Raccoons around the house: what draws them, and what keeps them there
Published Updated
By John Stopka, Co-Founder & CEO · Reviewed by John Stopka
A raccoon is not in your yard by accident. Open trash, pet food left out overnight and a sheltered space it can get into are what bring one in and what keep the next one coming. Remove the animal and leave those in place and you have made a vacancy rather than solved a problem. The fix is the food and the opening, not the individual raccoon.
What attracts raccoons to a house?
Food first, shelter second — and in town the house usually supplies both.
Raccoons eat almost anything, and in town "they will supplement their diet with garbage and pet food" [5]. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife's list for preventing wildlife conflicts reads that sentence backwards: don't feed wildlife, keep pet food indoors, secure trash, seal entry points [1].
Shelter is the other half. Raccoons normally den in hollow trees or old burrows, but "they will readily use barns, chimneys, attics or the space under decks and porches for shelter if they can gain access" [5].
And one raccoon keeps several addresses: they "have several den sites in their home range" [5]. Your attic is one room in a much larger house.
Why doesn't removing the raccoon fix it?
Because what brought it was the property, not the animal.
University of Kentucky sets the order plainly: "The best long-term solution ... is to prevent them in the first place ... The solution of last resort may be to capture and remove or kill the offending animal." [4] Kentucky Fish and Wildlife frames removal the same way, for animals that "continue to cause property damage despite all preventative measures taken" [1].
Take the animal away and leave the open bin, the food bowl and the hole in the soffit, and the address stays listed. Something fills it.
Which openings do raccoons use?
The ones already failing: siding, roofing and foundation materials that have "suffered weather damage or deterioration" [7]. The routes named are gaps in the structure, chimneys, soffit vents, attic fan openings and vents and damaged roofs, plus the space under decks and foundations [8]. Getting up there is the trees' doing, hence the advice to trim branches overhanging the roof [5] [8].
What you hear narrows it further: "loud vocalizations, thumping, or scratching noises in the attic or walls, mainly during the day" point to a raccoon, and "scurrying, bumps, or muffled movement ... mainly at night" to a tree squirrel [9].
Why does the time of year matter so much?
Because through spring and early summer a den usually has young in it, and that changes the job.
Breeding "occurs from January through March with the peak occurring in February", and the young "do not leave the den until they are weaned (between two and three months of age)" [5].
For a chimney the Illinois instruction is blunt: "If at all possible, let the adults finish raising their young." Baby mammals "will remain in the 'den' for up to two months" [6].
And "[m]other raccoons and skunks may leave their young behind while they search for food" [2], so a den that sounds empty is not proof of an empty one.
Seal an opening with young behind it and the problem moves from the roof to somewhere nobody can reach.
Why isn't this a job to do yourself?
Because the rules are specific, and the obvious plan — catch it, drive it somewhere, let it go — is the wrong one.
Kentucky Fish and Wildlife does not do the removal: "To have a nuisance animal removed from your property, you will need to contact a nuisance control operator, which is essentially pest control for wildlife." [2] That means a permitted Wildlife Control Operator, who has to pass the state's training program first [3].
Release is where homeowners come unstuck. University of Kentucky rules out "a park, wildlife management area, forest, nature preserve, or any other public land", and requires "written permission from the landowner" for private land [4]. Wildlife also "have incredible homing instincts": unless taken many miles away, an animal "will return to its original habitat" [4].
State rules sit on top. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife lists raccoons among the furbearers a licensed fur trapper can be asked to take for property damage [1]; in Illinois they are "protected as a Furbearer", and trapping one yourself needs a nuisance animal removal permit from a state wildlife biologist [5].
How does Liberty handle raccoons?
Raccoons aren't part of our pest control plans. Wildlife Control starts with a free wildlife inspection.
A local Service Advisor does a thorough inspection to see how bad the problem is, how raccoons are getting in, like damaged roof edges, soffits and vents, and what draws them, like open trash cans and pet food.
The inspection reads the attraction as well as the opening.
When needed, we trap and remove raccoons from attics, chimneys, crawlspaces and the spaces under decks. We seal the openings raccoons use, like damaged soffits, roof vents and chimney openings.
After the raccoons are out, we come back to check for new activity and check that the sealed openings are holding.
Once the animals are gone, Liberty Home Services can clean up. We offer Attic Sanitation After Wildlife and Rodents.
Wildlife control is available in the Paducah area, Southern Illinois and the Hopkinsville area. It is not offered in the Bowling Green area.
When to call a professional
Call when you hear heavy movement overhead, when a bin goes over night after night, when a roof edge or soffit is torn open, or when something comes and goes from the chimney.
Call before anything gets sealed. An inspection settles whether the animal is still inside, whether young could be behind the opening, and what is doing the attracting — because closing the hole and leaving the buffet is how the next raccoon ends up in the same attic.
Common questions
How do I get rid of raccoons for good?
Take away the reason they came: secure the trash, stop leaving pet food out overnight, cut branches back from the roof, and have the openings repaired once the animal is out [1] [5] [8]. Removal alone changes none of that, which is why it is a last resort rather than a first step [4] [5].
Can I trap a raccoon myself?
Not the job it looks like. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife's answer for a nuisance animal is to contact a nuisance control operator [2], and release is restricted: no public land, and written permission from the owner for private land [4]. In Illinois, a permit is needed first [5].
How do I know if there are young in the attic?
Assume it is possible from late winter through summer, and do not test it by sealing the opening. Raccoons breed mainly between January and March, and the young stay in the den until weaned, at two to three months [5]. A mother leaves them while she feeds [2], so quiet does not mean empty.
Are raccoons covered by a Liberty pest control plan?
No. Raccoons aren't part of our pest control plans. Wildlife Control starts with a free wildlife inspection, and is offered in the Paducah area, Southern Illinois and the Hopkinsville area.
Sources
- Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. "Living With Wildlife." https://fw.ky.gov/Wildlife/Pages/living-with-wildlife.aspx (opens in a new tab)
- Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. "Frequently Asked Questions." https://fw.ky.gov/More/Pages/FAQ.aspx (opens in a new tab)
- Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. "Wildlife Control Operator." https://fw.ky.gov/Wildlife/Pages/Commercial-Wildlife-Control-Operator.aspx (opens in a new tab)
- University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service. Dave Pehling, adapted by Thomas G. Barnes, revised by Matthew T. Springer. "Vertebrate Pest Management" (FOR-121). https://publications.mgcafe.uky.edu/files/FOR121.pdf (opens in a new tab)
- University of Illinois Extension and Illinois Department of Natural Resources. "Raccoon" (Living with Wildlife in Illinois). https://wildlifeillinois.org/identify-wildlife/raccoon/ (opens in a new tab)
- University of Illinois Extension and Illinois Department of Natural Resources. "Wildlife in My Chimney" (Living with Wildlife in Illinois). https://wildlifeillinois.org/solve-wildlife-problems/wildlife-in-my-chimney/ (opens in a new tab)
- University of Illinois Extension and Illinois Department of Natural Resources. "Home Care" (Living with Wildlife in Illinois). https://wildlifeillinois.org/prevent-problems/home-care/ (opens in a new tab)
- University of Illinois Extension and Illinois Department of Natural Resources. "Remove Food and Shelter" (Living with Wildlife in Illinois). https://wildlifeillinois.org/prevent-problems/remove-food-and-shelter/ (opens in a new tab)
- University of Illinois Extension and Illinois Department of Natural Resources. "Scratching Noises" (Living with Wildlife in Illinois). https://wildlifeillinois.org/solve-wildlife-problems/scratching-noises/ (opens in a new tab)