I travel all through the tri-cities region removing animals from chimneys and homes in general. It doesn’t matter if it is Kingsport, Johnson City, Bristol, Abingdon, or Elizabethton, the problem is the same. Raccoon in the chimney isn’t my most common call but it does come in once in a while. This seems to have been a big “raccoon in the chimney year”. I don’t know why. Last year seemed to be more of a raccoon in the attic year.  At any rate, once the raccoon is discovered, people start to wonder how ……………….

Any wildlife species that can fly or climb can end up in a chimney, but there are certain ones that are more likely than others.  Bats and raccoons are the most common.  Removing wildlife from a chimney takes some knowledge and skill. 

First - a little bit of the low down on wildlife in chimneys.  Chimneys are popular spots for wildlife to show up.   I suppose that they resemble big hollow trees and attract animals that are interested in denning there.   Raccoons are excellent climbers, surpassed only by squirrels, so denning high off the ground makes sense since it eliminates the chances that the litter will be found by a ground based predator like a coyote.

Historically our average forest tree size was much bigger than we have now.   Logging and other human activities have reduced the availability of large standing hollow trees.   The loss of these natural den sites have been substituted with chimneys, soffits, and attics.   This is a “raccoon in the chimney” wildlife removal story from the spring of 2019:

The Customer’s Call

It was about 5:45pm, and it had been a long day of dealing with critters in people’s homes.  I was at Lowes in Johnson City, TN getting supplies for the next day of wildlife removal when the phone rang.   The caller had heard noises in the chimney and he thought it was an animal.  He wasn’t panicked, but he wanted whatever it was out as soon as possible. Critters often turn up in chimneys.  I have removed lots of bats, birds, squirrels, flying squirrels, raccoons, and one unlucky squirrel from a gas fireplace before (crazy story).  This customer thought that it sounded like an owl.  I had never seen an owl in a chimney/fireplace, so I got his address and headed over to see if I could help.

The Recording Studio and the Raccoon

“Guitar Man” as I will refer to him, met me at the door and brought me into the den.  I was a bit surprised when I walked inside the house.  It looked like I had walked into a recording studio.  On one end of the room was a very neat line of about 7 electric guitars of different makes and models.  The other end of the room was set up with recording equipment and other musical gear.  The mantle was adorned with concert memorabilia.  There were large framed collections of concert tickets on the mantle along with several very detailed miniature guitars.    Obviously, this room was his pride and joy. 

I put my ear close to the fireplace.  At first, it did sound like the whinny of a screech owl.  Then after a second or two, I realized what I had on my hands.  It was my first litter of baby raccoons of the year and they were behind a steel fireplace insert in his den that weighed a ton.   Their chitter was very high-pitched and I thought that they had to be very small.  

I slid the insert out a little, and this is where things start to get interesting.  Momma raccoon was looking back at me through a crack beside the woodstove with her litter of three kits.  Having a raccoon in this room made me a little nervous.  I sure didn’t want to have things get out of control and have to untangle an angry snarling momma raccoon from the tangled wreckage of his recording equipment and its cables.

Guitar man’s brother showed up as I was getting started and I think that both of them were enjoying the show.  One of them picked up a guitar and sat down and scrubbed off a few cords while I worked.  I can’t say that I have many customers do that.   A little bit of theme music in the background would be pretty nice and might inspire me - nice.  I considered making a request, but I couldn’t think of any raccoon removal theme songs at the moment, so I let it pass.    Guitar Man offered me a beer, but I declined.   I knew that I would need my wits and reflexes to be at their quickest.   

As things progressed, I decided it would be safest if they were outside.   If momma raccoon broke free in the den, I didn’t want to slam into one of these guys in the chaos or have one of them bitten.  They stepped outside to watch through a large picture window.   They laughed and joked as I worked and I think that they were having a good time.    I realized that I was the main feature of this show.

How to Get Momma Raccoon and Her Litter Out

I wasn’t sure how I wanted to go about this, but I knew that I had to be careful.   I sure didn’t want a raccoon “free for all” to break out and have to chase momma raccoon through the neatly stacked line of guitars and musical equipment.  I considered putting on my bite-proof gloves and reaching in to make a “lightning quick” raccoon snatch, but the wood stove insert was really heavy and I wasn’t sure that I could move it and not have the raccoon shoot out the gap before I could make my “lightning quick snatch”.  

Raccoon Scars on My Face

I considered pulling back the stove just enough to slide my arm in and slowly reaching inside to grab momma raccoon.  I didn’t like that either.   What if my arm was jammed in there up to the shoulder and momma raccoon came back up my arm?  Although, raccoon tooth scars on my face would probably give me more credibility when I showed up at customers houses, I considered the other consequences.  I hated the thought of having to pay for, or take time out for, a rabies booster.   Those things are really expensive and require multiple trips to the hospital to finish the series.  I didn’t have time for all that.  Peak season would be starting soon.

Grabbing a Baby Raccoon

The wood stove completely covered the mouth of the fireplace when I started.  At this point, it had been pulled out just enough to see inside.  Momma raccoon hid herself near a back corner of the fireplace.  She tucked her head in a corner with her back to me.   I slid the stove out a little more and considered using a capture net to bag her as she darted out.   However, as the stove was pulled out momma raccoon became nervous and climbed up on top of the stove and headed up the chimney leaving her babies behind.  I thought that while I had a chance, I might remove the babies and put them in a recovery box outside and let momma raccoon find them there.  However, I hadn’t caught momma.  What if she decided to bring them back down the chimney?  Probably not - she now had to realize that her den was definitely not secure.  Unfortunately, it was a possibility.

I put on my bite-proof gloves and opened it just enough to grab the babies.  I didn’t think that the crack was enough for momma to slip through and I took the baby outside to get a better look.  It was covered in soot and was kind of a charcoal gray all over.  Soot was all around his little nose and mouth, and I kinda felt sorry for the little guy.   It still had a dried crusty umbilical cord attached and I knew that it couldn’t have been more than a couple of days old.  

A Change of Plans

I was considering my options.  If I trapped momma raccoon and took her away, I would be legally obligated to kill her.  Then I would essentially be killing the whole family.   I hated that option.  I walked back to the stove to see mom with one of the babies in her mouth heading back up the chimney.   I realized that mom was already pretty panicked and might decide to move the babies since she knew that her den wasn’t secure.   I decided to capitalize on that and changed tactics.   I decided to use my Predator Eviction Treatment.   It was a lot more humane than trapping momma.    “Guitar Man” didn’t want to kill momma raccoon any more than I did and agreed to the change of plans.  I think he also appreciated the fact that it significantly reduced the chances of damage to his music room.

The Predator Eviction Treatment

The predator eviction treatment is a combination of several different techniques that are designed to make a denning female feel unsecure.   Because of the location of the den, I couldn’t use the full treatment, but I could use the scent portion of the treatment.   Eviction scent is pretty wretched.  But I hoped that it wouldn’t be too bad since it was enclosed behind the fireplace insert.   If it did, the rags that I used to apply it could be removed.   I replaced the raccoon kit and added scent to the den chamber (fireplace).   We pushed the fireplace insert back, and I let him know that I would be texting in the morning to check on the progress. 

Raccoon Removal Success Rate with the Predator Eviction treatment

My success rate with this treatment has increased over the past few years.  Each year I have upgraded it to include techniques that affect more of the sences of the denning mother.  I have even begun to test it on species other than raccoons.   This year my success rate is probably going to be well above 90%.   However, some factors still cause issues.  The treatment has to be delivered directly into the den site. (Yes, that can be very dangerous, and I don’t recommend it for amateurs.)   I also believe that factors like the raccoon’s age, personality, and availability of alternate den sites also affect the raccoon’s willingness to move. 

The Next Morning

Normally, things get a bit noisier as the female raccoon moves everyone out then the noises stop.   I call this the “Ryder Truck Effect”.  Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case.   Guitar Man had “serenaded” the raccoon family with loud classical music on his guitars the night before, but the baby raccoons were still chittering and things seemed to be unchanged.  Sometimes this doesn’t work.  I considered driving by since I was going to be in Johnson City that day anyway.  But, when I went by next I knew that I would probably be setting a trap, and that wouldn’t be any good for the little raccoon family. So, thought about it and finally I texted back to wait a day or so and said that if it didn’t work I would set a trap and discount the trapping.   As I sent the message, I frowned because I knew that there was a chance that I might have to remove momma and her family and put them down. 

Success!

Somewhere around the third day the noises stopped and the raccoons were gone.  I told guitar man that he needed to make sure that the flu was capped so that this wouldn’t happen again.   Female raccoons are likely to return to old den sites.  I was relieved that I never had to trap his raccoon.  It was better for everyone, and I think that Guitar Man and his brother both enjoyed the experience.    I enjoyed meeting them and the story for momma raccoon and her kits turned out good.