What is Raccoon Roundworm?
Raccoon roundworm, also known as a Baylisacaris infection, can be serious. It’s a parasite that is found in raccoons.
Raccoon roundworm can cause severe neurological problems and can be fatal.
If you have raccoons in your home, you are at risk. The parasite can spread from raccoons to dogs and from dogs to humans. It can also spread directly from raccoons to humans. While you or your dog would generally have to come into contact with the raccoon’s feces to end up with an infection, that’s easier than you think.
Raccoons often leave scat in the ductwork and insulation, which can lead to inhaling roundworm eggs. They don’t die as scat breaks into dust; they become dry and fully capable of infecting new hosts.
They can also contaminate the soil around your home as they leave feces behind around your house, allowing children to come into contact with the parasite. They also tend to treat porches and firewood stacks as restrooms, creating more potential points of contact and more chances for contamination.
The CDC draws a direct line between keeping raccoons out of attics and reducing your risk of exposure.
Symptoms include:
- Nausea
- Exhaustion
- Loss of coordination
- Vision loss
- Loss of muscle control
- Liver enlargement
- Difficulty tracking surroundings
- Coma
- Death
Once you’re infected, microscopic larvae hatch in your intestines and then move into the bloodstream, causing damage to your tissues. Rapid diagnosis and treatment is crucial.
Look, we’re not here to scare you.
We just want to help you understand why responding to a potential raccoon invasion is so important the minute you suspect you might have one. Many people put their heads in the sand when they first hear the unusual noises or see signs of exterior damage in their homes.
Everyone’s more afraid of what raccoon abatement can cost. In reality, raccoon removal is pretty cheap. It costs less than a hospital bill, less than the damage raccoons can cause to your home, and certainly less than deaths from raccoon-borne illnesses.
So, if you think you have raccoons in your home, please do not delay. Raccoon roundworm is just one of the many diseases raccoons carry. Call us, your friendly neighborhood Houston, TX, wildlife control professionals. We’ll offer you a free inspection, peace of mind, and humane removal if we find a raccoon getting just a little too comfortable in your home.
How to Identify Raccoon Damage in Your Home
Almost every customer of ours wants to stay in denial, at least for a little while, about whether they have raccoons in their homes. Sure, they hear footsteps in the attic, but maybe it's just the house settling, right?
Sometimes, they have to start seeing damage before they call us.
We hope you'll call before you start seeing damage, but just in case, we thought we'd tell you the major signs that the trash pandas are ripping up your home.
Start With Your Roof
Start with your roof because that's where the most visible damage will likely be.
See missing or damaged shingles? While storm damage can cause these problems, too, there will often be a difference between storm-damaged shingles and raccoon-damaged shingles.
You'll see storm-damaged shingles on multiple areas of your roof. You're likely to see raccoon damage in just a small location: the one the raccoons favor for getting inside to your attic.
Ditto for gaping holes in your soffit and fascia, or any gaping holes in your roof at all. Some of them like to rip up fans and vents instead, so look to see if those structures are bent out of shape.
Check the Attic
Go up into your attic. You've probably got raccoons if you're immediately hit in the face with a burning, ammonia-like scent. Their urine is just as bad as cat urine, creating pervasive problems that will need serious clean-up efforts to get rid of.
While you're up there, shine a flashlight around. You're likely to see droppings that look very like dog poo. These little presents will often be full of undigested food.
Check the Side of Your House
Raccoons don't need a tree to get to your roof.
They can climb right up the sides of your house. If you see smudges on your exterior siding that go straight up, you could be looking at the raccoon's little self-made staircase.
Worst Case Scenario: Raccoon Ceiling Damage
We've seen people who stayed in denial for so long that they managed to bust holes through the ceiling.
One day you're minding your own business; the next, bits of unpleasantly softened drywall are hitting the top of your head. Suddenly you hear something scamper away from the giant hole in your ceiling.
Or...Just Schedule an Inspection
You don't have to live in denial. Raccoon inspections and removal cost less than you might think, and they cost far less than repairing the kinds of major damage these little creatures can cause.
Why not schedule one with one of our friendly technicians today? At best, we'll tell you there's nothing to worry about. At worst, we'll help you catch the problem early, so we can get those guys out of your house before they make a big mess.
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Our goal is to take time to evaluate each customers situation and customize proven results to solve it. If you are looking for a professional solution for your Raccoon Removal needs, please contact us today.
How to deter raccoons
Don't want to pay for raccoon removal?
The easiest way to avoid needing raccoon removal services is to deter raccoons in the first place.
Here are three ways to try to keep raccoons off your property.
#1) Restrict Access to Food
Like most urban scavengers, raccoons choose to inhabit properties where they can count on easy access to food. Outdoor garbage cans and compost piles are like all-night free buffet lines for them.
Secure garbage cans and ensure you have enough to handle all of your normal garbage output before pickup day. Don't be afraid to buy locking garbage cans. Houston has a huge raccoon problem!
#2) Restrict Access to Water
Every animal needs water to survive. Do you have standing water in your yard?
We're not saying you must give up your pool, hot tub, or birdbath. Just cover them at night, when raccoons are active.
Check your spigots, too. A drippy or leaky spigot can provide an enterprising raccoon family with all the water they might need to survive.
#3) Restrict Access to The Home
Raccoons will enter your home in any way they can. Is there a gap in your siding? Has your soffit and fascia rotted enough to make a hole? Do you leave windows open at night? Are there gaps in the roof?
About 90% of our work as wildlife removal specialist revolves around finding all the places raccoons and other critters are using to enter the home, and then blocking them off. If you can do that before a raccoon takes up residence, you might never need to call us.
What can you do if you get raccoons despite your best efforts?
Don't beat yourself up. Raccoons are persistent and intelligent. They're difficult to actively deter: they don't care about motion-activated lights, sprinklers, noise makers, or cayenne pepper nearly as much as the Internet thinks they do.
When raccoons take up residence, you need tougher exclusion methods and experts who can trap them, remove them, and release them far away. That's where we come in. The faster you call us, the less painful the removal and eventual damage are likely to be.
See raccoons in the yard, but aren't sure whether they've invaded your home? We'll provide you with a thorough inspection. Once you start seeing raccoons, it's a good idea to get your home checked anyway, as you might want to start using professional-grade exclusion methods before they get the bright idea to nest down in your attic.
We're Houston's raccoon removal experts and ready to help. Call us as soon as you suspect you might have a problem, and we'll take care of you!
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Our goal is to take time to evaluate each customers situation and customize proven results to solve it. If you are looking for a professional solution for your Squirrel Removal needs, please contact us today.
5 Signs You Have a Raccoon Infestation in Your Home
We've been offering pest control services in the Houston, TX, metro area for many years. We know denial is the first reaction many people have when they start noticing signs that raccoons may be invading the house.
People don't want to think about the potential expense of removing raccoons or what could be happening in the parts of their homes they can't see.
Unfortunately, denial only makes the situation worse. If you have these 5 signs, it's time to call us.
#1) Strange Sounds in the Night
If you hear scratching, thumping, or "heavy footsteps" in your attic at night, it's probably not a ghost or a goblin.
It's probably a raccoon. They're most active at night, and you're most likely to find them in your attic, chimney, or walls.
Look to human food. Keep compost in a bin or box. Keep trash can lids affixed to their cans. Wipe up spills and crumbs.
#2) Damaged Insulation
If you go up into your attic and find torn insulation everywhere, you probably have a raccoon. They like to tear up the insulation to create nests.
A skyrocketing energy bill could be your first sign of trouble, as insulation plays a vital role in helping us keep our homes cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The more raccoons destroy your insulation, the more the R-value of that insulation reduces into uselessness.
#3) Foul Odors
Raccoons don't exactly use litter boxes. They pee and poop wherever it occurs to them to do so. Obviously, the odor can get very unpleasant very quickly.
The more odors you smell, the worse the situation may be. The droppings may be in your ductwork. You could be breathing the particles and germs. Contrary to popular belief, you do not have to get bitten by a raccoon for a raccoon to make you sick.
#4) Footprints
You might find little raccoon footprints in dusty or muddy areas, such as the attic or crawl spaces.
#5) Torn Soffits and Fascia
Raccoons are more than happy to rip up soffits, fascia, and roofing materials to make it inside the home. They're also opportunists: if an opening exists, they're likely to exploit it.
The trash pandas are smart. They know human attics meet their needs.
Stop worrying about the cost!
No raccoon removal could possibly be as costly as letting them continue to chew up your electrical wiring, tear up your ductwork, shred your insulation, and fill your house with diseases while steadily devaluing your home by filling it with awful smells.
Our solutions are cost effective and humane. We'll help you exclude raccoons from your property, so they don't return. You'll get your house back, and you won't have to think about raccoons any more.
Need help? Call us today.
REQUEST A FREE INSPECTION
Our goal is to take time to evaluate each customers situation and customize proven results to solve it. If you are looking for a professional solution for your Squirrel Removal needs, please contact us today.
What do Animals in the Attic Sound Like?
Do you hear thumps and bumps in your attic?
While you might be in denial—nobody ever wants to think they have a wildlife problem—sounds in your attic almost always mean some creature has moved in.
Here's how to tell what you might be dealing with.
Heavy Footsteps
If it sounds like someone is walking around up there, then there's a good chance you have a raccoon, especially if you hear the sounds at dusk and during the morning. Raccoons will leave their attic nests at twilight to go foraging, then return in the morning to sleep.
In the spring, you might hear fighting and chattering. Those would be baby raccoons. As cute as a baby anything happens to be, they'll soon grow into big raccoons, worsening your wildlife problem.
Rolling Sounds
Does it sound like someone is rolling and bouncing marbles across your ceiling all day?
Those aren't marbles. They're nuts. You're hearing squirrels rolling nuts for storage. Hearing marbles in your walls? They're throwing nuts into the wall as well. Squirrels will hide nuts anywhere!
Nuts in your wall are a massive problem because squirrels occasionally go after their stash and get stuck. They'll then die, releasing a horrific smell that is difficult to remove.
Flapping Wings, Banging, and Squeaking
You may think you're playing host to a family of birds. Chances are, you're hearing bats, especially if the noises quiet down at night. During the evening, bats are out hunting.
Of course, birds like human attics as much as any other animal. If you hear fluttering and cheeping, then a Momma bird might have decided your attic looked like the perfect place to raise her baby birds.
Chewing, Scratching, and Squeaking
You probably hear rodents, and they could either be rats or mice. Either species chews and scratches incessantly.
Usually, you'll hear rodent sounds at night.
You don't have to do guesswork!
Any noise in your attic is probably a bad sign. You don't have to try to figure out the specific animal.
Just call us. We'll inspect your attic, determine what might be living up there, and help you chase those critters away for good.
Running and Pouncing
A stray cat might have moved into your attic. A cat tenant is highly likely if you have rats or mice up there, as they will make the perfect prey.
Cats would almost be welcome, except their urine is so potent that it's like toxic waste. Sooner or later, the smell will overwhelm the house. They are not as polite about their bathroom habits as their domesticated counterparts and will absolutely pee all over your attic floor.
Plus, one cat will not get rid of an entire rodent swarm. Any time you have a predator species hanging out in your home, you can bet there are plenty of prey animals, too.
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Our goal is to take time to evaluate each customers situation and customize proven results to solve it. If you are looking for a professional solution for your Squirrel Removal needs, please contact us today.
Raccoons Cause Two Texas Power Outages
In Seguin, TX, raccoons caused two power outages this October by getting into substation transformers.
This isn't the first time a raccoon has ever gotten into a transformer. Out in Colorado, a raccoon once caused a 7-acre wildfire doing the same thing. There were instances in New Mexico where raccoons caused a transformer to downright explode. Raccoons have even managed to start major fires by getting into the power lines.
Squirrels blow out transformers as well, as do snakes and other animals. Anything man can build, it seems, pests want to find their way into.
Some power companies have responded by retrofitting transformers to prevent animal interference, which we think is a wonderful idea.
Do you doubt that they can do the same to your home?
You shouldn't. Fire investigators estimate that wire-chewing damage by rodents such as rats, mice, and raccoons cause up to 20% of undetermined fires in the United States every year. If there's one thing raccoons excel at, it's good old fashioned property destruction.
These fires are the most common during the winter. That's because animals like to winter down in our attics, and they don't have much to do but stay inside and chew on whatever looks good to them.
One sign of damage could be a circuit breaker that constantly trips. Another sign could be frequently flickering lights, appliance failures, or frequent power surges.
Add those to the other common signs of raccoons in your home, and you might just have to face up to the fact that it's time to call a pest control company like ours.
Signs of raccoons include:
- Sounds of heavy footsteps in the attic.
- Scratching sounds.
- Strange smells.
- You see raccoons on your porch or close to your house.
Take a look at some of our other posts about raccoons to understand the dangers they pose.
- What Transmittable Diseases Do Raccoons Carry?
- What You Need to Know About Raccoons
- Raccoons Have Got to Go—What You Should Know if You Suspect Raccoons in Your Home or Business
We offer humane pest removal, and we're a lot less expensive and distressing than a house fire!
If you think you have signs of raccoons, contact us to get help today.
REQUEST A FREE INSPECTION
Our goal is to take time to evaluate each customers situation and customize proven results to solve it. If you are looking for a professional solution for your Raccoon Removal needs, please contact us today.
