Foam Walls = Attic Raccoons
As winter approaches we start to think about practical matters like good tires, weatherstripping, and snowblower maintenance.
The instincts of raccoons and squirrels get them preparing for winter as well. Upgrading of shelter is something we witness a lot of wild animals doing this time of year.
These shelter upgrades often come at our clients’ expense as raccoons and squirrels find ways into homes.
Today’s post is about a raccoon that found a great den spot in a homeowner’s attic.
The nuisance raccoon found a soft spot on the home’s exterior and forced its way in.
The raccoon was able to get in because the wall in the area of entry was only rigid foam board. The board does not stand up to the paws of a raccoon!
Foam walls are a commonly found construction practice and may exist in your home.
While they do provide great insulation, foam walls don’t do very well at keeping nuisance wildlife out.
We have video and more pictures, please read on.
Raccoons Make Hole in Foam
A good percentage of raccoons here in our Akron, Canton, Kent service associate man-made structures with food and shelter.
As a result, every night there are “night bandits” out there ambling across our roofs touching, sniffing, pulling, poking.
Most of the time, raccoons find our homes constructed in a way that keeps them out. But, there are also lots of loose construction elements or friendly designed spots that give raccoons opportunities to get inside.
And, when all their roof exploration and pulling and prodding reveals a soft spot, you can bet they’ll take advantage of it.
As the picture to the right shows, it was just one piece of loose vinyl siding that attracted a raccoon to get in an attic at a recent job.
It doesn’t look like much, but when the raccoon was able to hinge the siding up it then encountered a foam board. (See above picture)
The raccoon poked and prodded the foam board and found it gave way. The raccoon then made a hole large enough to get into the attic.
The foam wall just didn’t hold up!
Foam panels are used as walls instead of OSB or plywood for their insulation properties.
They definitely offer great insulation properties but they don’t do very well at keeping determined raccoons out!
This video shows it even better.
Remove Raccoons & Make Repairs
The solution to this raccoon problem is to remove the raccoons and make repairs.
The live trapping of the raccoons is pretty straightforward: set some live traps right next to the hole with some tempting offerings.
Also, monitor the hole to make sure no animals are bypassing the traps.
Once it is assured that there are no raccoons still using the attic entrance the repair is made.
Ryan installed some OSB to stiffen up the problem spot before replacing the vinyl siding. From the inside, a piece of foam can be added over the spot where the hole was. This should address the hole in the wall insulation.
As for the blown-in insulation that is all trampled in the attic- that needs replaced! The raccoon poop could use a clean up too.
Akron, Canton, Kent OH | Raccoon | Trapping, Removal, Prevention
For more on dealing with trouble making raccoons in the attic or other part of the house please see:
Frontline Animal Removal offers professional, humane, and efficient removal of raccoons for all communities in the Stark, Portage, Summit County Metro Area.
Help with your raccoon problem is only a call away.
