Toronto, Ontario – 2025
This article will analyze and recount a case of a rodent inspection and treatment with a strange discovery on site. The initial visit was to deal with a long standing mouse infestation but when the technician arrived on site he discovered that mice where not the only animals occupying the property. There was also a raccoon.
This visit is located between Rosedale Valley Road and Wellesley Street East in Toronto, Ontario.
The technicians, before the work is done, must first inspect and confer with the customer or customers on the issue and then must inspect for the source
Toronto, Ontario: Cabbage Town
Toronto is Canada’s biggest city and Ontario’s capital city. It’s the 4th most populated city in all of North America. It’s the heart of the Golden Horseshoe and the centre of the Boreal Forest. It was built around the most beautiful parts of Lake Ontario with a bustling population of more than 9.7 million people. Toronto is famous for its thriving business district, the arts and fashion, sports, and astounding culture. It’s a melting pot of diversity and cosmopolitanism. Indigenous people have lived in and used this region to gather for thousands of years.
Exterior Inspection
When the technician arrived on site they performed an exterior inspection of the property and found activity on the exterior, signs of rodents and accessing the house through entry ways under the deck where clear but what the technician did not expect to find was the mice where not only ones occupying the deck space. There was another animal living under the deck, unbothered by the mice, it was a raccoon. This is not an unusual event. Technicians have seen this before. The same entry ways that allow rodents to burrow under decks, shed and even foundations can also allow a wild animal to burrow under it like a skunk or raccoon. In this case the raccoon had gotten under the same deck as the mice. The mice where using that area to access the interior of the house, the raccoon was not interested in that aspect and was content to use the deck as a den. While the raccoon wasn’t trying to get into the house other aspects of its presence was not advantageous to the people living in the home. Raccoons are the vector species for rabies and their faces can contain a dangerous parasite called raccoon round worm. While there hasn’t been a serious incident of illness with it in over fifty years its not something you want on your property.
Interior Inspection
While inspecting the interior of the house the technician found signs of rodents, the faces was clearly small and sized like a grain of rice so it was clear the infestation was mice. The entry ways the mice where using to get into the house were under the deck and that was the same deck the raccoon was occupying. The the need to trench the deck on the exterior was two fold. Stop mice from getting into the house while simultaneously evicting the raccoon.
Initial Measures
The first step was to measure the full accessible perimeter of the deck to find the cost of the exclusion. Prices vary depending on what is under the deck. Getting wildlife out is cheaper because the galvanized steel mesh needed to do it can be a wider gauge. To stop rodents like mice and rats the gauge must be finer. Since both where accessing the deck the logical option was to go with the finer gauge mesh even though its more expensive.
Proposed exclusion
The technician sealed off the deck using a process called trenching. This process involves digging a one foot by six inches trench around the perimeter of the deck. The technician will then attache the galvanized steel mesh, which is also waterproof through the galvanization process, to the side of the deck and then burry it one foot down into the ground and laying it six inches out from the side of the deck. This prevents both burrowing animals and rodents from getting under the deck. The raccoon was not present during the trenching so no one way door was needed. Upon the raccoons return it would make attempts to get under the deck, fail and vacate the property to find a new den.
Conclusion
The technician excluded the deck evicting the raccoon and stopping the rodents from accessing the entry ways to the house underneath it. This resolved both issues and allowed the customer to feel safe from rodents and wildlife occupying their property in the future. It was lucky they called because they had no idea there was a raccoon living under their deck at all.
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Raccoon Deck Exclusion Involving Baby Raccoon and Adult Raccoon in Old Toronto