Raccoon Baffle

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Raccoon clinging to bricks six stories up a
Burlington, Iowa, apartment building, a masked burglar is finally
collared by the authorities

A Raccoon baffle or a one way trap door is one of the best ways to get rid of raccoons that have set up home in your attic. The only caution is that if you plan to use a Raccoon Baffle, make sure that the pups or raccoon babies are old enough to leave the den on their own steam. A Raccoon Baffle basically is a one way trap door that allows the raccoons to leave the den but not get back in. If they have young babies in the den , they have been know to practically tear the roof apart to get back in. This can cause a lot of damage not only from the raccoons, but also leave a larger hole for rain and snow to enter your attic. Mother Raccoons are very protective of their young, so if she has babies you may as well wait until they are old enough to travel on their own.

Once you are sure they are old enough, arrange to install a one way trap door or raccoon baffle so that they can get out, but not back in. This is the humane way to deal with the raccoons, however there is actually another reason that this is the most reasonable approach. Raccoons have 4 or 5 dens in a neighborhood. In addition there are anywhere from 20 to 100 raccoon families per square mile. That means you and your neighbors will have to deal with them for some time. They can smell a den, know whether it is used or not and move in, so blocking the entrance is the best approach to avoid dealing with repair for raccoon problems long term .

Once they are gone, use strong heavy gauge wire mesh and cover all possible entrances, screw nailing all of the wire mesh down. Remove the raccoon baffle and place the permanent wire mesh in its place. Take care to properly seal any holes you need to put into your roof to avoid water leakage. Even if there are areas were they have not entered, cover these with wire mesh as well. Next you will have to deal with any damage they have caused inside and arrange for these repairs caused by the raccoons to be completed.

If you are thinking of entering attic space to remove the raccoons or to clean up the mess, be very careful. Breathing the feces can cause organ damage and death. In the dry air of your attic, these feces break down, become dust like and when disturbed will float in the air for you to breath. Hire professionals to clean up the attic if they have been there for some time. You may have to replace the insulation and the air vents over the soffits if there is a lot of damage. For more information on raccoon baffles or repair for raccoons and other associated topics visit our site map.

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