You may have watched the famous video of a raccoon showing up to order a donut from the Dunkin’ drive-thru window.
There are plenty of less famous videos of raccoons wandering up to homeowner back doors to get food from them. And, charmed by their little fuzzy faces, many homeowners rush to get a snack.
Then there are the homeowners who feed the raccoons by accident. They leave pet food out back for what they think are stray cats or dogs. They don’t secure their garbage cans. They let their back faucet continue to leak water. They don’t secure their gardens.
This is your PSA: don’t do this!
While it might feel charming to watch a raccoon or a raccoon family wander up to your back porch to say hello, it is usually a great sign there’s already a raccoon in your attic. Raccoons have adapted to life in modern cities. They know Houston homes have fantastic attics that make better dens than anything they can find out in the wild.
Attempting to charm you enough to ensure you ignore their presence is part of their strategy!
If you start seeing raccoons around your yard, start checking your home for the signs of raccoon damage.
- “Heavy footstep” sounds, especially at night.
- Skyrocketing energy bills thanks to insulation damage.
- Bad smells, thanks to raccoons using your home as their personal toilet.
- Torn up soffit and fascia, courtesy of raccoons trying to widen attic access points.
If you see raccoons climbing up and down the exterior wall, you can bet they’ve already found their way to the attic. Schedule a free inspection before it’s too late!
If you’re not seeing signs of raccoon damage, it’s time to take some steps to send them packing. Here are some easy steps you can take if you want to try to keep raccoons out of the attic before it’s too late.
- Restrict access to food.
- Restrict access to water by taking up any free water sources.
- Find any holes and seal them—raccoons can exploit holes as small as four inches wide.
Remember, homeowner’s insurance policies often won’t cover the most common kinds of wildlife-related damage. Your policy also won’t cover your belongings.
Protect your home, family, and help. Keep the donuts in your cupboard and keep raccoons out of your attic. Contact us to schedule your free inspection, and trust us to get the raccoons out of your home.
