Of all the animals that live in and around Edgewater, few are as clever as the raccoon. These mammals, with their black eye masks and clever paws, have adapted to living near people and, in some cases, might even decide to move in with you if they find the right resources nearby.

One common entrance raccoons use to access homes is the roof, where they use their clever hands to pry up roofing shingles and flashing to gain entrance to the attic. Once inside, these furry invaders can cause a great deal of damage. Here at Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control, our technicians stand by with tips on how to keep raccoons off your roof and away from your Edgewater home.

Remove Possible Food Sources 

Raccoons are omnivores, which means they eat a variety of meats, vegetables, and small shellfish. However, after years of living around humans, they also enjoy leftovers and food left in unprotected trash cans. Raccoons might enter your property because they smell different food sources, including:

• Leftover pet kibble 
• Garbage and Recycling
• Food scraps 
• Seed from your bird feeder 

Raccoons also enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables and might raid your garden for these treats. Once they find food and water sources in your backyard, they might decide the interior of your home makes for a fine nesting site where they can raise their kits safely.

Maintain Your Yard

Overgrown grass, bushes, and trees can encourage raccoons to visit your property. In fact, tree branches that overhang your roof make a perfect ladder for curious raccoons. Once they gain access, they may enter your attic through a gap in flashing or via the chimney.

Trimming overhanging branches can discourage raccoon activity on your roof, as these plump mammals are not expert jumpers like squirrels and other rodents. Cutting back tall grass provides fewer places for raccoons to hide.

Invest In Tough Outdoor Trash Cans 

Raccoons are motivated by food smells and have a well-deserved reputation for knocking over trash cans and plundering the food inside. This not only makes a mess but might attract other animals, like mice and rats.

If you want to get rid of raccoons, choose sturdy, thick plastic or metal trash cans with lids that lock down. While raccoons may find their way into snap-down lids and can open them with their paws, a can with lids that lock will likely discourage their trash foraging.

Call Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control for Help 

If you hear raccoon activity on your roof or in your attic, calling in our experienced wildlife removal technicians can keep your family safe. While you might admire their bright eyes and ringed tails, raccoons are not docile and will bite or scratch if cornered. Mother raccoons, in particular, will attack in defense of their nest and kits.

When you contact us for raccoon removal in Edgewater, our technicians can inspect your roof for raccoon damage and search for any nests in the attic. We humanely remove any kits we find and reunite them with their mother before installing one-way exit doors that do not allow the raccoons to return. We then clean up all the nesting material the animals gathered, including bacteria-laden feces that could make you and your family ill. Once our techs seal up any other entry points we find, we can provide you with additional tips on how to keep raccoons off your roof.

Contact Us Today for Raccoon Removal 

If you want to keep raccoons off your roof and out of your home, we at Skedaddale Humane Wildlife Control can help. Fill out our contact form online to request services and for further information about how to prevent raccoons from damaging your Edgewater home.