HELP!!!!!! The're out there !!!!!!

@arkaf61 (10881)
Canada
April 28, 2008 6:46pm CST
I have raccoons in my roof. They made a hole and settled in very comfortably. I don't know what to do. It's a small hole and we can fix it but I'm afraid to fix it while our uninvited guest are in there because they will just make more holes to try and come out. ANy suggestions? Any thing that might help getting them out so we can fix the hole? I do need help on this one.
2 people like this
9 responses
@AmbiePam (85660)
• United States
29 Apr 08
Well, I know if you put mothballs in your attic, it gets rid of squirrels. Sometimes at my parent's house, you could hear them in the attic, and they eventually chewed a hole through the roof. Mothballs got rid of them, so I wonder if they would work on racoons.
3 people like this
@AmbiePam (85660)
• United States
29 Apr 08
My parents put them in a pair of panty house and threw them in the attic. I hope it works for you if you try it.
3 people like this
@arkaf61 (10881)
• Canada
29 Apr 08
thanks I'm going to try that :)
1 person likes this
@arkaf61 (10881)
• Canada
29 Apr 08
I have mothballs !!!! :) I can certainly throw a lot of them there heheheh maybe it will work :):)
3 people like this
• Halifax, Nova Scotia
29 Apr 08
lucky for you its a raccoon not a skunk! hehe get a cat trap or a trap that size anyways and toss some peanut butter in there (it works on lots of animals) anyway catch and release elsewhere.. repeat til theyre all gone.. fix hole:)
@arkaf61 (10881)
• Canada
29 Apr 08
Well.. now that you put it that way, I guess it would be worse if it was a skunk hehehehe Ok talk to me, where do I put the trap on top of the roof close to the hole - where they go in? But how do I know that no others will go in while I"m taking the other somewhere else? Have you ever done that? Did it work?
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (157650)
• United States
29 Apr 08
Hubby says if you were to get a live trap and put a mirror in the back of it, they will come to see it. He says the peanut butter is good too.
2 people like this
@arkaf61 (10881)
• Canada
29 Apr 08
Thanks GG :)
1 person likes this
@Lindalinda (4111)
• Canada
29 Apr 08
Oh my dear, I am so sorry to hear that. Yes, as far as I know this will cost you money. If you leave them there they will breed and your problem will increase. One of my friends in Etobicoke had a hole in her roof and squirrels got in. She called a pest control service. They came and set a trap on the roof (outside) so the squirrels could get out but not back in. When all was quiet after a few days she got a guy to check the roof and repair the hole and any potential weak spots. It did cost a few hundred dollars but to leave it it could have cost a few thousand. So if you can postpone any other expenses and have this looked after. There is always something unexpected, isn't there?
@arkaf61 (10881)
• Canada
1 May 08
There sure is always something unexpected grrr My problem is not that much that I don't want to pay, I really can't do it right now. SO if the only change is to get rid of them is the pest control people, I won't be able to do it. Double grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr :)
1 person likes this
• United States
29 Apr 08
oh my goodness, have you tried calling your local wildlife rangers or humane society? I bet they would have some suggestions for you Arkaf.
3 people like this
@arkaf61 (10881)
• Canada
29 Apr 08
I haven't called yet. I wasn't sure of what it was until yesterday. We heard the noise but we thought it was on top of the roof. But yesterday my husband went to the roof to check something in the satellite dish and he says he saw one disappearing trough the roof, so he checked and there it was... the hole Grrrr
1 person likes this
@Modestah (11179)
• United States
2 May 08
are you sure that it is ccoons and not pack rats? if it is indeed ccoons they go nuts over cat food - and chicken set a live trap and pick them off with that as bait. your conservation department might also be able to help - either with trapping them themselves OR providing you with a loaner trap if you do not have one. if you wish to buy one I found the best prices at www.harborfreighttools.com I hope I have the web addy right.
2 people like this
@arkaf61 (10881)
• Canada
3 May 08
OOps I think I somehow lost my answer. Hope it doesn't come up doubled in a few minutes:) I am sure they're raccoons because we saw one coming out. I guess we will have to start looking for traps ,thanks for the link. I just want them out so we can fix the roof problem and hopefully not have the same problem again :)
1 person likes this
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
1 May 08
I love raccoons, but you do want them out of there before they start breeding because raccoon parents can become quite violent in defending their young. Where we live, animal control will come out and remove them. I don't think they even charge.
2 people like this
@arkaf61 (10881)
• Canada
3 May 08
From what I understand we used to be able to call City Hall and they would either remove them or give traps that could help. That was a free service. APparently not anymore grrrrr
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (157650)
• United States
29 Apr 08
My husband says to put mothballs up there in your attic or roof. It will probably keep other things away as well. Hubby says he wishes everything was this easy to solve.
2 people like this
@arkaf61 (10881)
• Canada
29 Apr 08
A big thank you to hubby and to you to for delivering the message. I am going to try the mothballs. It is easy for me because I do have them. Actually I'll have hubby throw some down trough the hole in the roof. This is great. A few hours ago I had no idea of what to do, so I just called for help here and now I know what to try :):):):)
1 person likes this
@TerryZ (22076)
• United States
29 Apr 08
Oh geez! Maybe you can call an exterimator and ask him for some suggestions. I really dont know what to tell you but be careful they are very nasty creatures. Let us know how you made out.
2 people like this
@arkaf61 (10881)
• Canada
1 May 08
I think I will give the mothballs a try but maybe in the end I will have to call. It's just that I really can't afford that now. grrrrrrr
1 person likes this
@ladysakurax (1161)
• Canada
29 Apr 08
hmm I have an idea but it might sounds really cruel. Buy a cat and let it hunt it for you. Or you can borrow from someone a huge dog to scare them off by still hloding it and they might leave. lol goodluck
2 people like this
@arkaf61 (10881)
• Canada
29 Apr 08
Well the problem is that they are inside my roof I couldn't get a cat or a dog there. But I guess if I could it would give them a scare :)
1 person likes this