raccoon-damage-cambridge-atticAre you still not sure if you should have your attic inspected for the presence of raccoons and other wildlife? If so, we advise you to once again take a look at the video posted below where we were called out to Cambridge for a raccoon removal, and see what we found – massive attic damage.

This damage became so bad and dangerous for one main reason – the attic was left un-checked and un-inspected for quite some time.

Mind you, we don’t always encounter massive damage in a home or attic. As an example, last year while we were doing a removal job in Cambridge, we found very little attic damage, but did find raccoon babies and their mother.

As you’ll see if you watch that video, the damage was quite minimal (minor damage was done to the bulkhead and soffit panels of which we repaired) but as far as we were able to ascertain, the damage would have become worse of those babies were left up there and not removed in a timely manner. Can you imagine what 3 to five baby raccoons could do to an attic if they’re left unchecked?

By the time we started filming we had already removed the raccoon, but as you’ll be able to see there was a dangerous level of raccoon fecal and urine contamination. Another major problem that was not noticed in time was the damage the raccoon did to the bathroom exhaust fan. It took the vent down completely and the result was that the bathroom was venting into the attic rather than outside like it’s supposed to. That issue alone was enough to ring the alarm and have this issue resolved swiftly.

With a broken bathroom exhaust vent, a home owner can expect to encounter serious rot and roof damage which itself will cause a slew of other problems to start developing.

The attic insulation was ripped up, there was a slew of tunnels and trails in the insulation (air pockets), the moore vents were destroyed along with the soffit vents and blockers. There was also drywall (which in this case acted as a firewall) was slightly damaged too. See the video below yourself to get an idea of what we encountered:

What we did after removing the raccoon

Of course we humanely removed the raccoon from the attic but we also provided our attic restoration services as well. This involved cleaning the attic out from all debris and rubbish that raccoon created and brought with him into the attic.

We then decontaminated the attic through the use of a decontamination digester, and re-insulating the attic back to a safe and comfortable level.

The 2015 baby raccoon season has begun so remember you’re not always going to hear raccoons and other wildlife in your attic, so by getting a pre-emptive inspection done before any potential damage can be done to your attic is one of the wisest home investment decisions you can make.

You truly never know what kind of issues you’ll find up there, but if you catch the problem before it gets worse, you’re only going to thank yourself later for setting up an inspection.

Oh my god do I have raccoons in my attic?

It’s possible that you have raccoons or other various wildlife in your attic and only a thorough inspection will tell you whether you do have a current entry problem or if your home is susceptible to wildlife intrusions in general. You can however, view the signs wildlife are in your home or quickly glance at the list I’ve summarized for you below;

Signs of raccoon: these few signs may help you determine if you have a problem yourself and from there you can call the experts if you discover you do:

  • damage to the insulation of your attic
  • damage to soffit vents, roof vents and all air vents
  • holes anywhere on your roof or along your roof line
  • fecal matter and urine stains in your attic or on your roof
  • turned over and damage garbage containers
  • food in your attic
  • scratching or squeaking noises coming from above
  • damage in and around your chimney
  • raccoons living under your deck
  • flickering lights in home due to wire damage in attic
  • finding shingles on the ground around your home
  • you see raccoons going in and out of your attic (surefire sign)

Discovering any of the above issues most probably point to a raccoon problem that needs to be controlled. By now the reasons are obvious so if you see these signs, don’t hesitate to call your local pest control company before the cost of repairing damages runs into the thousands.

It only takes one inspection and prevention job to rectify any current or potential issues so keep your eyes and ears open especially during these early months of the year. Your home will thank you for it later!

Share This