How can you tell if it's squirrels or raccoons invading your attic?

My attic | 1/26/19 | Me, Myself, & I

[lastchance]

Here is the irony about that. In many states it is illegal to trap a nuisance racoon and release it. Instead you are supposed trap it yourself or have someone licensed to remove nuisance animals do so. And then he takes it away to have it euthanized. If you do it I think you call one of these licensed outfits and the end result is the same. Dead racoon.

[deport]

Same source, 2nd edition......

46 comments at this time

[minnesota_bound]

The sound of their tv is too loud.

[21twelve]

We had a zombie racoon in our suburban front yard. Just was wandering around in a 2’x 2’ area in the corner for several hours. After internet searches, and calls to exterminators (either all busy, or $150), and even my wife calling the police(!) - quiet suburbs, they were there in a few minutes!

The cop said “If it weren’t for your neighbors I would just shoot it.” So I asked him - “If I just kill it with a hammer - will that be okay? Even though the law says that I can’t?”

“Well, I can’t say anything about that. But I’m leaving, it’s dark, and nobody is around.”

I apologized for my wife calling and bothering him. He said he used to work in a big city with lots of crime. He didn’t mind at all getting called out about a raccoon!

[plain talk]

I can’t get up there myself. There is no stair that folds down. There is just a square opening in the hall ceiling, with a piece of painted plywood resting in the opening. To get up there, you need a full sized ladder, which I don’t have.

Don't you have a pest-control service to at least ensure you don't get termites, etc? If not, given your situation you should hire someone. I had a similar problem and it was mice. I was surprised that a small mouse could make so much noise.

[VietVet]

Look for their scat. Squirrels are small, and so their fewmets are small, about the size of rat droppings. Racoons are larger, and their feces is almost the same size as a dog's or a cat's.

[TigersEye]

They do get hit. I find that they’re not as dumb as deer though.
Maybe the only thing worse than hitting an elk (in North America)
is hitting a moose. Longer legs and heavier bodies. Oof!
And their population here is slowly but surely rising
since they were re-introduced a few decades ago.