Raccoon Rummaging Through Attic in Wall, NJ
Challenge
A new customer in Wall, NJ kept hearing strange "thumping" noises in her attic during the night. At first, she brushed it off, but it continued for four days! On the fifth day, she called our office and I was dispatched to investigate.
I suspected that the homeowner has a raccoon in her attic since raccoons are primarily nocturnal. To confirm my suspicions, I conducted a full investigation of her property. While inspecting the exterior, I noticed that a portion of the soffit area appeared to be ripped open. Upon closer inspection, I found raccoon hair and paw prints in the area and determined that this was its main access point. I then investigated the attic and, sure enough, found more raccoon paw prints throughout the area.
Solution
I installed a heavy-duty, two-gaited Comstock device directly over the main access point and enclosed the area temporarily with hardware cloth. Raccoons always use the path of least resistance as well as use the same path over and over again. Once the raccoon exits through the main access point, because the area around it is sealed off, it will have no choice but to go through our Comstock device and get caught. I also placed a baited trap on the raccoon path.
A short time later, the raccoon was safely caught in the Comstock device! I then disinfected the attic area and sealed up the access point with sturdy metal flashing to prevent any nuisance wildlife from entering the home through this access point. I then relocated the raccoon to a new, humane location.
