The following article details a raccoon removal job in Oshawa. A raccoon mother and her babies were found nesting in a family’s attic and promptly removed with the help of a one-way door. She returned and was removed and excluded again – fulfilling Raccoon Control’s warranty. A full wildlife-proofing has kept this home safe from an animal invasion since. If you are interested in having raccoons removed or kept out of your property, reach out to Raccoon Control.
Oshawa, Ontario
Oshawa, located in the Durham Region, is well known for being a car manufacturing city. In the late 1800s, it was already the home to many wagon factories. As more highways and rail links were built, the city’s development increased at a rapid pace.
In 1907, the McLaughlin Motor Car Company began manufacturing cars with Buick engines. By 1918 the company had merged with Chevrolet and Buick and created what is now known as General Motors of Canada. General Motors location in Oshawa continues to provide the community with many jobs.
This case will take a look at a family of raccoons that moved into an attic in Oshawa. Raccoons are common in this city as it continues to grow and spread into forested areas. Neighbourhoods are home to many raccoons and urban wildlife.
Inspection
This customer contacted us after noticing damage to the base of a chimney on the roof and hearing noises in the attic. They suspected that raccoons had made their way into the attic. We booked an appointment at the customer’s convenience and soon visited the home for a full inspection.
Our trained wildlife technicians will inspect the roof area for any damage that would allow animals to access the attic space. Often, we find one entry point, but it is possible to encounter various points of entry depending on how long the raccoons have been present. At this residence, we found an obvious entrance through a hole that had been ripped at the base of the chimney. This area of concern would eventually have to be blocked.
Because our inspection took place at the beginning of April, we must perform a visual inspection of the attic to determine if baby raccoon kits are present. Raccoons usually give birth from mid-March until as late as May. Vacating a mother from the attic without removing the babies is a recipe for disaster. If the mother finds herself locked out of the attic, she will rip a hole anywhere she can just to get to her babies. It is imperative that babies, if present, be removed and placed near the property so the mother can be reunited with them.
At this location, our technician did find five kits. They were safely removed from the attic and placed in an insulated box. The box will be left in a concealed location nearby for the mom to find and relocate the babies into their next den.
Exclusion
Once the babies had been removed from the attic, our technician installed a one-way door at the point of entry. This door is specifically designed to allow the mother raccoon to exit the attic and not be able to re-enter. It will be left in place for approximately a week or two to allow enough time to let the animal out.
We returned a few days later after the customer informed us that noises had returned to the attic. We inspected the one-way door and found that the raccoons had damaged it and were able to return to their previous home. Because of the location of the door, the raccoon was able to leverage its weight to push into our installation and create enough force to push it open. Raccoons often use that ability to breach roof structures, especially soffit intersections which are very tight areas on the roof.
Our technician re-secured the one-way door and continued to inspect the roof for any other areas that the animals may have compromised since our initial visit. We found one roof vent that had been damaged enough that entry was almost possible.
The customer agreed to have all the vents protected from wildlife. We installed a strong and durable cover over each of the roof vents and plumbing vents. These covers are made of PVC-coated steel mesh and are able to withstand any gnawing by animals such as raccoons and squirrels.
Once again, we inspected the attic for babies and were surprised to find all five babies back in their cozy corners. Because access from the attic was extremely difficult, our team created a hole through the soffit from the outside to reach the babies. Once removed, we patch the hole and replaced the soffit.
A few weeks later, and after confirming that no more activity was taking place in the attic, we returned to remove the one-way door and secure the hole.
Conclusion
Although we are generally able to secure an attic on our first attempt, a more persistent raccoon may be stubborn enough to return her babies to the original den. In these cases, our determination to satisfy our customers will always overcome any such challenges. It may take two or more attempts or techniques, but in the end, we will ensure the animals are out and stay out.
All our exclusion installations are backed with a 2-year warranty. If any damage occurs during that time, we will return to repair or replace it.