Soffit Problems: Squirrels & Raccoons

A frequent entry point of squirrels and raccoons is the soffit.

Why is that?

Soffits provide a wonderfully protected cavity that gives squirrels and raccoons the shelter and security they are looking for.

And, if they are really lucky, it might even provide a way into an attic or wall.

Today’s post presents a couple of videos which show soffit entries.

And, it shows a recurring theme with soffits: many of them are not wildlife proof.

Time after time, it seems that many soffits weren’t installed with nuisance animals in mind.

Squirrels in the Soffit

Nuisance animals like squirrels are opportunists. Give them an inch and they’ll take a mile.

So if there is a loose soffit panel or a gap where the soffit meets the home, a squirrel is likely to find it.

Squirrels have the ability to chew into most houses anytime they want, but they’ll take the path of least resistance if its provided. So, if a way in occurs, squirrels view it as an invitation for exploration.

That is exactly what has happened in our first video example:

As you’ll see, squirrels found some easily accessible opening in a soffit and moved in.

This example shows recurring themes with squirrel issues:

The electric service line provided an easy path to the house
A downspout offered a good perch
A soffit had a weakness the squirrels found

Whoever put the vent holes in the soffit and covered them with the screens probably thought he or she did a good job.

But in the end, the squirrels found the opportunity and exploited it.

If the commercially available vents Ryan put in had been securely installed in the first place, would this soffit had been breached?

Raccoons Using Soffit

Our second example of a soffit problem switches to raccoons, yet reemphasizes the fact that soffit construction is often not animal-proof.

Raccoons love soffits just as much as squirrels!

These dark cavities give raccoons great places to hang out and mimic well a tree hollow- the raccoon’s natural choice of shelter.

The opportunity raccoons exploit the most often when it comes to soffits is weak construction.

Vinyl soffit is the most common and it is installed by sliding vinyl soffit panels into different shaped channels that are mounted to the building elements.

What we’ve found time after time is that all vinyl soffit installations are not equal.

From the spacing of nails to insufficient overlaps to improperly cut lengths, there is a lot of soffit out there that is suspect.

Vinyl soffit is a flexible product to begin with. And when installers leave some looseness for movement because of temperature change or wind, potential weaknesses abound.

Raccoons are strong and if there is an element of looseness that attracts their attention, they are likely to pull and flex soffit and make openings.

If there is a stable platform to stand and gain a little leverage, raccoons can pull and tug most soffits easily.

In this video, Ryan shows a soffit that was easily manipulated once raccoons found it.

To be fair, this wasn’t an original soffit installation; it was added after the fact.

Whoever added the soffit to this house obviously never thought about a raccoon. He or she was probably just trying to update the look of the house as quickly and cost efficiently as possible.

Wildife Conscious Design & Construction

When we make repairs, we do so with the prevention of nuisance animals in mind.

So the vent covers Ryan added in the first video will be installed very securely; a squirrel will have to do a lot of chewing to get by it.

In the second video, the best raccoon proof repair is to add fascia all around the house and reattach the soffit. The corners of house where the raccons have best access can be further strengthened by adding plywood behind the soffit to stop flexion.

By removing the offending animals and making animal conscious repairs, the recurrence of animals moving back in is greatly decreased.