Your home is your safe haven, a place where you feel completely at ease. But nature often has other ideas, and raccoons are one example of an unplanned guest who can come into your room. Even though these masked thieves might look cute, having raccoons in your attic can cause a lot of problems. Today, we’re going to talk about why raccoons like to hang out in attics, the dangers they pose, and how you can keep them out.
How to Figure Out Why Raccoons Like Attics
Animals like raccoons are very flexible, which is why they do so well in cities. Raccoons love attics because they are dark and out of the way, making them perfect places to live that are safe and warm. They like attics for a number of reasons:
To keep their babies safe, female raccoons often choose attics as a place to give birth and raise their young. Your attic is a good place for birds to nest because it is warm and safe from animals.
Racoons are opportunistic eaters, which means they are always on the lookout for their next meal. Food sources, like garbage cans and fields, are close to attics, which is helpful.
Ideal cover: Raccoons use tree hollows in the wild as cover, and attics are a lot like those. They feel at home in the familiar, closed-off area.
What Could Go Wrong If Raccoons Move In
Raccoons may look like they aren’t a problem, but having them in your attic can cause a number of problems:
- Damage to Property: Raccoons are known for doing a lot of damage to attics. They are strong enough to tear through insulation, chew on wires, and scratch wood. It may cost a lot to fix this damage over time.
- Health Risks: Raccoons can carry many diseases, such as rabies and raccoon roundworm. Their urine and feces can get into your attic and make it dirty, which can make you and your family sick.
- Noise and Disturbance: Raccoons are most busy at night, so you may hear them scratching and thumping in your attic. This might make it hard for you to sleep or feel calm.
- Keeping your attic safe
- Dealing with the damage caused by raccoons is much harder and costs more than stopping them from coming in. Below are some things you can do to keep raccoons out of your attic:
- Seal Entry Points: Check the outside of your home often for any possible entry points, like holes in the roof, broken vents, or siding that is coming off. Put these holes shut to keep rats from getting inside.
- Raccoons are drawn to food sources, so make sure trash cans are locked. Raccoons won’t be as interested in your property if you use trash cans with lids that fit tightly on top.
- Cut back branches that hang over: Raccoons are great at climbing. Cut back tree branches that make it easy to get to your roof or attic.
- Set up lights and sounds that turn on when motion is detected. Raccoons like to live in dark, quiet places. Putting in lights or sound devices that turn on when they sense movement can keep them from coming near your house.
- Get help from professionals: If you think raccoons have moved into your home or have seen evidence of their presence, like droppings or damage in your attic, you need to get professional help right away. Professional wildlife removal services can get rid of raccoons from your property in a safe and gentle way.
Raccoons may look cute and harmless, but they can become unwanted guests in your attic and cause damage and health problems. To keep your home safe from raccoons, take steps to keep them out and call a professional if you think they might be in. Don’t forget that an attic without raccoons is a safer and quieter place for you and your family to live.
At Raccoon Control Lindsay we offer our neighbors across Lindsay with a high-quality, robust, and reliable set of pest control solutions that include exclusion services and proofing services against all kind of pests and wildlife including the notorious raccoon that roams Lindsay causing all sorts of trouble.