It’s not every day we come across a house that has been vacant for over two years, and completely filled with belongings. On top of this, raccoons and other wildlife have made this their home (and private toilet).

Raccoons had made their way into the homes pantry by chewing through the roof, and gaining access by climbing down the walls. The pantry (at one point) contained food for the raccoons to live off. The food became feces, and the feces was piling up.

First thing needed to begin on the cleaning and disinfecting of the home was to clear the home of garbage — lots of garbage! There were piles of newspapers and food containers. Old books with thick layers of dust and potentially hazardous materials meant that we needed to wear proper respiratory protection.

We had a bin set up to discard the waste within the home. Most of the material was rotted due to long-term moisture in the home. Walls were completely rotten from water leaks caused by the holes in the roof. There were multiple holes throughout the house.

After it was all said and done, it took four 40-yard dumpsters to empty the contents of the home. That’s a lot of trash — especially since the original call was for a raccoon.

It’s the messy job sometimes, but we’re happy to do it. This house was far past infested, and could have caused anything from fires to a complete collapse if left for much longer. Structurally, because of the rotting wood, feces and urine, the home was not livable after the two year absence.

This is a great, if not unfortunate, example of why you should leave these problems to professionals. Humane Wildlife Control is trained and equipped to deal with these extreme cases of infestation.