Mother raccoons are single parents and raise the babies by themselves.  They may be out during the day foraging for food or seeking water – this is normal.

If you do see a raccoon out during the day, take a moment to observe what the animal is doing.  Is the animal well kept, clean looking, and not acting drunk or disoriented?  A raccoon that is out during the day should be clean, shiny looking, and should be in a hurry. It should be acting as though it has purpose – not aimlessly walking in circles or lying in the middle of an open area not even trying to hide or look out for predators. This behavior is not normal and requires more investigation.

A raccoon who is out during daytime, aimless, drunken, walking in circles, sometimes with nasal and ocular (eye) discharge is likely ill. Keep children and pets to away and warn your neighbors to do the same. It is important to make sure pets are current on their distemper vaccinations. Distemper is an airborne virus that it is extremely contagious.

The easiest way to keep raccoons out of garbage is to keep garbage cans in the garage until the morning of pick up. If cans must be left out overnight, or are kept outside all the time, purchase cans with locking lids or secure with bungie cords.

Do not leave pet food bowls outside for cats and dogs, you are inviting opportunistic raccoons to dinner.  The only way to prevent raccoons (and other animals) from eating the food is to feed pets indoors or outside during the day only, removing the food at dusk. Relocating animals when free meals are around will not solve problems. New animals will find their way to the free meal and the cycle will never end. Keep in mind that food supply is directly proportional to litter size. When a food source is regularly available, it weakens the species by creating individuals who lack proper hunting and foraging skills.

Raccoons find these spaces useful and may take up residence. During summer, it is especially important to force the raccoon to vacate on its own. Use lights, loud radios, and ammonia-soaked rags to make the area unappealing – also see our information on Raccoon Eviction fluid.  There may be a litter involved.  If you have raccoons in your attic or under your porch, do not trap and remove them until you are sure the babies are old enough to survive on their own. Babies always do better with Mom and raccoons are one of the most expensive animals to rehab costing between $ 250-$ 500 each.  Allow time for a family to relocate to a new home site and the young to be moved. Wait until all signs of the raccoon (and family) are gone and then block the entry to prevent future homesteaders from moving in.

If you have animals in your attic, 99% of the time the animal is a mother, preparing to give birth, or already nursing her young. Most mothers choose a spot to rear young during January through May and give birth 30-60 days later.  Average litter sizes are 3-6.  Most babies are born completely helpless, eye still shut, barely fuzzy, and unable to maintain their own body temperature.  Mom can stay with them up to 23 hours per day during the first week.

If you HEAR or SUSPECT something living in the attic, and it is NOT the DEAD OF WINTER, please assume that there are babies present! This is the #1 mistake that people make when trying to evict animals! Trapping Mom and ‘relocating’ or ‘removing’ her only to find four babies a couple days later is heart wrenching and it is why we raise so many orphans per year.  If you set a trap in your attic and catch ANYTHING – please check everywhere in the attic for babies before releasing the trapped animal.

There are many reasons to attempt to evict animals from your attic yourself:

• It’s simple, effective, and low-cost to free compared to pest control companies that cost at least $200 to take on an attic job.  All you must do is make time.
• Pest control services in Kansas have rules that they must either:
  • Euthanize
  • Relocate the animal at least 10 miles from human habitation with written permission from the owner
• You will have to repair the entry holes yourself or hire another company to do that.
• You have much more incentive to do this work correctly the first time than a company who depends on your repeat business!
• Plus – It’s EASY! No traps required, no bait, no heavy leather gloves, or animal handling experience.

Steps to Evicting Animals from Attics

1. Determine the species of animal that is inhabiting the attic. To do this follow these steps.  During day light hours, pop your head up into the attic (We promise that no one will attack you! Just don’t try to be sneaky about it and make some noise.) and look for areas in the attic where light is getting in. Those spots are your trouble areas.  Around dusk, grab a lawn chair, a good book and sit somewhere outside where you can see those spots. If it’s raccoons, you will see Mom leave sometime right after dusk. If it’s squirrels, you will see Mom come HOME around dusk.  If it is bats, you’ll see a steady stream of them leaving every night around dusk.

There are three main things that animals need to survive ~ water, food and shelter.  Your goal is to disrupt that cycle to get them to move on to a different location.

Sound ~ hook up a stereo and play deep heavy base, rock music or talk radio as LOUD and LONG as you can.

Smell ~ Cayenne pepper sprinkled heavily in the attic will also act as a deterrent. DO not put it on the babies or in the nest.

Ammonia ~ Soak 5-6 rags or socks in ammonia (unscented ).  Seal the bag and poke holes in the bag with a knife or fork.  This allows the scent to get out of the bag.  Place the bags in each corner and one in the middle or if you know where mom hangs out concentrate the bags into that area.

Sight ~ Put up motion detecting lights or if you have a lit attic leave the lights on 24/7. Wild animals like to feel safe and in the dark

Patience –  Usually within 48 hours mom will begin to get annoyed with the interruptions of her home.   She will leave to seek out a new denning area to move her litter too.  DO NOT BEGIN REPAIRS QUITE YET.   She can only move one baby at a time and depending on where she is moving them it may take her several days because it’s a labor-intensive effort.

Repair – Wait 24-48 hours and then fix EVERY possible entry point in the attic except for one.  Leave one hole open for them to use to get in and out just in case. Tightly stuff newspaper in the last entry hole.  Leave it for another 48 hours and if it isn’t disturbed seal the entry.

DO NOT START A FIRE TO DRIVE THE RACCOON OUT!  Babies can not climb and will asphyxiate and die of smoke inhalation.

Use the same techniques listed above to encourage the raccoon to take her kits and move on.  Walk around the house and check for low limbs. Chances are this is how the raccoon has gained access. Limbs should not be trimmed until the raccoon has moved out. If you remove the limbs before the animals relocate, it is likely they will be trapped (possibly with a small family).  After the raccoon/family has vacated, cap the chimney and secure vents to prevent future occupants. If you must remove them from your chimney, and you have already capped it, you can place the babies outside at dusk for Mom to retrieve them. They need to be warm and in a shallow container. Place the container at the spot that Mom uses to gain access to the chimney. She should retrieve the babies and take them elsewhere. If she does not retrieve the babies or leaves some behind, contact OWL as soon as possible.

Placed a 2” x 4”, tree branch, or a rope into the dumpster to provide a ramp for the animal. If the raccoon is still in the dumpster the next morning, call OWL. During the day, check on the and if weather is hot, provide water in a shallow dish.