Raccoon removal — mother, litter, damage, and entry point.
A raccoon in the attic is rarely a lone animal. Between February and June, roughly four out of five attic raccoons we handle are a female with a litter tucked into a corner she reached by peeling back a soffit return or muscling through a roof-decking seam. Removing her without finding the kits is the single most common mistake we get called to correct — usually two weeks later, when the smell starts.
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Signs you have raccoons
- Heavy, deliberate footsteps overhead — raccoons sound like a person, not a rodent
- Chittering or crying sounds during the day (that's a litter)
- A torn soffit, bent gable vent, or lifted shingle line at a roof valley
- Overturned trash cans and disturbed sod or mulch in the yard
- Droppings in the attic or on a flat roof section
Why waiting costs more
- Roundworm in raccoon latrines, which is dangerous to children and pets
- Chewed and clawed wiring, an under-reported fire cause
- Compressed, urine-soaked insulation across large attic sections
- Structural damage where a female enlarges an entry over several nights
Denning season runs late winter through early summer. Fall brings a second wave as juveniles disperse and look for their own winter den.
How our raccoon removal process works
We identify the species, count the animals, and determine whether a litter is present before anything is trapped. Sound, sign, and entry-point wear tell the story.
Kits are removed by hand and kept warm on-site so the mother can be reunited with them, or the whole family group is relocated together under state regulations.
Depending on the setup, that's a direct-capture at the entry, a one-way door once the litter is out, or a set of baited traps positioned along the travel route.
Torn soffit, bent vents, and lifted decking get rebuilt with steel-reinforced materials. Raccoons test old entries for months — the repair has to beat forty pounds of leverage.
Raccoon Removal questions we get every week
How do I know if there are babies?
Daytime chirping and crying is the giveaway, along with a mother who leaves at dusk and returns before dawn on a tight schedule. We assume a litter is present during denning season until the attic proves otherwise.
Can I just scare it out?
Strobe lights and radios move a raccoon deeper into the structure more often than they move it out — usually into a wall cavity or a soffit chase that's far harder to reach. And they do nothing about the hole in your roof.
Will it come back?
Not through a properly rebuilt entry. Raccoons return to a known den for years, which is exactly why our exclusion work is steel-backed and warrantied rather than a patch of foam and paint.
What about the mess in the attic?
Latrine areas get removed and treated for roundworm, contaminated insulation is pulled and replaced, and the deck is sanitized. We photograph everything so it's documentable for insurance.