Got a critter in the attic!

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I suspect the big fella "he" is actually a "she" looking to build a nest for the coming baby bandits.
They don't generally break in for food, just warmth, and since it isn't cold yet, probably pregnant.
At least you have the area narrowed down, and also easy access through whatever hatch you stuck your head in.
Good news is, it probably doesn't have rabies or it would have been mean and attacked.
Most are quite timid and not easily scared when in the city.
Too bad i don't live closer, i have a trap / cage, racoons can't resist a free snack.

Squirrels are bad, i had one in my old restaurant, it was chaos for a week while i hunted it down with a team of mercenaries.
 
AGAVE said:
I suspect the big fella "he" is actually a "she" looking to build a nest for the coming baby bandits.
They don't generally break in for food, just warmth, and since it isn't cold yet, probably pregnant.
At least you have the area narrowed down, and also easy access through whatever hatch you stuck your head in.
Good news is, it probably doesn't have rabies or it would have been mean and attacked.
Most are quite timid and not easily scared when in the city.
Too bad i don't live closer, i have a trap / cage, racoons can't resist a free snack.

Squirrels are bad, i had one in my old restaurant, it was chaos for a week while i hunted it down with a team of mercenaries.
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And... It is a female! No babies yet. Apparently she is coming through the soffit. I went up and sure enough you can see the one she pushed on.

Now... Super expensive! $400 to put the one way door system in and then another $400 or so to put mesh covers over vulnerable vents and to address the soffits. I guess they put screen over the vents, box off the soffit area in question and some other stuff. It would also keep squirrels from coming in as well.

Now what to do? Find a handyman to do the work or suck it up and pay the better part of $900 to have the pros do it?
 
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Zoodles95 said:
And... It is a female! No babies yet. Apparently she is coming through the soffit. I went up and sure enough you can see the one she pushed on.

Now... Super expensive! $400 to put the one way door system in and then another $400 or so to put mesh covers over vulnerable vents and to address the soffits. I guess they put screen over the vents, box off the soffit area in question and some other stuff. It would also keep squirrels from coming in as well.

Now what to do? Find a handyman to do the work or suck it up and pay the better part of $900 to have the pros do it?
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When I had racoons my dad and I made it so they couldn't get in or out by blocking the access. Using a $35 trap I pulled them out of the attic and brought them to wildlife control or a wildlife rescue. I could have done the one way door thing but then it would have to be removed after. Simpler to just bait the trap, seeing as they only had one choice on where to get food.

You will want to make sure there are no other ways into your attic, they will try to get back in once having made a nest in there.

Be careful handling them, while rabies is the threat we're most aware about they are pretty safe from carrying that, it's other diseases from their fecal matter that you have to worry about, those things would make you wish you had rabies instead.
 
For 500 i would drive from Montreal and take care of that problem, people are such pirates these days makes me sick.
Unfortunately i've injured my shoulder, which is why i'm in front of this silly computer, or i would come do it.
(yes, i hurt my other shoulder, i can here my friends laughing now, so shut up you monkeys!)

The racoon has to leave at some point, the question is will you be home to seal the entrance once it does?
Perhaps set up a webcam of some kind so you can monitor the situation.
I would make sure it has an easy way out for starts.
Have a ladder ready so you can get some screws into it. You can do it all for free.
A real man would get his moto gear on, crawl into the attic and chase it out, secure the soffits and be done with it, but like i said i can't come do it. :D
The trap / cage is only 45$ i believe, Cdn tire should have one, she will go in for food for sure, just let it go outside, AFTER you secure the soffits.

Last option, call crusingrrl and she will kill it, you can make a nice hat.
 
I went back up into the attic tonight and she seems to be out. If it were not so wet right now I would be tempted to try and secure the soffit myself. I was not too impressed with the pest people that came by. We were quoted $400 and next thing you know they have a $900 thing going and they seemed to be trying to scare me. I made him put the ladder back up and I went on the roof to have him show me every thing that quotation would include and also show me where our critter was getting in.

So, tonight the raccoon has been in and out enough that there is a clear pathway in the attic showing where she is walking and where she goes. Very tempted to try a trap and see if I can extracate her myself.

Would either of these work?

TSC has a two pack set on sale (otherwise the least expensive option is about $80 or so):

http://www.tscstores.com/2-PACK-LIVE-ANIMAL-TRAPS-P8771.aspx#.VkLDMberT4Y

Canadian Tire has some as well:

http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/search-results.html?searchByTerm=true&q=live+catch+trap

There is a decent amount of info out there about baiting the trap etc.

What size would I need to get this done?

The crappy thing is that we fly out on Thursday! My parents are coming up to stay at our place to look after our Dog. Don't want to leave them a big headache. If I was not under such a time constraint I would be really tempted to try the DIY route. If I can I would like to see if I can trap her tomorrow and seal up the soffits myself with some self tapping screws.

If anyone is going to be putting mesh etc on my roof vents I would rather it be the company that did our roof two years ago. How do I know these yahoos are not going to cause a leak in my newer roof?
 
Ya, the guy saw you have a nice house and jacked the rate, like any crooked prick these days.
I called my friend in hamilton, the best roofing company in ontario, i guarantee it, P.E.I. guy roofing, to see if he knew someone near you, he does have a wildlife guy but i'm not sure if they secure the soffits.

Can i assume one of the soffit pieces is out of place where it's getting in and out?
Here's what i would do, first secure all the pieces except the opening.
Now either wait and watch for it to leave or scare it out from the inside, then secure the last piece quick.
(here's a tip for installing those screws, make a tool with a small hook out of a coat hanger so you can fish it into a hole in the panel, then you can pull down on it as you are putting in the screws)

Second option, get that trap, put some leftovers in it and you'll have a new friend.
May as well buy that bigger trap for 89$, you can always sell it to the next guy on kijiji when the racoon moves into his place.
Then you can take it to someones house you don't like (insert gtam member name here) and release it.
 
AGAVE said:
Ya, the guy saw you have a nice house and jacked the rate, like any crooked prick these days.
I called my friend in hamilton, the best roofing company in ontario, i guarantee it, P.E.I. guy roofing, to see if he knew someone near you, he does have a wildlife guy but i'm not sure if they secure the soffits.

Can i assume one of the soffit pieces is out of place where it's getting in and out?
Here's what i would do, first secure all the pieces except the opening.
Now either wait and watch for it to leave or scare it out from the inside, then secure the last piece quick.
(here's a tip for installing those screws, make a tool with a small hook out of a coat hanger so you can fish it into a hole in the panel, then you can pull down on it as you are putting in the screws)

Second option, get that trap, put some leftovers in it and you'll have a new friend.
May as well buy that bigger trap for 89$, you can always sell it to the next guy on kijiji when the racoon moves into his place.
Then you can take it to someones house you don't like (insert gtam member name here) and release it.
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Wowsa! Thanks so much for the tip about the coat hanger tool to hold down the soffit. I was wonder how best to do that.

I might just go and get a better trap. Could loan it out to neighbors, keep it for the next critter, or recoup some of the $ on a kijjiji sale.

My wife and I had a decent chat about this tonight and we do not want to go through this again so we want to beef up the critter armor around the house. I just am left with an ill feeling about this company and do not trust that they would do a good job. Our roofer was amazing so I trust them to protect the vents or if they give me a reference for someone they vouch for.
 
Your wife must be a good cook for the racoon to pick your place, it obviously has a previous break in record because they generally choose an easy target before pushing in soffits.
Since you don't need any special training to trap a racoon, you can open a side business with your new trap and turn it into profit.
Get a nice racoon hat and some magnetic signs made for the side of your car. :D

PS> don't trust the guy you get a bad feeling about, always go with your gut instinct.

also forgot to mention, those self tapping screws come in painted white so they will blend in.
 
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I should take a pic. Where she is going in is actually a good spot. It is where the one roof type ends and the other one starts.

Looks sort of like this:
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The peak of my second roof allows Mrs. Raccoon to just walk up to her soffit of choice and just push up. The soffits I touched are attached at the front/outwards but don't seem to be screwed into the back. So, she can just push up with her paws and the soffits are so loose that it is almost like a door for her. Siding guy that the builder used did a lot of short cuts on the soffits obviously.

Edit: Gah! They just did some goofy update to Smugmug and now it is a PITA to post pics!
 
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CruisnGrrl said:
Get the 2 pack, the smaller cage is good for squirrels. I suspect you will get multiple uses out of both of them. Peanut butter and bacon grease are both good baits.
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Sweet! The price is right. Best of all I made some nice Bolagnaise sauce the other night so I have lots of beef and bacon grease. Worth a shot anyways. Got to love a project! :)
 
AGAVE said:
A real man would get his moto gear on, crawl into the attic and chase it out, . :DTheQUOTE]


there's no way I'm going into battle with a raccoon wearing a dorag, wife beater T and chaps. That's fine at 120kph , but not for cooning.
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The photos show where Rocky is getting in but how does she access the roof?

In my case it was an old TV antenna. Once on the roof they will rip out shingles and tear through plywood to get entry. You have to keep them off the roof.

If she is pregnant she will have a biological determination to find a nest and her clock is ticking. She will be almost as defensive about that attic space as she would be about protecting her future young.

How is she getting onto the roof?

CG is right about the fecal matter. Forget about the stink, ick factor. The stuff contains parasites that can go airborne and be inhaled.
 
nobbie48 said:
The photos show where Rocky is getting in but how does she access the roof?

In my case it was an old TV antenna. Once on the roof they will rip out shingles and tear through plywood to get entry. You have to keep them off the roof.

If she is pregnant she will have a biological determination to find a nest and her clock is ticking. She will be almost as defensive about that attic space as she would be about protecting her future young.

How is she getting onto the roof?

CG is right about the fecal matter. Forget about the stink, ick factor. The stuff contains parasites that can go airborne and be inhaled.
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I am in a subdivision and our roof is close at one point in distance and height to our neighbor's next door. He also has a shed which I suspect the Coon climbed to get onto his roof and then ultimately onto mine.

I put my old Ghettoblaster from my University days into the attic and put this CD on repeat:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalyptic_Raids

It is super heavy, distorted, poorly recorded, and is an acquired taste.

Our roofer actually does soffit work and has even removed their own share of racoons! I am getting the trap now and I am going to take a small tour of my attic later. Right now she seems to have exited the premises.
 
The Raccoon is out for sure. I have an extended painter's pole and I went up and extended it and hit every corner of the attic. I moved the insulation where she had been bedding in and there is only an indentation left from where I first saw her. No signs of feces or other issues. The Hellhammer was enough to keep the ladies at bay in the 1980s so it should work as a Raccoon repellent as well. ;)


Off to get the trap now, repellent, and they even have Raccoon bait on sale at TSC:

http://www.tscstores.com/4OZ-RAMIK-LURE-FOR-RACCOONS-P18214.aspx#.VkOVrberT4Y

Also, would something like this work to ensure she does not come back? The Hellhammer is pretty loud!

http://www.tscstores.com/VICTOR-HEAVY-DUTY-PEST-REPELLER-P22892.aspx#.VkOVJrerT4Y
 
crankcall said:
there's no way I'm going into battle with a raccoon wearing a dorag, wife beater T and chaps. That's fine at 120kph , but not for cooning.
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Your man card has been suspended pending review! :cool:

Were you in the army Zoodles? You don't have to wage a full out war against the fat bandit :p
I think the bad music is fine and maybe some mothballs might help.
Just secure the fort, she will find a new place.
 
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