Raccoon Removal in Houston, Texas

When a raccoon moves into a north Houston attic or chimney, Michael Gerbino of Cypress Critters & Pests is the one who comes out. He finds how it got in, catches it alive in a cage trap, closes the opening so the next raccoon cannot use it, and fixes the torn vent or soffit. His Houston raccoon work covers the FM 1960 area, Champions, Willowbrook and the Cypress Fairbanks side. Call 713-775-8799 to have the house looked at.

Why do raccoons keep showing up in north Houston yards?

Raccoons in this part of the city live along the bayous and the wooded drainage strips beside them. At night they come up off the bank, cross a back fence and work their way down the street, checking trash cans, pet bowls and any house with a soft spot in the roof. A house that backs to a bayou is often the first stop.

What turns a visit into a problem is a place to den. In older neighborhoods that is usually one of these:

• A chimney with no cap. Mother raccoons often pick an open flue in late winter and spring to raise their young.
• A loose roof vent or gable screen. On a house that has weathered many storms, a raccoon can pull these free with its front paws.
• A low roof over a porch or garage. It gives a raccoon an easy climb up to the second-story eaves.
• A crawl space with broken skirting. Some raised houses offer a den under the floor instead of over the ceiling.

Keep pets inside at night if a raccoon has been around, and do not try to corner one. The Texas Department of State Health Services advises against handling any wild animal, even one that looks healthy.

How Michael handles it here

He starts outside, reading the roofline for bent vents, lifted shingles and muddy paw prints, then goes into the attic to find the den and check for young. Cage traps go on the path the raccoon actually uses. Where it suits the house, a one-way door over the entry lets the raccoon walk out and keeps it from getting back in. Each raccoon caught is removed alive and handled following Texas rules, and no poison is used.

Catching the raccoon is half the job. The other half is the seal: heavy galvanized mesh behind the vents, metal over the opening it tore, and a chimney cap where the flue was open. That sealing step is the heart of animal exclusion and live trapping, and it is what keeps the next bayou raccoon out of the same attic. More about how raccoons behave, and why poison is a bad idea, is on the main raccoon removal page.

Think there is a raccoon up there now? Call Michael at 713-775-8799.

What goes into the quote?

The quote follows the inspection. A chimney family that needs a cap is a different job from a raccoon that tore through two vents and soiled the insulation. Michael looks at how many openings there are, whether young are inside, and how much repair and clean-up the attic needs, then tells you what he plans to do and why.

Nearby

Raccoon work in the neighboring towns is on the Cypress raccoon page and the Klein raccoon page. The same roof gaps raccoons open often let in squirrels in Houston, and a house that backs to a bayou may also have snake trouble. Everything Michael does in the city is on the Houston page, and requests can go through the contact page. For raccoons anywhere on the north side, Michael is at 713-775-8799.