Raccoon Removal in Manahawkin, NJ
Challenge
A resident in Manahawkin, NJ called Cowleys after hearing suspicious noises in his attic late at night. Once I arrived, I introduced myself to the homeowner and spoke with him about his late-night visitor. After the homeowner described what he was hearing, I had a strong suspicion that this was a raccoon infestation. Why? He was hearing a wide variety of sounds, and raccoons are extremely vocal creatures. With raccoons, you may hear purring, growling, snarling, hissing, and even screeching. Also, the timing of the noises is important. Although raccoons can be active during the day, they are primarily nocturnal.
Of course, a thorough inspection was still needed to confirm my suspicions, so I investigated the roof area. Moments into my inspection, I found raccoon paw prints leading up to a damaged area in the soffit. As I peeked inside, I found raccoon droppings and debris that the raccoon was using for nesting. Raccoon droppings in your attic is a serious health concern. It can contain raccoon roundworm, which can infect people, and cause blindness and other horrible symptoms.
Solution
Before I clean the attic area, I needed to capture the raccoon first, otherwise, we can run the risk of scaring off the raccoon while I clean or further damage to the home. I temporarily sealed off the entire soffit area with hardware cloth and left one area open. Over that opening, I set up a one-way device, which will allow the raccoon to safely exit the attic, but prevent it from getting back in. I placed tape of the opening of the one-way to monitor the activity and set-up a baited trap nearby.
Within a short amount of time, the raccoon was safely caught. I then thoroughly sanitized the attic area, properly sealed up the soffit area, and relocated the raccoon to a new humane location.
