are babies present.
If this is the case then you should contact a raccoon removal expert. Mothers will be very protective of their young and will not hesitate to exhibit aggressive behavior. The instances of raccoon bites and scratches to humans are almost exclusively involved mothers and their young.
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The Removal Aftermath
Another important reason that raccoon removal should only be done by professionals is the aftermath of the animal being vacated from your home. Removing the wildlife is only the first half of the process, and the second half is just as important and just as complicated as the first. Once the animal has been removed, all traces of the animals need to be removed from the home. This means a thorough and extensive cleaning of your property, armed with the proper equipment.
Even if you avoid coming into contact with raccoon urine or feces during the removal, you also need to avoid coming into contact once the animal is gone. Their urine can be especially difficult to identify, and should droppings or urine be left behind after the removal, they can pose a serious threat to your health in the future. Professional wildlife removal services are trained in removing every single trace of the animal from your home. There’s also the question of how the animal got in in the first place. If they found their way in once, they can find their way in again. Professionals can find the entry points and seal them, and also find any other vulnerabilities that could lead to further infestations.
As the title says, raccoon removal should only be attempted by pros. If you suspect raccoons have gained entry to your residence, contact your local wildlife professionals immediately.
Do you need wildlife removal services? Request a quote today!