# Raccoons in the attic



## dhag

Put a couple rattlesnakes up there :thumbup:


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## homerepairtips

My brother in law had the same problem. He called our local "mole man" who was able to come out with some crafty tools (not sure what) and scoop them out through the overhand of his roof. Call your mole man!?:thumbsup:


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## ocoee

I do this crap for a living, such as it is

Keep using the live trap but try sardines or tuna and wire the can in the trap so he can't just pick it up over the trigger plate
Even **** are not smart enough to figure out how to spring a buddy

The scarecrow devices you speak of may help to deter new ***** from coming in but once they have decided that this is their home it will make little difference

Once you have caught the animal it is very important not only to seal the hole but to harden it. simply replacing the soffit that she moved will not take care of the problem

The hole wont be hardto find, but you mayneed to get on the roof to find it
Pay attention to any eave gaps


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## darlenep

If you are in the Dallas area try 911wildlife.com they offer humane services. There are tips on their website too.


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## 4just1don

I always heard that ***** can NOT resist honey or marshmellows. you can try those aas trap bait. you could also use those neck breaker traps in attic space you can get to and remove carcasses. They cant stay ion a house very long,,,they need food and water. cept for winter hibernation.

They are indeed brazen critters that wont go easy. Have you ever seen an attic with those knot heads in there?? FULL of 'dangerous' **** crap,,,AND insulation is torn to NOTHING!!! I tore down a mobile home that had them in there,,,I couldnt believe the devastation of the attic.

IF they were born there,they think they OWN the space!!!

ONE way would be plant sweet corn just outside this house,,,like in a flower garden,,,they cannot stay away. I have "HEARD" and never tried this last tip,,,coke and Maldrin fly bait mixed in a shallow pan in right amount,,they also cant resist,,they dont get 10' from the pan. they are sweet acholics,the coke draws them in,the fly bait does them in. IF they get more than 10' increase fly bait concentrate. Like a cup full of fly bait in a liter of coke. Like I say,never done myself,,,just saying what others have said!!! have heard of 20 or more laying in a pile,,,night after night.

One LAST thing,,,***** have a "DEADLY" disease they carry so ANY contact with **** feces,use max protection. have heard horror stories of small kids dying because they handled droppings in local park,big city parks,,,how would you feel if something like going to the park killed your grandchild??"DEVASTATING" ONLY good **** is a dead ****,,,for me!!


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## Bugzilla

You need to find how they are entering, and close it up. Place a live wildlife trap in your attic with some tasty bait. When caught, haul the raccoon away.


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## ocoee

I advise against trapping inside the attic

In the first place you are less likely to be successful and in the second once a **** is trapped they will pull everything within reach into the trap
This includes insulation, drywall and any wiring they can find, and they have a long reach and determined nature

It is totally inadvisable to close up any openings until the **** is caught
if you think they make big holes just coming in wait till you see what a pissed off locked out **** will do to your house, especially if she has babies

I just got back from a $2000 dollar estimate for this very reason

Just figure out how it is climbing up to the roof, either by tree or pool enclosure or a shed close to the house
The roof access could very well be on the far side of the house from the entry point
Place you trap with the fish based bait can securely tied in and wait for him to come to you


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## 4just1don

Put a neck breaker trap up in the atic,,they wont do any damage THEN!! best if kept away from pets tho. Thats why the attic is perfect place!! close to the hole so you can pull him out of there


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## ccarlisle

Last year, we had a water damage job that involved an abandoned house where racoons had lived for about 4 months. What would have been a $5K job turned into a $10K job just because of the racoons: ceiling torn down, complete defumigation, sprayed with an odour encapsulant; then new drywall.

Unbelievable damage; same racoon family situation...mother, two babies etc. It took a good week just to undo the smell and non-physical damage to the joists and things. The rest was replaceable.

My advice? get professional help like ocoee gives and quit chasing the internet for gimmicks. Spend your money wisely on a solution, not on hype.:no:


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## Marvin Gardens

Find the entrance and get it plugged.

Second is to use your live trap and put a partially open can of tuna in there. They will have to mess with the can to get to the tuna. This will assure that they move around enough to spring the trap.

You have to do both. If you just plug the hole they will die for lack of water and food and will smell real bad till they are eaten but the flies.

Once the hole is plugged they will get real hungry and will be more inclined to get the food in the cage.


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## Cashcleaner

Most everyone has got a good idea for trapping the raccoons, but I must stress that when the creatures are caught, you seal-up and secure ALL possible entry points. Even the larger rodents like raccoons are able to squeeze into spaces much smaller than their size suggests.


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## torlev

electricpete said:


> We have a 2-story home in Texas. Started noticing noises last spring in the attic. Some of the noises moved to above the first floor ceiling/below 2nd floor floor which is the location where I believe the raccoon had babies.
> 
> Now (September ... 6 monoths later) we still hear noises at that location and every night lots of noise in the attic.
> 
> We have tried banging pots and pans, leaving light on in attic, radio on in attic, putting dog blankets in the attic for predator smell. No luck yet.
> 
> I did notice several possible points of entry into the attic space, but I'm not going to close them up until I get rid of these raccoons (otherwise I think I will have dead or desparate raccoons trapped in my attic). I am pretty sure they can't get in/out every night without going thru the attic.
> 
> Live traps haven't worked. Once the bait was removed, the trap appeared sprung, but nothing inside. I think his buddies helped him escape. Since then, they haven't gone back in the live trap.
> 
> I want to ratchet up my attack to make sure we get rid of them this fall.
> 
> I just ordered an ultrasonic device which I will put in the attic. Relatively cheap under $50
> http://www.havahart.com/store/sister-products/for-the-home/M792
> 
> I guess I will order some of the Rid-A-Critter and Coyote Urine type products and spread them around the attic. Those are relatively low$ items.
> 
> From reading around the internet, I am given to believe the likelihood of evicting well-established comfortable raccoons with above techniques is relatively low.
> 
> The sites that sell the strobes say the strobe will handle this situation. I think I would need 3 133K candlepower strobes to cover my attic at a cost of $400 - $700 (depending on where they are purchased).
> 
> Here are two such sites:
> http://www.rodentstrobe.com/
> http://www.evictorproducts.com/
> 
> If it'll work, it'll be worth the money. I am curious if anyone has tried these products and how they worked.
> 
> Any other suggestions?
> 
> Thanks in advance



guys, it's this simple. You ever put your face up to a bottle of pure ammonia? It burns so bad your head snaps back. You know how raccoons have such an acute sense of smell, they can smell things from miles away? they REALLY don't like ammonia.

Put a bucket of ammonia in your attic. Put a fan up there to blow the scent around. they freak out, and leave on their own. If you put enough, within an hour. If not, that night.

Board the entrance up, and you're all good.


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## KOKO

4just1don said:


> I always heard that ***** can NOT resist honey or marshmellows. you can try those aas trap bait. you could also use those neck breaker traps in attic space you can get to and remove carcasses. They cant stay ion a house very long,,,they need food and water. cept for winter hibernation.
> 
> They are indeed brazen critters that wont go easy. Have you ever seen an attic with those knot heads in there?? FULL of 'dangerous' **** crap,,,AND insulation is torn to NOTHING!!! I tore down a mobile home that had them in there,,,I couldnt believe the devastation of the attic.
> 
> IF they were born there,they think they OWN the space!!!
> 
> ONE way would be plant sweet corn just outside this house,,,like in a flower garden,,,they cannot stay away. I have "HEARD" and never tried this last tip,,,coke and Maldrin fly bait mixed in a shallow pan in right amount,,they also cant resist,,they dont get 10' from the pan. they are sweet acholics,the coke draws them in,the fly bait does them in. IF they get more than 10' increase fly bait concentrate. Like a cup full of fly bait in a liter of coke. Like I say,never done myself,,,just saying what others have said!!! have heard of 20 or more laying in a pile,,,night after night.
> 
> One LAST thing,,,***** have a "DEADLY" disease they carry so ANY contact with **** feces,use max protection. have heard horror stories of small kids dying because they handled droppings in local park,big city parks,,,how would you feel if something like going to the park killed your grandchild??"DEVASTATING" ONLY good **** is a dead ****,,,for me!!


How come the fly bait and coke is not working for me?
I tried 7 up and fly bait and there was no dead **** near my property after the liquid in the bowl was missing....can anyone help me out?
lately the ***** have not been drinking anything I mix
I use two teaspoons and 1 can of pop when mixing.


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## operagost

Because 7-up is not _Coke_, you crazy Texan!* Coke is Coca-Cola!

* guess based on regional slang


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## LanieV

*Racoons in my atttic too!!*

From Dallas, TX and live next to a creek with lots of trees. The City of Dallas just completed some erosion repair work on the creek line and I think they disturbed the racoons original home when they cut down several trees ... so now they are in my attic.

I also think it is a mother who has had babies. The comments in this forum are frightening, but I've got to do something.

I have bought the predator urine and I am prepared to scatter critter ridder, and ammonia and whatever else, but I am afraid to come face to face with the racoon(s).

I know they are nocturnal but I can't tell when they are out of the attic.

I have heard sounds of entry or exit between 3 and 5am. It's generally quiet during the day. It's at the corner right above my bedroom.

*Questions:*
*1) When would you guess they are outside the house looking for food? (so I can fummugate the place with every smelling thing I can find.*

*2) It's summer - 90-100 plus degrees outside. Will it get too hot for them in the attic soon?*

Thanks for this forum!


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## dawgnme

So glad these forums stay open so long after the last post. Gotta tell the skeptics - this stuff really works! After finding this forum, I ordered the Golden Malrin online (not available at any of my local hardware stores) and picked up a 2 liter bottle of Pepsi. Grabbed an old 8" cake pan and covered the botton with fly bait. Poured in about 10oz. Pepsi and mixed it a bit. Put it out along their path at 9pm and knocked off 3 by the time I went to bed at 10:30... didn't even make it 2' from the pan. I don't anticipate finding anymore in the morning, but I'm glad to know the 'net can be trusted every now and then!


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## user1007

Old post and in important one. Raccoons trapped by a licensed trapper or pest control contractor in Illinois have to be disposed of gracefully. Their feces left in walls in attics can contain horrible things that can make especially the very young and old really sick. The conditions can be fatal.

I know they are cute in a way but they can be destructive and you don't want to know about the vet bill I had once when my cat and a raccoon rumbled.


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