How to Get Raccoons out of the Attic
What if the raccoons are stuck in a hard to reach place?
If a mother raccoon has babies in the attic, the babies are helpless. The
only ones who can remove them are the mother raccoon or a person. A good wildlife
control operator should always remove the babies by hand and catch the mother
separately. However, there are times when the babies are stuck in a place that is
impossible for a person to reach. This photo series demonstrates a case in which
the babies were stuck in a shallow area of an attic, right above a bedroom.
A raccoon is small enough to crawl through this
tight area, but no person could!
The babies are heard in the ceiling, in a location
impossible to get to from within the attic.
First I cut a hole right next to the exact area
that I hear the sounds coming from.
I carefully remove the baby raccoons, and wear
a HEPA mask to protect against harmful pathogens.
I place all the babies gently in a bucket. They
may be cute, but they are noisy!
I then fix the hole I made, securing it tightly
and I spackle the edges.
I placed the baby raccoons into a small metal
holding cage, so that I could lure the mother.
I place the babies inside of a white plastic box
trap, which caught the mother raccoon quickly.
The job is not done until the entry hole into the
attic from the outside is found and fixed.
This heavy gauge screen will prevent any future
animals from breaking into the attic.
It is important that you be licensed in wildlife removal if you intend to handle raccoons in such a manner, and that you can legally relocate them if that's what
you plan to do with them. Babies that are removed should be sent to a state licensed wildlife rehabber. You should be vaccinated against rabies before handling
any wildlife like this. It is not easy to get raccoons out of an attic, and the work is best left to professional wildlife operators.
For more raccoon removal information, go back to the Orlando raccoon control page.
If you don't live in Orlando FL, click here for the National Directory of Wildlife Trappers.
| 
