Raccoons are pretty big and bulky,weighing 14–23 lbs on average. They won’t get into your house through a tiny crack or hole like a mouse or rat would, but make no mistake—if you’re not careful, they’ll find a way in. They’re strong and powerful—and they’re committed to getting inside.
Raccoons are intelligent and adaptable. They continue to thrive in rural and urban environments alike. They don’t make their own den sites—they borrow them. Plus, they prefer man-made structures over tree and rock hollows. This makes your attic, chimney, shed, garage, and other areas mighty tempting to raccoons looking for a place to crash.
The best way to keep your home raccoon free is to secure it against future intrusion. Prevention is the best medicine when it comes to animal control—it’s far simpler and easier than having to remove raccoons from your attic.
Here are some of the most common ways that a raccoon can become an unexpected and unwelcomed house guest.
Santa Claus isn’t the only one coming down your chimney. Without a chimney cap, a raccoon can get down there, too. Your chimney is a perfect place for a mother raccoon to nurse her babies. It offers shelter and protection and it mimics a hollowed-out tree, which makes it easy for the adults to get up and down easily.
Your plumbing mats are on the roof vents that connect to your plumbing system and are used to exhaust sewer gases. When plumbing vents are installed, the hole cut out in the roof to extend to the pipe is usually cut much bigger than the pipe itself to make it easier to run the plumbing through. To cover the large holes that are made, these rubber mats are used.
Raccoons are tough, and they can tear and pull at these mats until they make large enough holes to squeeze themselves through. Then down the hole they go, right into your attic to make themselves at home.
Roof-soffit intersections are the areas of your roof where the soffits sit above the section of the roof. These intersections are typically located where the top and bottom roof meet. The soffits are made of thin plastic or aluminum, making it easier for a raccoon to get in.
All the animal has to do is use its shoulders to open these flimsy soffits in order to gain access to the attic.
Destroying your aluminum or plastic roof vent cover is a simple task for raccoons. Since these vents are on your roof to allow air circulation in your attic, raccoons can feel the escaping air through them. This tempts them to get in to access this warmth, so they’ll work hard to get in there.
The roof’s edge, where the house and the eavestrough meet, is a common entry point for raccoons. By design, all melted snow and rain must move through the roof’s edge to get to the eavestrough. This means the roof’s edge gets weathered and deteriorates more quickly due to the harsh conditions and the high amounts of moisture. So it’s quite easy for an opportunistic raccoon to tear away or chew at the rotten wood in order to get into your home.
Raccoons are some of the worst unwelcomed and unexpected house guests. Inspect your home thoroughly in order to identify and repair areas of vulnerability that could potentially turn into an entry point for the animals. Alternatively, get a professional home inspection by a wildlife removal company with raccoon removal services. Its experts will be able to identify any potential access point and prevent future intrusions.
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