HAMILTON RACCOON REMOVAL

RACCOON REMOVAL PROCESS

Raccoons in Hamilton

Raccoons have a reputation for being a clever creature with an industrious nature that often gets them into trouble with people. Their strong and dexterous paws, combined with excellent problem solving skills, allow raccoons to quickly make a mess of your garbage and seriously damage your home. If they establish themselves as your houseguests in your attic, chimney or shed they are not only a nuisance they can also be a potential health hazard. With close access to water, Hamiltoon raccoon populations thrive from the West Harbor all the way up the mountain into Ancaster and Stoney Creek.

How Hamilton Handles Raccoon Problems

Ontario had been rabies free for over a decade prior to 2015 when a rabid raccoon was discovered in Hamilton after having been collected by the city’s Animal Services department. Since then, over 330 animals have tested positive for rabies in Hamilton, 215 of which were raccoons. Rabies can be spread to other wild mammals, pets and even people, most often through a bite or scratch. During the spike in 2015, 100,000 vaccine baits were dropped with the aim of reducing the spread of rabies in raccoons and other wildlife species.

By 2020, with numbers still on the rise, the City of Hamilton was allotted more than 1.2 million rabies bait vaccines by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry to combat the province-wide problem. Coming in contact with raccoons poses several health and safety risks, which is why when you have a family of raccoons living inside your attic, it is always best to seek the help of raccoon removal experts in Hamilton. Skedaddle’s trained wildlife removal technicians are equipped with the proper safety equipment and training to remove raccoons, decontaminate the mess they have left behind and prevent their re-entry.

Where are Raccoons in Hamilton

Raccoons are well adapted to urban and suburban environments and can be found throughout Hamilton as well as its outlying residential and rural communities. In urban centres like Hamilton, raccoons enjoy more shelter and food sources per square kilometre than can be found in the countryside. It’s no surprise that Hamilton, like many other cities in North America, has a thriving raccoon population.

Homes, businesses and out buildings throughout the city provide ideal shelter to escape the elements and allow female raccoons a secure spot to have and raise babies during spring. Attics, chimneys, crawl spaces, garages and sheds are all common locations for raccoons to gain access and find a home. Skedaddle technicians have been removing raccoons from both new construction and century homes across Hamilton for over 30 years, and we understand that determined raccoons can make their way into any kind of property if given the opportunity.

During much of the year raccoons divide their time between multiple den sites located within a small range of any given Hamilton neighbourhood. They will come and go depending on weather or availability of food sources. Once they have gained access to an attic homeowners may hear their activity sporadically as they come and go. The arrival of babies during springs results in a change of activity for female raccoons. Raccoon babies are not mobile for the first months after birth and need close attention from their nursing mother. Moving a litter of up to six babies is hard work, so unless it is absolutely necessary mother raccoons hunker down in a single den site after the arrival of their babies. That means noises that were once occasionally heard by homeowners are now constant, becoming much louder as the litter grows. Skedaddle’s team of raccoon removal specialists are trained to locate and remove baby raccoons from attics and chimneys by hand so that they can be reunited with their mother outside of the home.

Winter is the time when raccoons are least active, it can be difficult to tell if they’ve moved in, though sometimes the damage they’ve done getting into your home provides telltale signs of their presence. As the days turn shorter in fall and the mercury makes its way down the thermometer, raccoons do what many warm-blooded critters do. They seek the warmth and safety of a cozy den to ride out the winter months. Raccoons do not hibernate, but neither are they keen on heading out into the cold and snow to seek out scarce food sources. Instead, they fatten themselves up in the fall and largely live off of their stores of fat in the winter. On days when the weather is warm enough, they may venture out in search of food, but, otherwise, they enter a state of inactivity called torpor. This is when it can be difficult to tell if they’ve moved into your attic, though sometimes the damage they’ve done to your roof or soffit to get in provides a telltale sign of their presence.

How Skedaddle Helps Hamilton Wildlife

Skedaddle is proud partners of the Hamilton/Burlington SPCA as well as the Burlington Humane Society. Every year at events and fundraisers our technicians are given the opportunity to educate Hamilton residents about how to reduce conflicts with raccoons, and minimize the spread of the rabies virus. Humane removal methods play a key role in reducing the spread of rabies

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Raccoon Facts

Raccoons are nocturnal animals, which means they are most active in the nighttime hours. Their presence is often detected when their activities awaken people in the middle of the night. If, however, they go unnoticed for long periods of time, their destructive behaviour can do severe and costly damage to your home.

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