This morning we received a call from a homeowner in northwest Bradenton. He was slightly panic stricken because he had been out of town for several weeks and came home to noises coming from his chimney. He was apprehensive about opening the flue himself as he wasn’t sure what was going to pop out.
Onsite Inspection Reveals The Problem
Upon inspection we could hear a slight noise coming from the chimney area but nothing that allowed us to determine what it was. We opened the flue and at first saw nothing. We assumed that it was probably just chimney swifts and we had scared them and they flew out. However, we could still hear faint scratching sounds. We investigated a little further and saw something tiny move. It was back down and behind the flue door. It turns out to be two juvenile raccoons. We saw momma up towards the top of the chimney but we spooked her and she left.
Glad To Fix The Problem
The homeowners were relieved and could not believe such a thing could happen.
Raccoons can do a lot of damage to a home. An attic is a raccoon’s playground and just like a kid, they can be destructive at times. They frequently tear apart the HVAC system, tear through wiring, and destroy the integrity of a home’s insulation by throwing insulation everywhere.
Most often a raccoon gets into an attic at a roof joint where the soffit is weakest and easiest to remove. Their raiser sharp claws and ability to use their thumbs to grab things makes these weak points and other areas of concern very easy to get through without proper preventative work by a knowledgeable wildlife technician. And as one Orlando customer learned the hard way, if the animal is not dealt with properly and all precautions taken, a much bigger problem may arise.
Taking Action
I was called out to a home in Orlando that had been having an issue with raccoons getting into the attic over the last few months. It’s never a good sign when someone knowingly allows any animal problem, especially a raccoon due to their immense strength and size in general, to go on for that long. The longer a raccoon stays in your attic the greater the chance of damage occurring to the home. Also, the longer the raccoon is in the attic the harder it is to evict them without using traps.
The raccoon feels comfortable and is more inclined to stay since they’ve already been there so long, especially if they’ve had babies during this period. That was this customer’s issue. He had tried getting rid of the raccoon several times by scaring it away with lights and noise in the attic, vinegar and ammonia sprayed in the attic, and finally by sealing the raccoon out once he saw it leave at night. This was a big mistake. He did a very good job sealing the entry point but completely neglected, simply out of not knowing to check, to completely assess the situation.
The Wildlife Expert Gets Involved
This is where our technicians are so important at Nuisance Wildlife Removal. It turned out the raccoon he excluded from the attic was a mother raccoon with babies still trapped in the attic. At this point, there’s usually not much that can keep them out. Just like any mother with her babies in danger or cut off, this raccoon did everything to get them back. It tore straight through the roof to get back in.
Now, not only does the customer have to worry about getting rid of the raccoon again, but will have to have some substantial roof repair done. Another example of why a professional wildlife technician should always be called out to deal with nuisance animals. Give Nuisance Wildlife Removal a call at 1-866-263-9453.
We were called out today to find out what was running around in a customer’s attic. I pulled up to the house and immediately had suspicions of it being an issue with raccoons in the attic as I could see a large hole in the soffit at the roof joint. I went through my usual routine of trying to find out how long the animal has been there, what the customer is hearing, when they hear it, and any other interesting details.
People have described what they’re hearing in a lot of colorful ways but this was probably my favorite.
The customer said, “every night it sounds like someone is bowling in my attic.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. She went on to describe how it sounds like a really heavy ball rolling across the ceiling to the other end of a room or the house and slamming into something. Then it would go another way, over and over. It definitely sounded like she had raccoons in her attic. I grabbed my camera, flashlights, and respirator as I prepared to check the attic out for damage and to confirm that it was raccoons she was hearing. Sometimes they’re still in the attic when I go in but unless you corner them or get near their babies, they stay clear.
The Raccoon Search Begins
I popped open the attic access and instantly heard something scamper across the attic and out of the hole in the soffit I saw earlier. I walked outside with my camera to try and find the animal and after a couple minutes spotted two juvenile raccoons behind the house fifteen feet or so into the tree line. I walked a little closer to get clear of the brush and limbs to get some pictures. One of them took off deeper into the wooded area. The other stayed put, clung to a tree, as raccoons are great climbers. I snapped a couple pictures and went back to finish the attic and exterior inspection.
Luckily, the raccoons hadn’t done any damage to the HVAC system or wiring in the attic. You could definitely see where they had been “bowling” though. Insulation was thrown everywhere as they ran back and forth, playing just like dogs do with one another.
Juvenile Raccoon in Tree Orlando Raccoon in attic found nesting in tree
Arcadia is known for being in the middle of nowhere. There is nothing more common in the middle of nowhere, FL than wild hogs! Well, when our VP Christy Norris, asked me to head to Arcadia for the day, I figured she was going to say the word “hog”. Thankfully it was just a family that was in need of raccoon removal.
Once I pulled up, the family was standing in front of their house pointing to the garage. I could tell they looked very concerned and anxious to get rid of this problem. Raccoons are among the most common of the nuisance animals we are called to relocate from properties. Raccoons are also the most common animal in Florida to be carrying rabies.
Raccoons Were Hold Up In The Garage
The family had no knowledge of how the mother raccoon and her babies got into their garage, but they did know they wanted them out asap! After carefully moving some stuff around in the garage, allowing space to work with the animals, I was able to box in the mother raccoon in the corner of the garage. I was then safely able to gather the four small baby raccoons and place them in a secure cage together. Once the mother was finally trapped, I also placed her in my truck for removal. While talking to the family and explaining that the space was safe to return too, I noticed something in the tree beside their house. Fifteen feet up in the tree was a large honeycomb nest which was occupied by some bees. I pointed it out to the family and offered my service to remove that as well. Once they agreed, I was able to rid them of a family of raccoons, and remove a large nest of bees that could be harmful to them while in their yard.
Not A Good For Bees And Raccoons
It ended up being the most productive one stop service call I’ve ever had while working here. The raccoons had been relocated, the bees were removed as a threat to nearby humans, and the family was thrilled to go about their day.
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