Persistent Raccoon in Beachwood, NJ
Challenge
Recently, I received a call from a homeowner in Beachwood, NJ saying that she kept hearing loud noises in her attic at night. Now, what critter is known to invade an attic during the winter and is primarily nocturnal? That’s right, raccoons! With their amazing flexibility to climb gutters and downspouts as well as razor sharp claws that can tear apart soffit areas, raccoons can be quite the fearsome and persistent critters!
When I arrived at the property, it was crystal clear where the entry point was — right in front of the house! Here the raccoons ripped a nice big hole in the soffit and were making a new home in this poor homeowners attic! I inspected the rest of the property, both inside and out, to make sure there weren’t any other entry points — luckily there wasn’t.
Solution
I began to temporarily replace the soffit with plywood and cut a small hole in it. I then set up a one-way device in front of the hole, which as you know (or may not know) is designed to allow the raccoon to safely exit the entry point, but not get back in. By cutting a small hole inside the temporary soffit forces the raccoon to go through the one-way device. I also placed tape at the end of the trap, that way I know if the raccoon has exited our trap or not. I also set up placement traps around the entry point in order to humanely remove the raccoon and take it to a safe place.
When I returned the next day and checked on the one-way device, I noticed that the tape on the device has been removed, which means that the raccoons have left the attic (I checked just to be sure). I then professionally repaired the damages created by the raccoon with a much stronger material leaving the homeowner stress free from the worries of an animal in her attic!
