Raccoons are resourceful creatures and they often try to make their dens in chimneys and attics. However, they can make a den just about anywhere in your house. If you've noticed the sounds of these animals on your walls or seen raccoons wandering around your property, you might have a problem on your hands. Here's what you need to know if you think you have raccoons on your walls and why you need a professional to help you to get permanent raccoon trapping and removal.

Getting raccoons off your property and out of your home is not a simple task. Plus, it is dangerous to try to handle these animals on your own. Experts use a variety of methods, including both passive and active removal methods, to remove raccoon families from residential and commercial properties without harming them. They also use one-way exit devices, hand capture, and live trapping.

How Do You Know if There Is a Raccoon in Your Wall?

The first thing you will notice is the noises raccoons make. You will probably hear scratching at the base of the wall or the base of where the wooden frame meets the floor area. You may also hear scratching and clawing up and down the wall as the animals move through. In addition, the raccoons might be climbing up the pipes or the wall itself.

Squirrels, rats, and opossums can also make their way inside your home. So, how can you tell the difference between the sound of a raccoon and another animal that might be living in the wall?

The difference is in the vocal noises.

The vocal sound of a raccoon is much larger than a small rodent and it will sound louder, slower, and deeper in pitch. Raccoons have a wide variety of vocal noises and emit them like chatter, growl, and other strange noises. There is a very distinct sound when baby raccoons chatter and cry. If you need to verify, you can listen to raccoon sounds on the Internet and see if the sounds that you hear are the same. Or if you make a video or audio clip, a Wildlife technician can also help you to identify the animal you are dealing with.

Removing Raccoons from the Wall Cavity

Most homes that are built with modern construction have a small cavity between the interior and exterior walls. This cavity helps with soundproofing and insulating the property and it gives a better surface to the interior wall.

Unfortunately, some properties have noticed that animals have dug their way inside these cavities. Rats, mice, squirrels, and raccoons can all end up in this space. The size of the cavity impacts the types of animals that can fit inside, which means that a baby raccoon can get stuck in the cavity and the parent may be unable to get it out.

If you notice that a raccoon is trapped in this wall cavity and is unable to get out, you might be hearing frantic scratching and crying from the animal. There are several approaches to luring raccoons out of your walls, but you should never try to remove them on your own. Raccoons can carry rabies and other diseases and parasites that could seriously harm you and your family.

Your best option is to call a professional raccoon removal company like Hawkeye. A professional company might take several approaches, one of which is to cut a hole in the wall to access the cavity and remove the animal. They will be equipped with thick gloves and a cage to put the raccoon in after they have taken it out of the cavity.

Tips for Preventing Raccoons from Entering Wall Cavities

Sometimes the best defence is a good offence. To prevent raccoons from entering your wall cavities, you can take the following preventative measures.

1. Secure Your Garbage: Ensure you have tight lids or lids with locks to prevent raccoons from spilling the cans and digging inside.

2. Remove Food Outside: Accessible food sources like pet or bird feed should not be left outside. The easier it is to access garbage or food on your property, the more likely raccoons will be attracted to it.

3. Trim Trees: Trees that overhang your roof can be a bridge for raccoons to climb onto your property. Keeping these trimmed can prevent raccoons from getting easy access to your home from the roof.

4. Repair Your Roof: Damaged shingles can make it easier for raccoons to tear away and get into your attic. Ensuring your roof is in good condition will prevent raccoons from causing further damage to your property.

5. Never Feed Raccoons or Keep Them as Pets: It is illegal to keep raccoons as pets and feeding them will only attract more to your property. Wild animals that associate their property as a place to get food will not be able to tell the difference between a human that feeds them and a human that doesn’t. Raccoons can get violent with humans as they search for food. This means by feeding them, you put yourself and your neighbours at risk. It is best to contact professionals to get the animals taken away. Feeding them does not help.

About Hawkeye Bird and Animal Control

Hawkeye Bird and Animal Control can help you if you need permanent raccoon prevention and removal. In addition to our raccoon removal, we also provide animal and bird control, balcony cleaning and netting, residential and industrial cleaning, and exclusion, and we have years of falconry experience.

We are the only pest bird and animal/wildlife control company in the country designated "Certified Wildlife Control Professional" and we hold the following licenses: Trapping of Fur-Bearing Animals Permit, Falconry Permit, and Pest Control License. 

Hawkeye specializes in providing humane and natural, environmentally friendly services, solutions, products and systems for pest animals and wildlife who are in conflict with humans or property. Control methods include animal removal, repellents, barriers as well as human protection from damage, disease & health hazards.

Contact us today if you need help with pest wildlife/animal control and/or pest animal removal.  If you want to prevent raccoons from entering your property and crawling behind your walls Email us at hawkeye@hawkeye.ca or call us at (416) 429-5393.

Pest wildlife animals like Bats, Bears (Black, Brown), Beavers, Bobcats, Cats - Domestic (Feline), Chipmunks, Coyotes, Deer, Elk, Fox,  Groundhog, Marten, Mink, Moose, Muskrat, Porcupine, Possum/Opossum, Rabbits, Raccoons, Skunks, Squirrels (Black, Grey, Red) and  Lynx