There are many ways for raccoons to get into your home thanks to their smart paws and natural curiosity. Raccoons may look cute and innocent, but if they get into your home, they can do a lot of damage and even put your health at risk. To keep raccoons out of your property and protect your property, it’s important to know where they can get in and how to keep them out.
Raccoons often get in through these holes.
Racoons are very good at climbing things and getting through small areas. These are some of the most common ways they get into homes:
- Roof Vents: Raccoons often choose roof vents and attic openings as good places to get in. To get into your attic, they can take off vent covers or chew through them.
- Chimneys: Raccoons often use chimneys as places to nest, especially in the spring. It’s easy for people to get in if your chimney doesn’t have a cap or if the cap is broken.
- Attic Eaves: Raccoons can get into your home through gaps or spaces in the soffits or eaves.
- Under Decks and Porches: Raccoons can hide and feel safe in the open area under decks and porches. They can dig or push their way under to make a place to nest.
- Unsealed Garages: Raccoons could get in if there are gaps under the doors, broken weather stripping, or windows that are left open.
- Crawl Spaces: Raccoons can get into your home’s crawl space through vents or other holes.
The Risks of Raccoon Entry
Let raccoons into your home, and here are some problems that can happen:
- Damage to Property: Raccoons can do a lot of damage to your home’s foundation, wiring, and insulation. They might chew on wooden beams and rip apart pipes, which would cost a lot to fix.
- Risks to your health: Raccoons can spread diseases to people and pets, such as rabies and raccoon roundworm. Their waste may also be bad for your health.
- Noise and Disturbance: If raccoons get into your home, they will be busy at night, making noise and keeping you from getting a good night’s sleep.
How to Keep Raccoons Out of Your House
Here are some things you can do to keep rats out of your house:
- Inspect and Fix: Check your home often for possible entry spots and fix any damage right away. Make sure that the vent covers, soffits, and roofs are all in place.
- Chimney Caps: To keep rats from making a nest in your chimney, put a cap on it. Wildlife can’t get in, but smoke can leave through these caps.
- A hardware cloth or galvanized steel mesh can be used to block off the area under your deck or porch. Make sure it’s attached firmly.
- Keep your garage well-sealed by fixing any gaps under the doors and making sure the windows are shut when not in use.
- To keep your crawl area safe, seal the vents with hardware cloth or steel mesh. This will make it less likely for rats to come in.
- Security for Trash Cans: To keep raccoons from going through your trash, use trash cans with lids that lock.
- Help from a Professional: If you think raccoons have already moved into your home or aren’t sure how to keep your property safe, you should talk to a professional wildlife removal service.
To sum up, knowing where raccoons can get into your home is important for keeping it safe from possible burglars. If you take steps to keep these places safe and maintain your property, you can lower the chances of raccoons getting in. If you have ongoing problems or need help dealing with raccoons on your land, don’t be afraid to get help from professionals who know how to get rid of wildlife.
At Raccoon Control Barrie, we love helping out the communities we are a part of. We are local technicians who want to make a difference in people’s lives by doing what we do and know best. Our line of work is risky, yet rewarding after seeing clear results and seeing smiles return on people’s faces. We believe in the safe and ethical treatment of all raccoons and make sure that their well-being is never compromised during or after the raccoon removal process. Raccoons are very unpredictable animals that can act very friendly or very aggressive.