Gable Vent Gets Wrecked by Raccoons in Little Silver, NJ

Before	After

A new customer in Little Silver, NJ contacted our Little Rascals Nuisance Wildlife Division after seeing a raccoon rip apart his gable vent and enter his home. Over time, the gable vents get weathered and dry rotted. This makes it easier for raccoons as well as squirrels to break into the home. 

After we safely removed and relocated the raccoons to a new, humane environment, we disinfected the attic area and removed the old, broken gable vent. We did offer to replace the gable vent, but the homeowner mentioned that he will fix it on his own at a later date. As a temporary solution, we installed Pest-Blok over the gable vent. Pest-Blok doesn't restrict the airflow to the attic, undergoes a silicone-protected polyester coating process that makes it last longer, and guards the home against raccoons, squirrels, pests, birds, and all other nuisance wildlife.

Squirrels Infiltrate the Gutters in Little Silver, NJ

Before	After

A property manager of an apartment complex in Little Silver, NJ, called Little Rascals for assistance after his maintenance team found several squirrels in one of his tenants' attic. When we arrived, we started thoroughly inspecting the exterior of the building and noticed squirrel hair near the gutters. We took a closer look and determined that the squirrels were entering the unit via the builders gap. A builders gap is the gap between the fascia board, where the gutter is hung, and the roof decking. It's caused when roof decking is stopped too short and isn't flush with the fascia. The gap is meant to help with airflow throughout the attic, but also presents an opportunity for squirrels, as well as raccoons, birds, and bats, to infest the attic.

There was one area of the fascia that was chewed out by squirrels, so we installed a one-way device over it, temporarily enclosed the area with hardware cloth, and set up several baited devices nearby. The one-way will allow the squirrels to safely leave the attic but prevent them from getting back in. A short while later, we successfully retrieved all the squirrels and relocated them to a new, humane environment.

To prevent any future infestations from squirrels, or any other nuisance wildlife, from the building we installed Pest-Blok over the builders gap. Pest-Blok doesn't restrict airflow, undergoes a silicone-protected polyester coating process that makes it last longer, and guards the home against squirrels, pests, birds, and all other nuisance wildlife.

Raccoons Find Entrance into Little Silver, NJ Home

Before	After

Little Silver, NJ homeowners found themselves with a family of raccoons (a mom and her two babies) that had taken up residence in their attic. The mom, looking for a quiet area to build a den for her kits, was able to gain entry through an opening in a boxed eave. These particular eave returns at the corner end of the roof fascia are informally referred to by builders as pork chops. “Porkchop” eaves are quite common. They are easy to build even though, aesthetically, they aren’t considered the most elegant design (hence the name). With these returns, the raking fascia is built flush with a triangular piece that covers up the end of the rafters and merges with the soffit below.  

With this opening in the soffit, the raccoon had free reign to come and go as she pleased to forage and care for her babies. To remove the raccoons, I made what wildlife techs like to call an “eviction ball,” and placed it into the soffit. The objective is to encourage the raccoon to vacate the premises and move on. ideally, we want them to enter a trap so we can relocate the animal to a safe area. My hand-made eviction ball happened to be a tennis ball. I drilled a hole into it and filled it with a raccoon eviction (repellant) fluid. This fluid, a thick, creamy paste, is a natural by-product of a male raccoon. The solution is a mixture of urine and other scents. The males are a predator to females during their birthing period,. To a mom raccoon, the smell of this fluid is a major warning sign that her young are in serious danger. A male (boar) raccoon will kill the baby kits in order to assert their genetic dominance. A sow that has lost her kits will go back in the heat and can then be re-impregnated by the male. Raccoons are one of a number of animal species that practice this type of infanticide. It’s one of the more gruesome scenes that a wildlife tech can come across, and one that I prefer to avoid. 

In addition to the eviction ball, I placed two baited traps on a lower roof. I put some tape over the roof opening to monitor raccoon activity. In this case, the mother wound up taking her kits and vacating the attic. She avoided entering the traps. After ensuring that there was no more wildlife in the attic, I framed out the end of the soffit and attached a new piece of metal flashing to cover up the hole. With the attic now sealed, this homeowner should not be visited by any more raccoons.