Removing Raccoons from your Property
Have you begun to hear strange noises coming from your attic? Have you noticed animal feces in your swimming pool? If so, then you could well be facing a raccoon infestation. Although these pests might look harmless, they can be highly damaging to your property and pose a significant health risk to your family. Raccoons hanging around your home can lead to several problems, such as them digging small holes in the yard or even rolling up your sod in the process.
If you think you might have an infestation, we have put together our top three tips to look out for:
1) Listen for Raccoon Noises
Raccoons may shelter under your roof eve to stay out of the rain and sun. Sometimes tearing holes in your soffit screen and attic vents to have babies after they move in upstairs. One of the most prominent signs that you have raccoons living in your attic is the sound of them moving around. They are nocturnal animals, which means you will likely hear these sounds predominantly at night, and due to their large size in comparison to other pests, the noise they make can be quite distinctive.
2) The Smell of Raccoon Feces
Another clear sign of raccoons in your attic is a constant smell of feces or urine. The pests will usually designate an area of your attic as their toilet, which means after a short time, the odor can become quite noticeable. Nothing is safe, and that includes your pool. Sometimes being a place for a quick swim or a place to defecate. The spa deck and pool screens that they have ripped up while climbing up are also not safe from their bacteria-infested excrement
3) Look for Signs of Raccoons on your Property
Although regularly seeing raccoons around your property is a clear sign, they also make a significant mess, which means that another common sign of a raccoon infestation is damage around your home. They have incredibly sharp teeth and claws, which can quickly chew through wooden beams, drywall, and even your roof tiles, which in turn can cause damage to your insulation, wiring, and structural beams.
Raccoon Poop in your Pool
Raccoons become less adorable when you learn about the many germs and parasites they can pass off to humans. It is vital to make sure raccoons stay away from your pool or any other recreational area. If you see raccoon feces in and around your pool. You should immediately close your pool and prevent your children, or any pets from going for a swim until properly decontaminated.
Raccoon Poop is Hazardous to your Health
Raccoon feces can regularly be host to eggs from the worm called Baylisascaris procyonis. Humans will not typically come in contact with this parasite unless exposed to the fecal matter of raccoons and other suburban pests. Baylisascaris can cause an infection in people, which usually results in minor symptoms that are rarely noticed. Though when a large amount of eggs are accidentally swallowed by any vulnerable person, especially children, the Bayliscascaris can hatch, leading to a severe condition that may damage the host’s nervous system and eyes.
Chlorine is not enough to kill the parasite once a raccoon has left its dropping in and around your pool. So once you have the raccoon’s feces tested, you will know whether you need to proceed with the following measures.
Was your pool contaminated by raccoon poop containing baylisascaris eggs? Then here is one example of what can be done to purge your pool of all contaminates properly.
1) First, you need to backwash your pool filter.
2) Next, you will want to drain and hose down your pool completely.
3) Make sure you wear disposable when you are changing any filters. Double-bag the waste material in thick plastic garbage bags. Throw your gloves in the bag and wash your hands thoroughly after sealing.
4) Now you can refill your pool with peace of mind.
How to Prevent Damage Caused by Raccoons
With all the potential hazards of a raccoon infestation, ranging from the destruction of your attic and roof tiles, or the contamination from raccoon poop in your pool, on your deck or anywhere that people might gather. The best thing you can do is contact a professional to relocate the raccoons and repair any damages they might have caused. Always ask for available exclusion services as the best way to deal with a raccoon infestation is to prevent it from happening to begin with.
Wildlife Removal Services has been serving Palm Beach County and Broward County for almost 20 years, and we have learned a thing or two about how to deal with unwanted critters and pests. We will never use toxic chemicals or repellents, which can be harmful to people and pets.
We handle all raccoon problems with the best available options for the job. Whether it is trapping and relocating the critters at least 15 miles from your home, or chasing the raccoon family out of your attic with natural repellents and results-driven techniques to prevent future generations of the raccoons from living in your attic.
We use custom traps and strategic trapping placements based on the evidence left behind by the raccoons. We use more traps than other wildlife removal companies to ensure we catch the culprits and not common non-target animals that might show up for the bait. To top it off we use state of the art surveillance, which notifies us the very moment the raccoon family vacates your attic so we can immediately seal up any potential points of entry.
We also offer attic insulation services to remedy any damages the raccoons left behind. We are a one-stop-shop because we handle pest-related attic restorations better than any attic company by cleaning out the entire attic and sanitizing all surfaces from the previous inhabitants. We will then add new insulation where it is needed, and seal your attic up from any other future unwanted guests.
We offer same-day service and don’t just get the job done, but get the job done right. Give us a call for professional trapping with our exclusion services, and have your raccoon problems resolved today. Just dial 561-212-9255