Raccoon Removal In Virginia

(804) 457-2883 or Toll-Free (877) 828-3878

Raccoons are a common sight in Virginia and while they may seem cute and furry, they can cause a lot of damage to your property and pose a health risk to you and your family. If you have a raccoon problem on your property, it’s important to take swift action to remove it and prevent future issues. In this blog, we will discuss the reasons why you may need to remove raccoons, the steps you can take to do so, and the importance of leaving raccoon removal to the professionals.

Why You May Need Raccoon Removal in Virginia

Raccoons are a common problem in Virginia because they are highly adaptable and able to live in close proximity to humans. They are also very skilled at finding food and can cause damage to your property in search of it. Some of the common reasons why you may need to remove raccoons from your property include:

Property Damage: Raccoons are known for causing damage to property in their search for food. They can dig through trash cans, rip apart soffits, and damage gardens. This can not only be unsightly, but it can also be expensive to repair.
Health Risks: Raccoons carry diseases that can be transmitted to humans and pets. The most common diseases associated with raccoons include rabies, roundworm, and leptospirosis. These diseases can be serious and even deadly, so it’s important to take swift action if you suspect a raccoon is on your property.
Nuisance: Raccoons can be loud and disruptive, especially at night. They can keep you up with their noise and can even make it difficult to sleep. This can be a major annoyance, especially if you have a raccoon problem that persists for an extended period of time.

Steps You Can Take to Remove Raccoons from Your Property In Virginia

If you have a raccoon problem on your property, there are a few steps you can take to remove it. However, it’s important to note that raccoons can be dangerous and should not be approached or handled without proper protective gear. Here are the steps you can take to remove raccoons from your property:

Eliminate Food Sources: One of the easiest ways to discourage raccoons from visiting your property is to eliminate their food sources. This means keeping trash cans securely sealed, cleaning up any fallen fruit or vegetables, and removing bird feeders. By eliminating food sources, you can make your property less attractive to raccoons.
Seal Off Entry Points: Raccoons are excellent climbers and can easily get into your home or garage through gaps or holes. To prevent raccoons from entering your property, it’s important to seal off any potential entry points. This can include sealing holes in your roof, repairing damaged soffits, and installing chimney caps.
Use Repellents: There are a variety of raccoon repellents available on the market that can help keep raccoons away from your property. These include sprays, granules, and electronic devices that emit high-pitched sounds. However, it’s important to note that repellents may not be effective in all cases, and they may also harm other wildlife.

Raccoon Damage Prevention in Virginia & Raccoon Control Methods in Virginia

Raccoon Exclusion Methods in Virginia

Exclusion, if feasible, is usually the best method of coping with raccoon damage.

Poultry damage generally can be prevented by excluding the raccoons with tightly covered doors and windows on buildings or mesh-wire fences with an overhang surrounding poultry yards. Raccoons are excellent climbers and are capable of gaining access by climbing conventional fences or by using overhanging limbs to bypass the fence. A “hot wire” from an electric fence charger at the top of the fence will greatly increase the effectiveness of a fence for excluding raccoons.

Damage to sweet corn or watermelons can most effectively be stopped by excluding raccoons with a single or double hot-wire arrangement. The fence should be turned on in the evening before dusk, and turned off after daybreak. Electric fences should be used with care and appropriate caution signs installed. Wrapping filament tape around ripening ears of corn or placing plastic bags over the ears is an effective method of reducing raccoon damage to sweet corn. In general, tape or fencing is more effective than bagging. When using tape, it is important to apply the type with glass-yarn filaments embedded within so that the raccoons cannot tear through the tape. Taping is more labor-intensive than fencing, but may be more practical and acceptable for small backyard gardens.

Store garbage in metal or tough plastic containers with tight-fitting lids to discourage raccoons from raiding garbage cans. If lids do not fit tightly, it may be necessary to wire, weight, or clamp them down to prevent raccoons from lifting the lid to get at garbage. Secure cans to a rack or tie them to a support to prevent raccoons from tipping them over.

Prevent raccoon access to chimneys by securely fastening a commercial cap of sheet metal and heavy screen over the top of the chimney. Raccoon access to rooftops can be limited by removing overhanging branches and by wrapping and nailing sheets of slick metal at least 3 feet square around corners of buildings. This prevents raccoons from being able to get a toehold for climbing. While this method may be practical for outbuildings, it is unsightly and generally unacceptable for homes. It is more practical to cover chimneys or other areas attracting raccoons to the rooftop or to remove the offending individual animals than to completely exclude them from the roof.

Homeowners attempting to exclude or remove raccoons in the spring and summer should be aware of the possibility that young may also be present. Do not complete exclusion procedures until you are certain that all raccoons have been removed from or have left the exclusion area. Raccoons frequently will use uncapped chimneys as natal den sites, raising the young on the smoke shelf or the top of the fireplace box until weaning. Homeowners with the patience to wait out several weeks of scratching, rustling, and chirring sounds will normally be rewarded by the mother raccoon moving the young from the chimney at the time she begins to wean them. Homeowners with less patience can often contact a pest removal or chimney sweep service to physically remove the raccoons. In either case, raccoon exclusion procedures should be completed immediately after the animals have left or been removed.

Habitat Modification for Raccoon Control in Virginia

There are no practical means of modifying habitat to reduce raccoon depredations, other than removing any obvious sources of food or shelter which may be attracting the raccoons to the premises. Raccoons forage over wide areas, and anything other than local habitat modification to reduce raccoon numbers is not a desirable technique for reducing damage.

Raccoons sometimes will roll up freshly laid sod in search of worms or grubs. If sodded areas are not extensive, it may be possible to pin the rolls down with long wire pins, wooden stakes, or nylon netting until the grass can take root, especially if the damage is restricted to only a portion of the yard, such as a shaded area where the grass is slower to take root. In more rural areas, use of electric fences may be effective (see section on exclusion). Because the sod-turning behavior is most prevalent in mid- to late summer when family groups of raccoons are learning to forage, homeowners may be able to avoid problems by having the sod installed in spring or early summer. In most cases, however, removal of the problem raccoons is usually necessary.

How to Frighten Raccoons in Virginia

Although several techniques have been used to frighten away raccoons, particularly in sweet corn patches, none has been proven to be effective over a long period of time. These techniques have included the use of lights, radios, dogs, scarecrows, plastic or cloth streamers, aluminum pie pans, tin can lids, and plastic windmills. All of these may have some temporary effectiveness in deterring raccoons, but none will provide adequate long-term protection in most situations.

Raccoon Repellents, Raccoon Toxicants, & Raccoon Fumigants in Virginia

There are no repellents, toxicants, or fumigants currently registered for raccoon control.

How to Trap Raccoons in Virginia

Raccoons can be difficult to catch in traps, and it takes a sturdy trap to hold one. For homeowners with pets, a live or cage-type trap is usually the preferable alternative to a leg-hold trap. Traps should be at least 10 x 12 x 32 inches and constructed with heavy materials. They can be baited with canned fish flavored cat food, sardines, fish, or chicken. Place a pile of bait behind the treadle and scatter a few small bits of bait outside the opening of the trap and just inside the entrance. Traps with a single door should be placed with the back against a wall, tree, or other object. The back portion of the trap should be tightly screened with one-half inch or smaller mesh wire to prevent raccoons from reaching through the wire to pull out the bait.

Conibear®-type body-gripping traps are effective for raccoons and can be used in natural or artificial cubbies or boxes. Because these traps do not allow for selective release of nontarget catches, they should not be used in areas where risk of nontarget capture is high. Box or leghold traps should be used in those situations instead. It is possible, however, to use body-gripping traps in boxes or on leaning poles so that they are inaccessible to dogs. Check local state laws for restrictions regarding use of Conibear®-type traps out of water.

Raccoons also can be captured in foothold traps. Use a No. 1 or No. 1 1/2 coilspring or stoploss trap fastened to a drag such as a tree limb 6 to 8 feet long. For water sets, use a drowning wire that leads to deep water. The D-P trap and Egg trap are new foot-holding devices that are highly selective, dog-proof, and show promise for reducing trap-related injury. They are available from trapping supply outlets.

The “pocket set” is very effective for raccoons, and is made along the water’s edge where at least a slight bank is present. Dig a hole 3 to 6 inches in diameter horizontally back into the bank at least 10 to 12 inches. The bottom 2 inches of the hole should be below the water level. Place a bait or lure (fish, frog, anise oil, honey) in the back of the hole, above the water level. Set the trap (a No. 1 or 1 1/2 coilspring, doublejaw or stoploss is recommended) below the water level in front of or just inside the opening. The trap should be tied to a movable drag or attached with a one-way slide to a drowning wire leading to deep water.

Dirt-hole sets are effective for raccoons. Place a bait or lure in a small hole and conceal the trap under a light covering of soil in front of the hole. A No. 1 or 1 1/2 coilspring trap is recommended for this set. It is important to use a small piece of clean cloth, light plastic, or a wad of dry grass to prevent soil from getting under the round pan of the trap and keeping it from going down. If this precaution is not taken, the trap may not go off.

The Importance of Leaving Raccoon Removal to the Professionals

While it may be tempting to try and remove raccoons from your property on your own, it’s important to leave this task to the professionals. Here are a few reasons why:

it’s important to handle them with caution to avoid being bitten or scratched. Professional wildlife removal experts have the training, experience, and protective gear to safely handle raccoons and remove them from your property without putting themselves or others at risk.
Humane Treatment: Raccoons, like most wildlife, are regulated by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. Professional wildlife removal experts are trained to humanely trap and safely remove raccoons without causing harm to humans or property.
Effective Removal: Attempting to remove raccoons on your own can often result in only temporary solutions. Professional wildlife removal experts have the expertise and experience to effectively and permanently remove raccoons from your property. They use specialized techniques and equipment to safely and humanely trap raccoons and remove them from your property, ensuring that the problem does not reoccur in the future.
Protecting Your Property: Raccoons can cause significant damage to your property in their search for food and shelter. Professional wildlife removal experts not only remove the raccoons, but they also repair any damage they have caused and take steps to prevent future raccoon invasions.

Conclusion

If you have a raccoon problem on your property, it’s important to take swift action to remove it and prevent future issues. While you can take some steps to discourage raccoons from visiting your property, it’s important to leave raccoon removal to the professionals. Professional wildlife removal experts have the training, experience, and equipment to safely and humanely remove raccoons from your property, ensuring that the problem is permanently solved. Don’t risk your safety or the well-being of raccoons by trying to remove them on your own. Contact our professional wildlife removal experts today at (804) 457-2883 and let us handle the problem for you.

Virginia Raccoon Removal Companies and Wildlife Control Technicians By Location

Click on the link below for a Virginia professional raccoon removal specialist in your area. Don’t see your Virginia city, town or county listed for raccoon removal? Call us at (804) 457-2883 or toll-free at (877) 828-3878.

We are often asked by potential customers, How to remove raccoons from my Virginia house. Whenever you hear a noise in your Virginia home, it’s generally safe to assume there is an animal inside. Most homeowner are only familiar with mice and rat infestations, but are ill equipped to handle problems involving raccoon removal in Virginia. That’s why we recommend that you contact a professional Virginia wildlife removal and animal control company in Virginia.

For the best raccoon removal in Virginia – call us at (804) 457-2883 or toll-free at (877) 828-3878 for humane animal removal, animal capture, animal control, animal trapping, animal exclusion and animal management of all wildlife pests. You can also visit us on the web “CLICK HERE” for additional information on wildlife removal and animal control of pests in Virginia.