Identifying Raccoon Damage in the Attic in South Jersey

Raccoons can create a surprising amount of damage and destruction in a short amount of time. They are clever, tenacious critters that are strong with sharp claws. Do not ignore a raccoon in the attic! Understanding how to identify and address raccoon problems is crucial for protecting your home and maintaining a safe, healthy living environment. Let’s dive in and learn how to keep these crafty critters out of your attic for good.

This blog will cover a recent pest control inspection for raccoons in New Jersey and will highlight some of the damage it caused.

Destroyed Personal Belongings

Most people use their attic for storage, whether that’s seasonal decorations, keepsakes and heirlooms, or sometimes items no longer in use.If it’s in the attic, it’s at risk for raccoon damage.

Raccoon Damage to Insulation

Raccoons can cause significant damage to attic insulation, leading to costly repairs and energy inefficiencies. Here’s how they impact insulation:

• Raccoons create nests by tearing, flattening, and moving insulation material, reducing its ability to retain heat or cool air.
• Raccoons may rip insulation off walls and ceilings, exposing wooden beams and drywall to moisture, which can lead to mold growth.
• They sometimes chew on electrical wiring hidden within insulation, increasing the risk of electrical fires.
  

Unlike minor attic pests, raccoons cause extensive damage, often requiring full removal and replacement of insulation rather than spot repairs.

Raccoon Droppings

Raccoon poop in your attic is disgusting. Raccoons are the primary hosts of raccoon roundworm (Baylisascaris procyonis). Their feces can contain thousands of roundworm eggs (Baylisascaris procyonis) that are harmful to both humans and domestic pets if accidentally ingested. Leptospirosis can spread through raccoon urine. People and animals can get infected when contaminated water or soil contaminated with the urine of infected raccoons gets on their skin or in the nose, mouth, throat, or eyes, or is swallowed.

If raccoon droppings and urine are left in the insulation, it will contaminate it and degrade its efficiency.

Damage from Dens and Kits

Generally, damage caused by raccoons in the attic includes building dens and creating latrine sites. Both activities destroy the attic’s insulation. Mother raccoons enter attics because it is a safe place to give birth. The females will use insulation and other materials to create a nest for the baby raccoons.

Raccoon in Attic Removal with Critter Control

All this damage was caused by a raccoon that slipped through this hole. Raccoons can get through a gap about the size of a grapefruit. It can be easy for a homeowner to miss a raccoon entry point. They’re excellent climbers and can find weaknesses along the roof, near chimneys, and through shingles. A professional pest control inspection will not only catalog the damage done by raccoons, it will also identify all the current and potential entry points a raccoon uses.

Once a raccoon establishes a den, it will return to it. If you miss a gap or a crack, the raccoon can weasel its way back inside, causing mayhem all over again.

If you have been hearing scratching sounds from your attic and think you may have raccoons in the attic, Critter Control can help! Contact Critter Control for professional services to remove squirrels from your attic today at 1-800-CRITTER