Baby Raccoons Removed by Mother
Ryan recently caught a raccoon on a roof. He put her in his truck and drove around with her for a while. Then he took her back to the job, opened the trap, and let her go. You read that right…he let her go.
Can you guess where she went after he released it?…straight into the house which we were hired to remove the raccoons from. Sound at all odd to you?
Well, having been hired by a homeowner to REMOVE the raccoons that were making noise in a ceiling, releasing an already captured and problematic raccoon might seem a little odd on the surface. But, sometimes, it is an effective removal method in the end.
When baby raccoons are present and in hard to reach places this is a good method to try.
Sometimes Baby Raccoons Are Hard to Reach
In this example case, a mother raccoon enters a house on the roof. Then she climbs down through the walls where she made a nest and deposited babies in a ceiling.
For a job of this nature, we typically capture the mother in a trap and then capture the babies by hand.
But, in this case, removing drywall inside to get at the babies would have been messier and more costly as their exact location was unknown.
So, Ryan decided to see if he could get the mother raccoon to move the babies on her own.
When this strategy works, it is a nice, low-impact option for hard to reach raccoons.
In this video entry Ryan explains the theory and the results are shown.
Low Impact Baby Raccoon Removal by Mother
If you want to give it a try, here’s the plan:
- Capture the female raccoon.
- Hold her, unharmed, in the live trap for about 24 hours. This separation stresses her.
- While she is being held, apply Raccoon Eviction Paste in and around the entry to the denning area. This substance is derived from male raccoons who are harmful to mom and baby raccoons. (Ryan did not specifically mention this step in the video, but he used it)
- Let her back in. If things work out as planned, the combination of separation and the smell of a male raccoon will trigger a flight response. Sensing the den is unsafe, she will get the babies out and to a new site.
- Confirm the raccoons are gone. This can be done with a game camera or loosely sealing the hole with paper or tape. Listening for raccoon activity by the homeowner is also accomplished.
- Seal the hole permanently after there are no more signs of raccoons in the space.
This plan works best when the babies are very young, not mobile, and being able to get to them and remove them by hand is not practical. It works well early in the raccoon birthing season.
Need Help With Raccoon Removal?
If you need help with raccoon removal in the Akron/Canton/Kent, OH area, give Frontline Animal Removal a call.
We will determine the most efficient solution to your animal removal problem and get that problem solved.
Please take a look at our:
