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A Positive Setup for Raccoon in Point Pleasant, NJ

Recently, I got a call from a homeowner in Point Pleasant, NJ who had an issue with raccoons. This job was a unique one because the homeowner told me that they actually had put up a piece of plywood by the entry point to block off all raccoons. What was wrong, is they didn’t place the plywood all the way to the end and left a gap in the entry point — so raccoons were STILL getting in. What’s worse is, now the raccoons actually recognize that someone is trying to prevent them from re-entering their new home and are more cautious about their surroundings.  This is a prime example of why you should always use a professional when it comes to pest removal. By attempting to fix the situation yourself, you could make the situation more dangerous for yourself and potentially cause a bigger issue than you originally had. Luckily, we have come across this situation before and know exactly what to do.  We needed to set up what’s called a “positive set.” This is a setup where we set the trap so the only way out is into the trap. Hence “positive.” Some of the reasons would be, if we are dealing with a trap shy raccoon that has been trapped before, and will not go into the trap or if we are dealing with a mother raccoon (or squirrel) that has babies inside which aren’t mobile yet. This enables us to trap the mother, then retrieve her babies, and they can all be released together. It certainly is not a good idea to try to remove the babies, if mom isn’t in a trap. As you can see in the video I completely closed off the hole, so if there are any raccoons inside, it will come out via the trap.  If the raccoon isn’t inside, I set up another trap right next to it. Even if the raccoon does try to get in, it won’t be able to. Once it’s in the trap, we will be able to humanely relocate to a safe location. 

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Yesterday, I received a call from a homeowner in Bridgewater, NJ who was complaining that she was hearing noises in her attic at night. What makes this situation stand out from the rest, is that the homeowner just so happened to see a raccoon on top of her roof while she was coming home from work at night! Crazy, huh?! So, needless to say, the homeowner was a little frantic telling me this. I reassured her that I will handle the situation professionally and humanely. This job is a perfect example of how well raccoons can climb. You can see from the smear print how far up the raccoon climbed without the assistance of any nearby trees or branches. Raccoons have thumbs, which enable them to climb extremely well, however, they aren’t very discreet — hence the number of smear prints all over the pillar.  Since we had a little bit of snow in Bridgewater yesterday, before I set-up a one-way device and placement traps, I needed to clean off a portion of the roof — not just for my safety, but for the raccoons as well and to make sure the traps are secured and don’t slip off the roof. Once the one-way was set up, I secured the entry point nice and tight with hardwire cloth. This makes it easier for the raccoon to enter the one-way safely and leaves no room for the raccoon to slip by. I then set up two placement traps near the entry point. Soon, I will be getting a call from the homeowner that the raccoon is humanely trapped and we will return to humanely remove the critter. 
Raccoon Situation in Bridgewater, NJ
This homeowner in Howell, NJ, has had work done in the past — from exclusions to just free roaming trapping in general. His porch was harboring just about every type of animal that seeks shelter at ground level in the state of New Jersey due to its large area. I assumed that he was having another issue with animals around the back deck area. Once I arrived at the location, it turns out, it wasn’t the back deck area were the issue was, it was his living room in his basement!  As soon as I walked into the basement, it was crystal clear that a wild animal was here (either that or they had one insane party). You can actually see little “handprints” on various walls throughout the basement. This situation is exceptionally dangerous because raccoons bring fleas, ticks, and other parasites into your home. Not to mention they leave feces and urine as they explore, and unless your Bret Michaels from Poison, you’re not accustomed to that type of environment.  It was clear that the raccoon was walking on the drop ceiling tiles and fell through while navigating. There was some good news — once I walked around the corner and saw how open the drop ceiling was in areas, I was confident that the raccoon made its way back outside. You could see where it climbed various areas leading to the ceiling and was hanging on the wiring to move across the basement. After fully inspecting the basement, and helping the homeowner clean up, I walked around to the exterior of the home and did find an access point at the rear of the house underneath a picture window overhang. Definitely not an access point that you see that often. Being the fact that there was a wild animal roaming around someone’s living space, this issue needed to be taken care of immediately! We carefully set up traps and a one-way near the access point. Two days later, we received a call from the homeowner that the raccoon was successfully captured in one of our traps. We then humanely relocated the raccoon and will return to repair and help the homeowner find a permanent solution to this problem. 
Raccoon Breaks Into Basement in Howell, NJ
A homeowner in Holmdel, NJ recently contacted Cowleys to resolve a wildlife infestation along the roofline. Most commonly, when we get a call for a wildlife problem in the attic or roofline area it is either squirrels, raccoons, or mice. Raccoons are, by far, the largest nuisance wildlife we regularly deal with, and they can make a lot of noise and cause a lot of damage. Here, the homeowner was complaining of disturbing wildlife noises at night, such as dropping sounds and thuds. Because mice are so small, you may hear light scampering sounds from up above but you won’t hear dropping sounds or large thuds. Also, since these noises were happening at night, the animals were not likely to be squirrels. As a general rule, since squirrels are diurnal, active primarily during the daytime, if you hear noises during the day, it’s like a squirrel infestation. However, if you hear noises at night, you are dealing with some nocturnal animal like a raccoon, flying squirrel, or a rat or mouse. Based on the type of noises and when they were being heard, I suspected that this was a raccoon problem. My suspicions were confirmed during my inspection of the home’s exterior. I observed paw prints on the foundation that were from a raccoon. Raccoon prints are eerily similar to the print of a baby human hand. Raccoons have five toes on both their front and back feet. The only difference is that instead of fingernails, they have razor-sharp claws at the end of each finer. Raccoons, just like people, have “thumbs,” which gives them amazing manual dexterity when compared to most other animals. Raccoons have been known to open latches, turn doorknobs, and open jars. Following their prints, I saw that they went straight up toward the fascia along the roofline.  Some wily raccoon actually grabbed onto the corner siding of this home and shimmied its way up, reaching an opening of missing flashing over the fascia. This opening was not made by a raccoon. Raccoons will chew and claw out an opening and their “construction work” is messy.  Here, a blocked segment of material was missing as though it were cut out. This opening was caused by some pre-existing damage, likely by some severe winds that blew off a piece of the roofline. Roof damage is an open invitation for wildlife. Unfortunately, it’s quite common for homeowners to find themselves with a wildlife infestation following some roof damage after a storm or some severe weather. A good lesson here is that after heavy winds, it is always a good idea to do a visual check your facia, soffits, and shingles for missing building materials. With the wildlife travel route and entry point identified, it was time to get rid of the trespassing animal with a temporary one-way device installed over the opening and some baited traps. I put in some temporary flashing in place so that the raccoon could not rip off any more soffit, and then installed a one-way device that allows animals to exit the home, but prevent their return. I put a piece of tape on the one-way so I would know whether an animal has exited the home. Finally, I secured a couple of baited traps on the roof nearby the pathway being used to go to and from the roofline opening, If history is any indication, I would not be at all surprised if, by tomorrow, I have one or more trapped raccoons ready to be relocated to a safe location.
Acrobatic Raccoon in Holmdel, NJ
I recently completed a set-up for a homeowner in Holmdel, NJ to trap and relocate invading raccoons. As shown in the video, there were muddy raccoon tracks showing their pathway to the roof. As a general rule, we try to secure traps as close to the access point as possible. This gives us the highest likelihood of successful capture since the baited trap is right on the animals’ route to and from the home. Also, close placement of the trap to the access point minimizes the likelihood of trapping a “non-target” animal.  However, there are sometimes circumstances where we need to make adjustments. Right now, we were dealing with harsh winter weather in the forecast. We were concerned that we could potentially trap an animal and not be able to timely reach the trap. It would be highly unethical and inhumane to leave a distressed animal in a cage for any extended period of time. Here, the access point happened to be located right above a synthetic Trex-Type deck board. These boards become extremely slippery if covered in snow or gets wet, and it would be a safety issue to place a ladder there in order to reach the roof access point. In this circumstance, it was safer to secure the traps where they would be readily accessible regardless of weather conditions. We can always secure a one-way device over the entry points and move the traps near the access later after the forecasted bad weather has passed if the animals have not yet been captured.
Stormy Weather and a Rooftop Raccoon in Holmdel, NJ
Recently, I was sent to a home in Spring Lake, NJ to resolve a raccoon infestation in an attic. Here, the access into the attic was originally made by squirrels that chewed their way through the gable vent. A “lazy” raccoon came along, saw the opening, and decided to take advantage of it. The raccoon not only used the squirrel’s access but also booted them out of the space. Life is tough in the animal kingdom! The homeowners now found themselves with a raccoon infestation rather than a squirrel infestation. Why not an infestation of both animals? Raccoons and squirrels will not inhabit the same space. Their lifestyles are incompatible as roommates. Squirrels are diurnal, active during the day, while nocturnal raccoons prefer the night shift. As nocturnal animals, they sleep during the day and do their foraging at night. Raccoons are also much larger, stronger, and aggressive. Eastern gray squirrels are arboreal rodents that weigh, at most, a little more than a pound. Raccoons, on the other hand, are far bigger. These animals can approach twenty pounds and sometimes weigh even more. Squirrels would have no interest in challenging a raccoon for territory. To resolve the infestation, as shown in the video, I covered the access with hardware cloth and placed a one-way device over the opening. A one-way is hinged such that it opens only in one direction. It allows the animals to exit, but they are blocked from returning.   Here, it was pretty clear how wildlife was gaining access to the roof. There was a nearby tree with overhanging branches. It is important to monitor landscaping to prevent animals with good climbing skills to easily make their way to the roof. Once there, the next step for them is to find a way inside the attic. I set a couple of baited traps that was right on the route from the tree to the attic access. I’m confident that it won’t take long to trap the raccoon. Once trapped, we will relocate the animal to a more appropriate habitat.
Raccoon Invasion in Spring Lake, NJ
A homeowner in Farmingdale, NJ, was hearing animal noises in the attic for a few days and decided he better get the infestation resolved, and contacted Cowleys. He told us that he was hearing noises at sunrise and then just before dark. Upon inspection, we saw a squirrel climbing the brick wall and accessing the home through a missing brick. There was also a hole in the wooden soffit. Th soffit and fascia area of the roofline are common entry points for wildlife that find their way onto the roof. As far as the noises heard by the homeowner, squirrels are diurnal, meaning that they are active during the day. So, the the timing of the noises made complete sense. The home-invading squirrels started to become active at first light, and they exited the attic to forage for food, and then returned as the sun started to set. To resolve this wildlife problem, I custom-bent a piece of flashing to cover the brick entry, and then installed a one-way door. These one-way devises are hinged so that they allow the animal to exit, bu prevent their return. For these squirrels, it is a one-way trip. I then secured three baited traps on roof to capture and relocate the squirrels to a more appropriate habitat. It didn't take long. Within two days, all of the squirrels had exited the home and were successfully removed from the structure. After the squirrels were captured and relocated, other members of the Cowley team arrive to complete the final seal up and remove the temporary flashing and remove the temporary flashing and one-way. The homeowner was quite pleased that the squirrels were out of the attic and that there were no more disturbing noises from all their activity.
Squirrel exclusion in Farmingdale, NJ
Recently, I was sent to a home in Monroe Township, NJ, to resolve a squirrel infestation, and made a video to show how a wildlife technician approaches a situation where animals take up residence inside the structure of a home where they can cause all sorts of damage and mischief. This was one of the more challenging access points to locate. The squirrel nesting area was well hidden, but there is usually some subtle clue that gives away their location. Here, I observed some nesting materials sticking out of the vent holes in the soffit. Oftentimes, squirrels won’t make their nesting area right next to the access because they want some distance between themselves and potential predators. However, in this case the access point is extremely close to where the animals were nesting. Here, there was a torn off loose piece of soffit in the corner of a common, generic roof return that builders often refer to as a “pork chop.” These roofline corners are relatively easy to build compared to other roof designs, but aren’t particularly elegant, hence the name. Sometimes, like we see here these roof corners are used by squirrels and other wildlife to gain entry by ripping right through the plastic. Squirrels are rodents with exceptionally strong teeth and claws and are able to make their way through vinyl or plastic building materials with relative ease. This particular hole was well hidden. I can’t get into the mind of a squirrel, but it often seems that they make hidden access points to help avoid detection. Here, the hole goes right into the soffit where the squirrels built a private nesting area. I’ll need to build a one-way around the hole that will allow the animals to exit but prevent their return and get dome traps on the roof.  We then set up traps for blocking access into the residence and, hopefully, trapping them for relocation to a more suitable habitat. Here, I managed to get the one-way set up as best as I could by wrapping some hardware cloth around the opening. Once the squirrels real that they are locked out of their home, they will often try to tear out a new hole nearby. It is important to discourage them from doing so. You can also see the traps that are properly secured to the roof. The most important thing is that everything is functional and properly secured. It doesn’t have to be pretty; it just has to work until the squirrels are removed since these structures are all temporary. With the set-up in place, these squirrels will be denied from returning to the nest after they come out to forage, and hopefully, they will step into the baited traps so I can safely and humanely relocate them.
Trapping squirrels in Monroe Township, NJ
The black rat snake is NJ’s largest snake. Here in New Jersey, if you have black snakes around your house, they are most likely either black rat snakes or black racers. The black rat snakes are the bulkier of the two, and they are fairly slow moving and often freeze when confronted. Both are non-venomous with white or grayish bellies that eat mostly rodents and other small mammals. These snakes are not out to hurt you. They’re only around because there’s food nearby, and that food isn’t you! Whenever i get a panicked call for snakes, I’m always asked if the snake is venomous. With almost 100% certainty, any snake that a homeowner in NJ find of their property is non-venomous. In New Jersey, there are 22 species of snakes, and only two of them are venomous: the timber rattlesnake and the northern copperhead. It’s very rare to come across either of these venomous snakes because of their elusive nature and their preference for interior forest habitat. All snakes are protected species under NJ law and must be captured and relocated. Snakes cannot be killed and many snake species are endangered. Non-venomous snakes are often misidentified and needlessly killed. Fir example, black rat snakes, especially since they rattle their tail as a warning, are often misidentified as timber rattlesnakes. Of course, non-venomous snakes can and do bite. No snake should be handled or cornered unless you are experienced dealing with them.  This particular homeowner in Bayville, NJ observed a large black snake basking in her patio area. Upon arrival, I inspected the property to determine what was attracting the snake. Her backyard bordered a marshy area that was chock full of snake food sources — frogs, nesting birds, and rodents. After capturing the snake for relocation, I walked around the property with the homeowner to look for ways to reduce snake attractants. The major concern was the rodent issue. White-footed mice scampering around your property does not just attract snakes. These rodents are major carriers of ticks (and tick-borne Lyme disease) as well — one of the major insect problems that will be faced by NJ homeowners this spring and summer.   The homeowner felt that a home protection plan (HPP) would be in her best interest to stay one step ahead of any insect and rodent problems. With a HPP, we come out periodically for preventative perimeter treatments and inspect the property for signs of infestations often missed by homeowners. Also, if there is an infestation, most are covered at no additional cost. By keeping mice off the property and alleviating the influx of insects, this will go a long way reducing the food attractants of the snakes — frogs, rodents, and birds.  Many wildlife infestations, including snakes, can be reduced or prevented outright, by removing whatever attractants enticed them to enter the property in the first place.
Black snake alerts Bayville, NJ family to mice problem.
Recently, I was sent to a home in Manchester Township, NJ, to deal with a squirrel that had taken up residence inside a chimney. I made a short video demonstrating a chimney squirrel exclusion.  Wildlife will often exploit weaknesses in a home’s structure in order to find ways to enter the home. For arboreal animals like squirrels, once on a roof, they look for ways to gain access inside the home. Squirrels, like many animals, gain access inside homes to escape the harsh elements, avoid predators, and have a private place to nest and care for their young. Common access points include attic fans, weakened roofing, fascia, or soffits, and sometimes, like here, chimneys.   As long as a chimney has a chimney cap that covers the entire opening, chimney access is usually not a problem. The Jersey Shore has a high raccoon and squirrel population, so properly fitting chimney caps are essential to keep out wildlife. It’s also the humane thing to do. These animals often get trapped and die in chimneys, leaving homeowners with a rotting, smelly carcass to deal with. Chimney caps also keep out birds (especially chimney swifts!), which are attracted to chimneys as nesting locations because of their warmth. Chimney caps also keep out rain as well as high winds that can create downdrafts in an open chimney. Downdrafts not only allow cold air to enter the home, they can also cause the home to fill up with smoke.   As shown in the video, this particular chimney did not have a full cap installed over the entire opening. For reasons unknown, someone installed only a half-cap with an insert. The rest of the chimney was wide open. Also, there was no flue (duct or piping to convey the exhaust gases from a fireplace, furnace, water heating, or any appliance with combustion products. Looking down, you could see all the way to the furnace. Also, there were leaves packed at the top of the chimney indicating a nesting area for a squirrel. For these small animals, a chimney looks like a hollow tree to set up shop. Also, leaves in a chimney can obstruct airflow and are a potential fire hazard.  To deal with this squirrel infestation, I installed a piece of hardware cloth with a hole cut out of it for the one-way. The one-way allows any animals to leave, but it’s a one-way trip — they are unable to regain access. I used concrete screws (also known as Tapcon anchors) to secure the cloth to the top of the chimney. The only way out is through the one-way. I placed a tape over the one-way to help me monitor squirrel activity. Should a squirrel exit, the tape will dislodge and some fur will be stuck onto the tape. All that’s lift is to install some traps nearby the opening. Hopefully, I will be able to trap and safely relocate the squirrel.
Squirrel exclusion and chimney cap install in Manchester Township
Nuisance wildlife has an amazing ability to locate and exploit weaknesses in order to gain access into homes and other structures. Weakened, water-saturated or otherwise damaged wood, shingles, fascia, and soffits and gaps, cracks, and openings around the foundation are all used by wildlife to gain entry. For homeowners, preventative maintenance will go a long way to keep wildlife out of your home.  These particular homeowner in Holmdel, NJ had an issue with squirrels continuing to access their attic space. They already had wildlife technicians come over for two squirrel trapping jobs followed by a seal-up of access points. Needless to say, these homeowners were tired of dealing with ongoing squirrel infection problems, and they asked if I could inspect their home and determine if there was anything that Cowleys could do to help prevent ongoing attic wildlife problems. I inspected their home, and presented the homeowners with an inventory of potential problem points, and explained what preventative maintenance could be done to shore up their home and discourage wildlife from gaining entry.  One major concern that I identified was the attic fan cover. When it comes to keeping out wildlife, standard attic fan covers just don’t cut it. The manufacturer’s standard is a light, flimsy mesh wrap to stop the occasional bird from going inside to nest. This covering is not built to stop animals with razor-sharp teeth and claws. Agile animals that can make their way to your roof like raccoons, squirrels, and flying squirrels can get through these attic fan covers with ease. And once this mesh is compromised, it opens up the possibility for almost any type of wildlife to gain access into your attic through the roof. We replaced this cover with a tough galvanized steel mesh cover that fits over the entire outside of the fan. This cover will stop wildlife from even thinking about using the attic fan area to access the attic. I also observed another potential wildlife roof vulnerability: the ridge vent. Attic ventilation is a necessity to remove excess heat, prevent roof rot, limit mold growth in your attic, and avoid a host of other problems. Ridge venting is vent opening that’s installed at the roof peak, which works in conjunction with soffit vents. The ridge vent is not only a weak point for wildlife, but also is vulnerable to weather as well. The ridge vent is often the first place where shingles start peeling off when hit with high winds. We installed a Ridge-Guard system to the ridge vent to shore up this wildlife-prone area of the roof. Ridge-Guard keeps out not only larger wildlife like raccoons and squirrels, but also ensures that animals capable of exploiting much smaller entry points will not find their way inside. Animals like bats, flying squirrels and mice can squeeze in through much smaller openings.  These improvements will go a long way in preventing any further re-infestation of squirrels in this attic. They will also extend the useful life of these important roof structures.
Squirrels find easy access to Holmdel, NJ home
Furbearers — animals like opossums, raccoons, and skunks — are exceptionally intelligent creatures. If any of these critters have had a close call with a trap, they become trap-shy. You’ll sometimes hear this behavior called trap-savvy, trap-wise, or trap-wary, but it all means the same thing — the traumatic experience leaves an indelible mark (think of PTSD with people). More importantly, they actually learn from the experience. These animals will stay away from future traps, And it doesn’t matter how enticing the bait. You can put in the sweetest most peanut butteriest concoction you can imagine inside the trap, and it just doesn’t matter. The animals won’t fall for it a second time. It’s the old saying — fool me once shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.  This home in Holmdel, NJ had a raccoon infestation in their crawl space. As you can see in the video, the crawl space access was wide open. The raccoons didn’t even have to look for a weak spot to gain entry. I set up traps around the opening and they stayed empty. It was clear to me that these raccoons knew the drill and weren’t going to fall for it a second time. When I’m dealing with trap-shy raccoon infestations, the key is exclusion. If you can’t trap them, at least you must get them out of the house and prevent them from regaining access. Raccoons come and go from their nesting area inside homes (usually crawl spaces or attics) because they need to forage for food. You want them to go and not come back. For this raccoon job, I needed to make sure that any raccoons were out of the crawl space and that they could not return. I customized a one-way device for this particular opening. A one-way does exactly what it is named. Operating just like a one-way valve,  this device allows the raccoons to leave but blocks any attempted returns. I measured the opening and cut out a piece of hardware cloth to fit just right. Then, I made a smaller opening in the cloth and smaller and secured a one-way to it with cable ties. I always put a piece of tape at the end of the one-way so that I know whether any animals have left. If they have, the tape will be dislodged and have fur stuck to it. I’ll be back shortly to confirm that any trespassing raccoons have been evicted from the crawl space. I’ll leave out the traps and have the homeowner call me if, by chance, any raccoons are captured. But I’m not optimistic. In a case like this with trap-shy raccoons, I ‘m happy to get them out of the house, so they look for accommodations elsewhere.
We need to catch these trap shy raccoons in Holmdel, NJ
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