Raccoon Removal and Exclusion
If a raccoon is living in your attic, chimney or soffit, Cypress Critters & Pests catches it alive in a cage trap or lets it out through a one-way door, then seals the opening it used and repairs what it tore up. Michael Gerbino does the inspection and the work himself in Cypress, Spring, Tomball, The Woodlands, Klein and Houston. No poison is ever used on raccoons. Call Michael at 713-775-8799 and he will come find out how it is getting in.
What are you hearing or seeing if it is a raccoon?
Raccoons are big, heavy animals, and most people hear them long before they see one. The sound is not the light patter of a mouse. It is walking, thumping and dragging, and it usually starts after dark. Here is how the signs tend to show up, and when.
| When | Where | What you notice |
|---|---|---|
| Dusk | Roofline, fence tops, trees over the house | A raccoon walking the roof, climbing a downspout or crossing on a branch that touches the shingles |
| Night | Attic, above a bedroom ceiling | Heavy footsteps, thumping, something that sounds like insulation being dragged |
| Late night into early morning | Chimney or fireplace | Scratching, and in spring a chirping or chattering sound from young in the flue |
| Daytime | Attic | Mostly quiet. Raccoons sleep through the day, so a quiet afternoon does not mean it left |
| Any time | Outside walls and roof | A torn soffit panel, a vent pulled loose, shingles lifted at a roof edge, muddy handprints on siding |
| Morning | Yard | Trash cans tipped over, pet food gone, patches of lawn rolled back |
Inside the attic, Michael looks for a beaten path in the insulation, a latrine spot where droppings pile up in one place, and torn duct wrap. A raccoon can carry disease, so do not go up and try to corner or handle one, and keep children and pets away from the droppings until the attic is cleaned.
How do raccoons get into houses around here?
A raccoon does not need an open hole. It needs a weak spot it can pull open with its hands, and Gulf Coast houses have plenty of those.
- Soffit returns. Where a lower roof meets the wall of a second story there is often a small boxed corner. The panel there is thin and loosely fastened, and a raccoon can peel it back in one night.
- Roof-to-fascia gaps. The board along the roof edge (the fascia) pulls away a little as the wood ages. A raccoon gets its fingers into that gap and widens it.
- Gable vents. Behind the slats of a gable vent is a light screen. Raccoons rip it out and walk straight into the attic.
- Chimneys without a cap. To a raccoon an open flue looks like a hollow tree. Mothers often raise their young on the smoke shelf just above the damper.
- Roof vents and pipe collars. Plastic roof vents can be pried up, and the loose flashing around a plumbing pipe gives them a place to start pulling.
Raccoons climb well. A branch hanging over the roof, a downspout or a trellis on the porch is their ladder, so Michael looks at the trees and the yard as well as the house.
Why does trapping alone not fix a raccoon problem?
Catching one raccoon only empties the attic for a while. The opening is still there, the attic still smells like a den, and the next raccoon in the neighborhood follows that smell to the same spot. That is why Michael does not stop at the trap. He finds every opening on the house and closes it with material a raccoon cannot pull apart, which is the whole job laid out on the animal exclusion and live trapping page. Trapping takes care of this week. Sealing takes care of next season.
What changes when there are young raccoons in the attic?
Spring is when most attic raccoons are mothers. If she is caught or shut out and her young stay inside, two things go wrong. She tears a fresh hole in the roof to get back to them, and any young left behind die in the attic or inside a wall. Michael checks for young before anything gets sealed and gets the whole family out together. On a spring raccoon job, doing it in that order matters more than anything else.
How Michael handles it
- Inspect. He walks the roofline and the attic, finds the opening the raccoon is using and every weak spot it could use next, and tells you what he found in plain words.
- Trap alive or use a one-way door. Cage traps go where the raccoon actually travels. On some houses a one-way door over the entry lets it leave on its own and keeps it from coming back in. No poison. A poisoned raccoon dies somewhere you cannot reach, and that smell lasts for weeks.
- Remove. Caught raccoons are removed alive and handled following Texas Parks and Wildlife rules.
- Seal. Every opening is closed with heavy galvanized mesh, metal flashing, sturdy vent covers and a chimney cap where one is needed.
- Repair and clean. Torn soffits and vents are put back right, and the latrine and soiled insulation are cleaned out.
Raccoons are not the only animal that uses a roofline. The same gaps let in squirrels, covered on the squirrel removal page, and roof rats, covered under rat and mouse control. If the animal is living low, under a deck or a shed, it is more often an opossum or a skunk. Every animal Michael handles is listed under wild animal control services.
Call Michael at 713-775-8799 if you think a raccoon is in the attic or the chimney.
Where Michael does this work
Each town has its own raccoon page with what Michael runs into there:
- Raccoon removal in Cypress
- Raccoon removal in Spring
- Raccoon removal in Tomball
- Raccoon removal in The Woodlands
- Raccoon removal in Klein
- Raccoon removal in Houston
What decides the quote?
No two raccoon jobs are alike, so Michael gives you a number after he has seen the house. What moves it: how many openings there are and how high they sit, whether there are young in the attic or chimney, whether a chimney cap or new vent covers are needed, and how much soffit repair and attic clean-up is left behind. Call 713-775-8799 or send a note through the contact page, and he will tell you plainly what your house needs.
Questions people ask about raccoon removal
Will another raccoon move in after this one is trapped?
It will if the opening is left the way it was. The attic still smells like a den, and raccoons in the area find it. That is why Michael seals every entry point on the house once the raccoon and any young are out. A sealed roofline is what keeps the next one from moving into the same spot.
Do you use poison to get rid of raccoons?
No. Raccoons are caught alive in cage traps or let out through a one-way door. Poison is a bad idea in an attic for a plain reason: the animal crawls off and dies somewhere you cannot reach, often inside a wall, and the smell and the flies last for weeks. Live trapping and sealing solve the problem without that.
How can I tell if there are baby raccoons up there?
Listen in the spring for chirping, chattering or a high whining sound, often from the attic edge or the chimney. Movement through the day as well as the night is another hint, since young ones are restless. Michael checks for young during the inspection, because sealing a mother out while her young are inside makes the problem much worse.
Is that chattering in my fireplace flue a raccoon?
Often it is. An uncapped chimney looks like a hollow tree to a mother raccoon, and she raises her young on the smoke shelf above the damper. Do not light a fire to drive them out. Keep the damper shut and call Michael. He gets the family out alive and puts a cap on the chimney so it does not happen again.
What kind of damage does a raccoon do in an attic?
Raccoons tear open soffits and vent screens to get in. Once inside they flatten and soil the insulation, rip duct wrap, and pick one corner as a latrine. They can also pull at wiring. Michael repairs the openings they made and cleans out the droppings and soiled insulation so the attic is yours again.
Can I scare a raccoon out with lights, a radio or ammonia?
Sometimes it moves for a night or two, but it is not a fix. A raccoon that has settled in, especially a mother with young, usually stays or comes right back to the same opening. Even if it does leave, the hole is still open for the next one. Getting it out alive and sealing the house is what ends it.
Does Michael fix the soffit the raccoon tore open?
Yes. Repair is part of the job, not an extra trip. Torn soffit panels, pulled vent screens and lifted roof edges are put back and reinforced so a raccoon cannot pull them open again. Then the attic is cleaned. Michael tells you after the inspection exactly what needs repair, so nothing on the bill is a surprise.
Contact Us Anytime
Michael handles raccoons, opossums, squirrels, rats and snakes day or night. He inspects the whole house to find every way in, catches the animals alive, and seals the openings so they cannot come back. He also repairs the damage they leave behind.
Call or Text Michael
(713) 775-8799
Cypress Critters & Pests
Cypress Critters & Pests is owner-operated by Michael Gerbino: humane wildlife exclusion, live trapping and pest control around Cypress, Spring, Tomball, The Woodlands, Klein and Houston.
