Any suggestions for keeping Little Mr. Cutie Bandit Eyes out of our garage?
The Raccoon Man was here last week and determined that we’re not dealing with a mama and her babies, so that’s good news. But he couldn’t figure out how Mr. CBE is getting from our garage to our attic. Nor was he able to find and trap the dude (we thought he was out romping that day - turns out he was just hiding in a cranny).
Thing is, given where and how we live, getting rid of one raccoon probably isn’t enough. Another one will just come along to fill the void.
Raccoons are driven by their noses, and as this is nesting season for moms, I’m wondering why a male raccoon is making it’s way into the crannies of your house if not to build a nest? It’s not winter or autumn, there is no foodin your attic I would think…so why is Mr.Coon trying to get into your attic. I think Mr. Raccoon Man may be mistaken unless he gave a good reason for a raccoon to be entering your attic that is not related to babies.
As for getting them out and figuring how they got in, do you have a roof vent? A lot of times they squeeze into a roof vent that looks like nothing could get through, and they manage somehow. Is there piping in your garage leading intothe ceiling? How about exposed framing or other such exposed areas where an animal could get into the walls.
BTW - Human urine works just as good as coyote - but might look weird if you are micturating all over your garage.
My best guess, is there is a raccoon looking for a nesting site, and your attic is prime realestate…Be careful with the coyote urine, sometimes you can trap a raccoon in your attic by blocking their exit with something solid or something that is stinky…make sure your visitor is out of the house if you are going to use and spray the cotoye scent.
Thanks for your advice, Phlosphr (well, and others ). My subscription died there for a couple of days, so I couldn’t write back.
Mr. Raccoon Man is on his way to our house right now, as a matter of fact, to pick up the trap he’d left which now contains One Regulation-Size Raccoon. Oh, and he’s sooooooo cute!
However, I’m pretty sure this one isn’t the same raccoon I lured out of the garage with bananas and hot dog buns the other night (after we’d left the garage door up past dark - duh!). That one looked small and was gimpy, holding up (or just plain missing, I couldn’t see) his front right paw. Poor little gimpy raccoon!
And yes, we now believe it’s a gap between the roof and the soffitt on the outside of the house that’s giving the raccoons access to our attic. The inside of our garage is merely a secondary locale for them. Apparently our soffitt is of the floating variety. Mr. Raccoon Man is also a carpenter, so I’ve asked him if he could repair what’s been done and remedy the problem.
I swear, all those mortgage commercials that suggest home ownership is easy, cheap and fun are leaving out some key details. I LOVE our place still, REALLY REALLY love it, but I just have this constant anxiety about stuff that’s going wrong that I KNOW about, and stuff is going wrong that WE HAVEN’T EVEN FOUND YET!
Probably on the DAY you finally figure it out and have everything in working order, some damn tornado comes by and wipes it all out.
). My subscription died there for a couple of days, so I couldn’t write back.