Raccoon Problems:  Why Hire a Pro? #2

When it comes to raccoon removal, what are some situations when it is better to hire a professional nuisance animal removal specialist from the start rather than do it yourself?

This is the question we posed in a blog post earlier this week and explained in that first post that raccoon removal from roofs was one of those situations.

In that post we promised we’d present more situations for hiring a pro.  So here’s another.

Another raccoon removal issue that we believe is best handled by a pro is when raccoon babies have been born in a chimney.

We are just about finishing up with the flurry of raccoon babies born in chimneys this Spring.  So when we say that proper removal of these chimney raccoons takes special equipment and experience, we aren’t just blowing smoke 🙂

Special Equipment for Chimney Raccoons

A piece of equipment that makes a chimney raccoon job go much easier is a trap actually designed to fit down a chimney flue and capture a raccoon climbing up into it.

The chimney trap is put in place while mother and babies are in the chimney.  The mother raccoon eventually climbs up into the flue either passively or with persuasion and is caught in the trap.  The babies are left in the back of the chimney and are removed by hand.

We profiled the chimney trap in a post we did a while back about removing raccoons from chimneys and if you want to review that post before continuing, please click the link.  We’ll wait.

Seeing how it works, you’ll hopefully agree that is an extremely useful tool that aids in efficient removal of the mother raccoon when she and the babies are in a chimney.

But, an issue for the do-it-yourselfer is that a raccoon specific chimney trap is not an inexpensive trap (about $170.00) For the do-it-yourself raccoon trapper, it may not make financial sense to acquire this trap for one time use.  That is one of the reasons we believe removing a mother raccoon and babies from the chimney is better left to a pro from the start.

In the nuisance animal removal business, having the right tool for the job has a huge impact on the efficiency of the job.  Also, using this trap requires roof work (see Why Hire a Pro? #1).

Getting Baby Raccoons Out of Chimney:  A Sooty Job

Another good reason to hire a pro from the start is that getting the babies out of the fireplace/chimney is a dirty, hands-on job.

Once the mother raccoon is secured in the flue trap, it’s time to go in after the babies.  By “in” we mean reaching up into the fireplace, around the damper, and groping blindly on the smoke shelf to locate the babies.

This is often more difficult than it sounds.  Obviously, it depends on the size and design of the fireplace.  But, often Ryan has to really twist and stretch and contort himself in a lot of fireplaces in order to reach some of the babies.  In his words, it requires “getting down and dirty” as soot from the fireplace seems to be everywhere.

In the following video Ryan shows off some of the soot he’s acquired after a baby raccoon removal.  There is a diagram in the video that shows where the babies are usually located as well.

The ease of the baby removal also depends on the developmental state of the raccoons.  Very young ones are benign. Older ones that are more developed often claw and try to bite as the operator feels around and takes them out one by one.  For obvious reasons, a good pair of gloves is imperative.

Professional Raccoon Removal from a Chimney | Akron, Canton, Kent

When it all goes right, a professional raccoon remover can show up to a raccoon family in the fireplace job and have the job completed before lunch.  This is possible because of the tools and experience they’ll bring to the job.

If you live in the Akron, Canton, Kent area and have decided you don’t want to try a do it yourself raccoon chimney removal, please contact us today.

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We here at Frontline Animal Removal have the tools and experience to take care of the job efficiently and return your chimney to its animal-free status.