How Do You Trap a Raccoon in the Attic?
You don’t!
Though you probably could, generally, there is a better way.
Sorry for the misleading title. This post isn’t going to address setting traps in the attic.
But, that doesn’t mean we are going to ignore the raccoon in your attic!
Our goal, in fact, is to give you professional raccoon trapping advice so that your raccoon problem is solved in an efficient way without going into the attic with traps.
Why stay out of the attic with traps? Good question and a good starting point.
We do not recommend the use of live traps in the attic for raccoons for many reasons. Some of the best are:
- Many homes have poor attic access. Trying to get raccoon traps in attics is often difficult. Even more difficult is getting a trap with a 25 pound, angry raccoon out of the attic.
- Most attics are unfinished. This means there will be insulation to deal with. Different blown-in insulations are messy when disturbed.
- A lot of attics don’t have floors in them. Crawling around on ceiling joists is possible, but so is slipping and damaging a ceiling.
- Raccoons in traps make messes with urine and pooh. You don’t want that in your attic.
- It’s usually much easier and just as effective to set a trap outside.
Hopefully, the EASIER and EFFECTIVE of the last point have your attention.
Alternatives to Traps in Attics
So, if there is a raccoon using the attic, where should the trap be set instead of in the attic?
- On the ground close to where the raccoon is climbing up onto the house
- On the roof by the attic entry point the raccoon is using
Choice #1 (the ground) is by far the safest and easiest place to set a live trap for a raccoon. It requires no ladder work and no securing the trap to the roof. Setting a trap on the ground in a travel path is our number 1 recommendation for DIYers.
Setting a trap on the ground is very effective too, especially if you are able to identify where the raccoon is getting on the building. This could be at the base of the only tree that provides roof access. Or, it could be at a spot on a house where signs of raccoon climbing like mud and paw marks are evident.
Here is video where Ryan shows an effective ground set for an attic raccoon.
As you can see, the raccoon in the video was captured on the ground directly adjacent to the corner of the house where the raccoon was clearly climbing up.
Ryan’s job was to catch the raccoon in the attic. But, as you can see, there was no need to go into the attic with traps or even onto the roof where the raccoon was making access. Raccoons in the summer and fall go out of their dens daily and utilizing a defined path of travel for trap placement was the safest and most efficient way to catch this raccoon.
When the travel path on the ground is not so easily defined we use option #2 (trap on the roof by entrance) to speed up the process. (DIYer beware: this usually requires ladder work, roof work, and more specialized tools. But for us, it still trumps going into attics.)
Setting a trap by the entry point also utilizes the concept of a travel path in a very aggressive way.
For us, going to the roof with the trap also makes sense a lot of times because we are going to be up there making the repair anyway. A great repair is a key element to stop the raccoon problem from happening again. So for us, getting on the roof is often unavoidable.
Removal of Attic Raccoons | Akron, Canton, Kent
Getting rid of raccoons in an attic is a two step process of 1) removing the raccoons currently living there and 2) making a preventative repair.
But, just because raccoons are in the attic, that does not mean that the attic is the best place to catch them.
The preferable placement for traps are ordered as such:
- the ground (easiest)
- the roof (needs more skill)
- the attic (last resort)
If you’re contemplating doing it yourself, keep it simple. Identify a travel path and put a trap there. There is a high likelihood you’ll catch a hungry raccoon at this time of the year without ever using a ladder or crawling up into the attic.
If a raccoon is using your attic as its den and you’d like it to stop and are in our area, give us a call.
Frontline Animal Removal offers professional raccoon removal for the communities in Summit, Stark, and Portage counties and around Kent, Canton, and Akron, OH.
We’ll remove the offending raccoons and make your home or business raccoon proof.
For more on our Raccoon Removal/Control services please view our
