A Different Way to Remove Baby Raccoons

At a recent raccoon-in-the-chimney job, Ryan caught a mother raccoon.

Then, after a day, he let the raccoon go. And, he let it go right back into the chimney he trapped it from.

Does that make any sense? Why would a nuisance animal trapper do his job and catch a raccoon living in a chimney only to put the animal back?

On the surface it looks odd, but there is definitely a method to this madness.

Sometimes Baby Raccoons Are Hard to Reach

The mother raccoon was let go because there was a litter of baby raccoons in the chimney that also needed to be gotten out. She was the best option to get them out.

In this case, the litter of raccoons was at the base of a chimney flue that only vented appliances, not a fireplace. Because of this, there was no access to the base of the flue where the raccoons were. That meant that Ryan couldn’t just reach in and grab the babies once the mother was caught as can be done in a fireplace.

So, other than waiting until the baby raccoons are developed enough to climb out on their own (which is an option), a plan B was needed to get the babies out too.

The Raccoon Removal Plan

How is that done? Here’s the plan:

Capture the female raccoon.
Hold her, unharmed, in the live trap for about 24 hours. This separation stresses her.
While she is being held, apply Raccoon Eviction Paste in and around the entry to the denning area. This substance is derived from male raccoons who are harmful to mom and baby raccoons.
Let her back in. If things work out as planned, the combination of separation and the smell of a male raccoon will trigger a flight response. Sensing the den is unsafe, she will get the babies out and to a new site.
Confirm the raccoons are gone. This was accomplished with game camera as you can watch in the video.
Seal the hole permanently after there are no more signs of raccoons.

Here is a video in which Ryan explains this and shows the results.

Devising a plan to get the mother raccoon to move the babies works best when the babies are very young, not mobile, and being able to get to them and remove them by hand is not practical. It works well early in the raccoon birthing season.