Will Raccoons Destroy Shingles to Get Into Attics?

They sure will. And they’ll do other structural damage to a home as well.

Raccoons can be very destructive as they force their way into attics as the birthing season begins.

Female raccoons have recently started giving birth.

At the top of their priority list in getting ready for the birth is a secure denning area.

And, it just so happens that many of our urban/suburban raccoons here in the Akron / Canton / Kent area find their ideal denning locations in our attics and chimneys.

How Do Raccoons Get In?

Raccoons often exploit structural weaknesses in order to enter attics.

But, sometimes they just decide, for some reason, to get into an attic even if they have to do a lot of damage to get in.

For today’s blog, we wanted to share some recent pictures of raccoon entry spots. As you can see, they often cause significant damage.

Here, shingles and roof decking were both removed by a determined raccoon.

Here is another example of shingle damage courtesy of a raccoon.

Not many animals can do this sort of damage to a roof. Sure, squirrels chew, but raccoons have such strong and dexterous paws that they rank as most destructive.

Yet again, you can see the damage a determined raccoon can make. This raccoon chose to enter at the peak. This roofing job may have very well kept the elements out of the attic and provided good ventilation, but it could not keep a raccoon out.

The last picture breaks away from the raccoon-through-the-shingles theme but show another favorite area of raccoon entry: the eaves.

Raccoons do a lot of damage to the eaves of dormers as well. They reach up and pull the soffit down, remove insulation, and make their way into the attic.