Summer time is prime time for getting outside and enjoying your outdoor space with family and friends. It is also prime time for raccoons to do the same! Except when raccoons are enjoying your outdoor space you will most likely be left with quite the mess to clean up. Raccoons might seem like cute creatures but they can be quite the terrors, destroying your yard and making holes to get into your attic. But since they are wild animals, they can be rather difficult to get rid of! Rest easy, we have some ideas that might help. But first, what kind of damage should you be looking for if you suspect a raccoon has entered your property?
Some ways that raccoons might damage your property
Making a mess of your garbage
One of the most common nuisances when it comes to raccoons is their penchant for getting into your trash. While this might not often result in damage, it can certainly be annoying to have to clean up trash every morning!
Destroying your attic
Raccoons are anything but litter trained so one of the biggest messes they will leave in your attic centers on their urine and feces. When left in your attic, the odours and residue from these bodily functions can make their way into your ventilation system possibly cause harm to your family thanks to a commonly found roundworm infection.
Raccoons in your attic are also likely to damage your insulation just by walking around since they are fairly heavy animals, which can cause your heating and cooling system to have to work overtime if the insulation becomes ineffective in areas.
Damage to your ventilation and electrical systems is also a possibility.
Creating holes in your soffits or wall
Raccoons looking to nest will look for vulnerable spots under the eaves of your house, around vents and on the roof. They will then use that vulnerable spot to open a hole to get into your attic. These can often be hard to spot since they choose areas that likely won’t be obvious from the ground.
Dig up your yard looking for grubs
Grubs are larvae from a variety of different beetles who lay their eggs in the summer. They rise to the surface in August and are a common food source for animals like raccoons and skunks. You may notice holes and dug up grass in your yard in the summer, and the cause is likely raccoons looking for food.
Preventing raccoons from damaging your property
There are a few easy things you can do to prevent raccoons from damaging your home and yard. The sooner you take some of these measures, the more likely they are to abandon their plans of destroying your property!
Top ways to discourage raccoons:
- Eliminate food sources by securing trashcan lids, installing protective devices to bird feeders and bringing in pet food at night
- Ensure any possible entrance points to your attic are reinforced to prevent the creation of entrance holes
- Install vent covers to prevent entry
- Ensure no trees are close enough to your roof to allow them to climb onto it
- Take steps to get rid of grubs from your yard
Raccoons are pests
Raccoons may look cute from a distance but they can be real pests to your home and yard! If you find yourself with a raccoon problem that doesn’t seem to improve after you’ve taken all of these steps it might be time to contact a professional to help. Trapping and removing the raccoon might be the next logical step, but this isn’t something you should do on your own! Your local pest removal company will have the proper equipment and process to ensure the animal is not harmed.
