Raccoons are resourceful home invaders that often make their homes in attics, chimneys, garages, trash cans, compost bins, and sometimes basements or crawl spaces. However, they can also find shelter in a home’s walls. This can be especially dangerous, especially if there are young babies or pets in the home, and it can require professional help.
The most common sign of a raccoon in my wall in your wall is noise. If you hear scratching sounds around the baseboards, or if you hear scraping and clawing sounds as the animal climbs along the walls, it is probably a raccoon in your wall. The sound they make is different from the scratching of squirrels, rats or opossums and is quite distinct. In addition to the sound of paws moving on the walls, you may also hear a chattering sound that is unmistakable. This is a vocal noise that is typically heard when the mama raccoon is trying to build her nest or her babies are born.
Baby raccoons are curious and sometimes explore areas of the house that their mothers do not approve of, such as wall cavities and attics. This can cause them to become stuck or stranded in a narrow wall void that their mother cannot reach. The mother raccoon will attempt to rescue her offspring, but may be unsuccessful due to the limited space or her inability to climb. In this situation, the best thing to do is leave the raccoon alone.
There are many preventative measures that can be taken to keep raccoons out of your home. One way is to secure your garbage and compost containers with lids that can be locked, as well as to put in place metal grates on your shed doors. It is also a good idea to install a motion sensor or light in your shed and a door alarm on your house so that you will be alerted when there is an intruder in your yard.
Another thing to do is to hire a wildlife removal company that can trap the animal and remove it from your home. Once the raccoon is gone, the wildlife professional can repair your walls to prevent future entry by wildlife. To get started, call Hawkeye Bird and Animal Control and talk to a raccoon specialist in the Keswick area. Hawkeye can provide raccoon trapping and removal services as well as permanent raccoon exclusion. The expert will determine the entry point into your home, seal it and make sure that there is no access to the interior of your home. This will prevent the raccoon from returning to your home in the future. The expert will also be able to give you tips and advice on what you can do to prevent raccoons from getting into your walls in the future. This is an important step, as if raccoons are allowed to live in your home, it will likely mean that there will be more rabies and other diseases in your neighborhood.