Raccoon Removal in Kansas City
Do you need to get rid of raccoons? We can help!
Some Geographic Restrictions
Raccoons in Kansas City
Raccoons inhabit every part of Kansas and Missouri but tend to stay near a reliable water source. Of all the animals that have adapted to city life, raccoons might be the most destructive.
Raccoons are strong, resourceful, and excellent climbers. They invade homes looking for a safe place to den that’s close to food and water. A natural raccoon den is in a hollow tree, but the spaces in your home make ideal locations for raccoons. Raccoons are noisy and destructive. Do not wait for them to leave on their own.
The habitat in Kansas City for raccoons and other wildlife continues to shrink. Raccoons have adapted to live in urban and agricultural habitats. Human habitats have abundant food sources and options for shelter.
Trutech Wildlife Service specializes in raccoon control in Kansas City. To control a raccoon or family of raccoons on your property, our wildlife specialist will thoroughly inspection to ascertain the severity of the raccoon infestation. After the inspection, they will build a custom solution to trap, remove, and seal all entry points. They will also provide warranty options as well as an estimate for preventative services.
Raccoon Control in Kansas City
Inspection
The purpose of the inspection is to develop a custom plan to solve your raccoon problem, repair raccoon damage, prevent future raccoon problems, and apply sanitization agents. The inspection starts where you notice a problem. From there, they will look for entry points inside your home, investigate your property including your roof, and identify physical evidence like raccoon tracks and droppings. Raccoon's home range varies, but in urban areas, it generally spans one mile. Wherever there are acceptable food sources, raccoons will set up denning sites.
Raccoon Trapping
Live trapping is the most effective and humane way to remove a raccoon. Direct capture is not commonly used because raccoons are a rabies vector species. Relocating trapped raccoons depends on local laws and ordinances. Habitat modification will keep raccoons out of your home after an infestation. Securing garbage cans and keeping pet food inside are simple measures to keep raccoons away.
Exclusion for Control
Raccoon exclusion services are the most effective raccoon control. After raccoon removal, it is imperative to seal all entry points to prevent future raccoon problems. Raccoons can squeeze into a four to five inch gaps. When they cannot find a hole big enough, they create it. At Trutech, we install the proper materials on all potential entry points to keep raccoons out.
Raccoon Problems
Kansas City Raccoon Signs
Raccoons are ever recognizable with their black-masked face and nocturnal habits. Mother raccoons may destroy and enter parts of your home, especially your attic, in order to create a suitable place to raise their young.
Raccoon Noises
The most common sign of a raccoon in your house is the noise. Homeowners hear movement noises like thumping and scurrying and vocal sounds. Typical vocalizations include purring, chittering, growling, snarling, hissing, whimpering, and even screeching.
Physical Evidence
For nocturnal critters, spotting a raccoon is rare. Homeowners are more likely to see physical evidence like raccoon tracks and raccoon poop.
Trash cans flipped over and the bags of trash in them destroyed is a telltale sign of a raccoon.
Raccoon Damages
Raccoons are dangerous. If you find one in your home, do not approach it!
When raccoons decide to den in attics, they can cause significant property damage. They can create entry points through soffits, gable vents, roof returns, roof vents, and shingles. Once in your home, they will use available materials like insulation to create dens. They also destroy home gardens, birdfeeders, and make messes of trash cans and garbage bins.
They establish latrine sites that can pose serious health risks if located on your properties. Raccoon feces carries Baylisascaris procyonis (raccoon roundworm) which can spread to people and pets.
In addition to raccoon roundworm, raccoons spread diseases and parasites like rabies, tularemia, giardia, salmonellosis, canine distemper, and leptospirosis.
Ectoparasites like fleas, ticks, lice, and mites can live on raccoons. These parasites can find news hosts once they have been introduced inside your house.
How Trutech Gets Rid of Raccoons
Raccoon in Attic Removal
Raccoons are excellent climbers. They use tree limbs, downspouts, or even siding to gain access to your roof. Once on your roof, entry points include shingles, loose soffits, eaves, vents, or roof returns. Once inside, damage caused by raccoons in the attic includes building dens and creating latrine sites. Both activities destroy the attic’s insulation.
The best way to get rid of a raccoon is a trap. We secure the raccoon trap and set it away from anything you do not want to be destroyed. We place traps in an area where raccoons frequent. Because the raccoon trap needs to be checked, we do place it in a somewhat accessible location.
Raccoon in Chimney Removal
Raccoons commonly nest in chimneys. While many homeowners place specialized caps on their smokestacks for this very reason, raccoons are able to gain entry by removing them manually. As raccoons commonly break into chimneys to raise young, noises like squeaking, purring, rustling, and whining are often heard through the night when infestations are present.
Since the pests become hostile if threatened or cornered, individuals should use extreme caution when confronting raccoons in chimneys. Never open the fireplace to try and catch a raccoon.
We set a trap at the top of the chimney, and if need be, hand remove any juveniles.
Raccoon on Roof Removal
Raccoons often access rooftops by climbing trees, siding, and drainage pipes. Raccoons can establish latrine sites on your roof, and females will search for a more secure place like your attic to give birth.
Preventing raccoon access to roofs is difficult, as these clever creatures can climb up just about any surface, but there are ways our professionals can reduce the odds. From metal flashing and tree trimming, to regular inspections, Trutech Wildlife Service has the experience to repair roof damage and prevent future infestations.
Raccoon Inside the Wall Removal
A female raccoon in the attic can look for more secure places to establish a den. Wall voids are secure and secluded. Homeowners will clearly hear the noises raccoon kits make.
If juveniles are present, raccoon eviction fluid has been effective. Othertimes, the experts at Trutech Wildlife Service will set a trap to catch the female and then hand remove the kits.
Occasionally, a raccoon falls down a wall void and cannot climb out. If you hear the distressed noises of an animal, you will need to remove it as quickly as possible. A trapped raccoon can die
Raccoon in Basement Removal
Basements and crawlspaces are popular places to find nuisance wildlife. Common basement entry points include gaps where utility cables and pipes run into homes, holes near building foundations, open vents, and furnace chimneys. Crawlspaces usually have a simple latch to close the door. Raccoons are smart enough to open that door.
Raccoon in Trash
Raccoons are agile and clever animals that like to break into trash bins for food using any means necessary. They are able to tip over smaller garbage cans and spill the contents on the ground or undo loose-fitting latches and lift unsecured lids to reach inside and pull out trash. Finding trash strewn about lawns is the most damming evidence that raccoons have recently raided garbage bins. Property owners may also find the pest’s distinctive tracks around receptacles.
Some Geographic Restrictions
Frequently Asked Questions
Raccoons typically cause problems by rummaging through garbage cans, raiding pet food, and disrupting quiet neighborhoods at night. However, like most wildlife, raccoon behavior may turn aggressive when these pests feel threatened.
Raccoon teeth and claws are sharp, and these powerfully built animals can reach up to 20 pounds in weight. As a result, a raccoon attack, though rare, can be dangerous to people, cats, and dogs.
There are a number of diseases that people can be exposed to by coming in contact with raccoons. The common ones include rabies, leptospirosis, and baylisascaris infection. These raccoon diseases have symptoms like pain, fatigue, fever, vomiting, and diarrhea that mimic the flu, making many victims underestimate the need to seek medical attention. Left untreated, more serious ailments like organ failure can develop.
Many residents want to know how to deter raccoons rather than how to trap them. Trapping is an effective way to remove these pests, but it also comes with some dangers to users. Several raccoon deterrents may help while posing less risk.
Scare and Harassment Tactics
Raccoons prefer dark, quiet places like attics, chimneys, or gaps beneath decks. Keeping these areas well-lit and playing loud music can disturb their rest and force the pests to move. Pinwheels, balloons, or empty soda cans blowing in the wind may also deter raccoons.
Unfortunately, sound, light, and frightening tactics become less effective as the animals get used to them. These cheap, easy methods are a good first step but may not be enough to keep raccoons away for good.
Habitat Modification
Eliminating sources of food and shelter in the yard is another raccoon deterrent. Homeowners can:
- Screen attic, porch, and foundation vents with heavy duty wire mesh.
- Secure the garbage can lid with bungee cords or buy a new bin with a tight-fitting lid.
- Remove outdoor pet food or seal it in secure metal or glass containers.
Certain tastes and smells may also repel raccoons. Homeowners can buy a wide variety of sprays, granules, and oils that claim to drive away these pests.
Taste Raccoon Repellent
Since raccoons dislike spicy tastes, some homeowners spread hot pepper products over areas where the pests like to climb or dig. Many sources suggest cayenne pepper, but this is often not potent enough to keep raccoons away. Hotter oils may harm plants, pets, birds, and beneficial insects like lady beetles and honey bees.
Odor Raccoon Repellent
Many stores also sell fox, coyote, or bobcat urine as a raccoon repellent. While the smell of fresh waste from one of these natural predators may keep the pests away, urine granules usually don’t have much effect.
Mothballs are another common scent deterrent that pest experts do not recommend. They can be toxic and are harmful to pets, humans, and other wildlife as well as raccoons. In fact, these intelligent pests may just bury or remove odor repellents to get rid of the smell.
Property owners may be alerted to the presence of raccoons under decks through various sights, sounds, and smells. The pests designate an area to eliminate waste, known as raccoon latrines, that smell abhorrently and contribute to the spread of disease. Finding a latrine in the yard is a sure sign of infestation. Additionally, raccoons make scratching noises and vocalizations throughout the night that may keep residents awake. The presence of tracks around private properties also points to the existence of raccoons under decks. Finally, individuals can test for the presence of the pests by situating a few sticks just outside deck openings. Placing them so that no animal could move through without disturbing the sticks allows for safe raccoon detection.
Thumping, rustling, and scratching sounds coming from the attic are clear indications of animal infestations. Raccoons are especially playful and like to tumble about, making loud noises that disturb residents. Young raccoons also like to chatter and chirp when calling for their mothers. Additionally, while raccoons generally dispose of waste away from nesting sites, they may let their droppings and urine collect in attics. The overwhelmingly foul smell quickly permeates houses.
Since they are voracious and messy eaters, raccoons leave behind telling signs of their presence. In the search for bits of digestible food, the pests discard paper products, plastic bags, and similar pieces of garbage. Therefore, when property owners are dealing with raccoons in trash, they’re likely to wake up to debris strewn about their yards. Additionally, given the prospect of a steady food source, raccoons will construct nests nearby. Individuals may also be alerted to raccoons in the trash by the sighting of adults, tracks throughout lawns, and the odorous presence of raccoon latrines.
Though sightings of the pest are rare given their nocturnal nature, property owners are able to detect the presence of raccoons in trees many other ways. For instance, raccoons often leave tracks in the dirt around the base of trees they’re living in. These tracks are distinct in their resemblance to tiny human hands. Their claws, which make them excellent climbers, are used to scratch trees, walls, and fences, and finding scuffed paint and tree bark typically points to raccoon infestations. At night, residents may hear chattering, growling, or snarling sounds. Finally, the presence of droppings at the base of trees points to the existence of raccoon populations in the area.
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