Raccoons in the attic calls are a huge part of Wildlife Company work load in the correct season. However, most people have never heard of this. It is not the sort of thing that is on the mind of most homeowners. But, when it does happen, it is a big deal and most people need help with the problem. Raccoons sometimes turn up under homes in crawlspaces or under decks, but the most common call is a female denning in an attic.

A Little About Raccoon Biology First

First it is good to explain a little about raccoon biology and denning habits. Raccoons are quite at home in trees. They can actually descend a tree head first. I actually caught one doing this early one morning driving by King College. You don’t see raccoons doing this as much as squirrels because raccoons are nocturnal. It was extremely cool to see.

This is quite a feat if you think about it. This requires pivoting the rear hip around till the palm of the foot faces toward the tree. Try pivoting your own hip around till your foot faces forward. Doesn’t work so well, does it? You would probably need a friend (or enemy) to help you by twisting your foot to perform this stunt. Something would probably pop if you actually managed to do it. Squirrels are able to do this also. I mention this because only squirrels are better climbers than raccoons. This is primarily because of their reduced weight and incredible springing ability.

Raccoons climb by wrapping their “hands” around the back of the tree and bracing their hind feet against the nearer side and hitching upwards. If they can’t get their arms around the object they can use their fingers to grasp the texture of the object. For example, they don’t have to wrap their arms around a large tree if it has rough enough bark to hang on to.

This incredible climbing ability, and an instinct for nesting in high places, Arboreal nesting habits do a lot to protect the young from predation. If the female dens in a tree, it will be impossible for dogs, foxes, coyotes and other ground based species to reach the kits. This is an instinct that has paid off for raccoons for thousands of years. It is possible for a female to den in a location that is on the ground, but most of my calls involving a litter are in attics.

What all This Means for Homeowners with Raccoons in the Attic

Climbing skills combined with an instinct to den in a high spot makes attic raccoon invasions not only likely, but inevitable for some homes. I could walk through neighborhoods and give odds on which houses are likely to be hit and be right most of the time. If I combine architectural features with other environmental factors, like proximity to flowing water sources, the predictability of raccoon invasion increases even more.

The same affinity for trees and high places that puts momma raccoon high in the hollow of a tree sends her into your attic. So how does she get up there? More often than not raccoons climb to the roof using a nearby tree. I am not sure if this reminds them of their native habitat or if it is just more convenient. They need something with branches that are strong enough to get them onto the roof. I am often surprised at how little it takes. The second most popular route involves using some type of architectural feature such as a downspout, 4x4 porch post, etc. As long as it is the right size and they can get traction to climb up.

“Nonstandard” raccoon entry point that I repaired a couple of years ago. Female raccoon climbed up the porch railing, shinnied up the post, pushed open the aluminum trim at the top, and entered the attic through the soffit.

People often ask me if they should cut the tree that the raccoon was using. I have read sites that suggest trimming trees that provide access to roofs. This might discourage a raccoon from climbing to the roof, but I certainly wouldn’t count on it 100%. If the raccoon is motivated, it is likely to find another way up and momma raccoons are nothing if not motivated. Even if the tree is gone, there are always plenty of down spouts.

There are probably baby raccoons in the attic and cutting the tree also doesn’t get them out. If cutting the tree actually did work, it would only strands them up there to die, rot, and stink. Getting them out means either going up there and physically removing them or doing something to convince momma raccoon to carry them out herself. Both these activities carry a number of risks. Entering an attic with a live raccoon carries risk. If you are considering this, you should probably read Entering Confined Spaces to Remove Wildlife and Removing Raccoons from Attics first.

How Do Raccoons Get Inside?

The first feature that I look for on a home is a soft entry point under which there is good footing. More often than not this is at the point that the eaves make contact with the roof. At that point, the vinyl soffit is usually not nailed in well and is very easy to push up and walk through. I refer to this as a “pet door built into your roof”.

“standard” type of entry point where vinyl is loose on the under side of soffit creating rooftop cat door.

Other types of entry points are possible as long as they have good footing with a reachable soft point. Other entry points can be available due to rotted wood, or lightweight vents that can be bent or torn open to gain entry. My client base is focused around Bristol, Kingsport, Johnson City, with a few calls coming from Church Hill, Erwin, Mountain City, Abingdon, and Piney Flats areas. In these areas vent issues are not as common as soffit type entry points. This probably has to do with building codes and minor differences in vent construction in our region.

non standard entry point caused by decay.

Raccoons will Wreck an Attic

Once in an attic, raccoons can leave an incredible mess. They will sometimes shred flexible ductwork and almost always leave poop. A couple of years ago I evicted raccoons from an attic in a church that had over 125 gallons of pure raccoon poop. That wasn’t 125 gallons of poop and insulation. It was 125 gallons of PURE POOP (the attic was uninsulated). Raccoons are likely to return to the same spot year after year during breeding season. The raccoons had been in there for a number of years and the droppings had built up until they had a latrine that was six inches deep in the middle and in a circle eight feet in diameter. The raccoons had even climbed three stories into the steeple to create a latrine there.

Raccoon poop latrine inside the steeple of a church in Milligan not far from Johnson City.

I know how much it was because access was terrible and the excrement had to be carried out one bucket at a time. The heat was horrible in that attic and it was a very rough project. You sure don’t want to have to deal with that kind of thing. There is also of course an assortment of diseases that can accompany this sort of problem, but I will save that for later. Hearing about 125 gallons of raccoon poo should be enough to convince you to seal things up. The amount of damage done in an attic is related to the amount of time that animals stay in the attic and how many animals there are. Please call today to get things under control in your attic if you are having problems.

Bagged raccoon poop ready to be hauled away