Is it better to remove raccoons myself, or hire a professional?
Raccoons, the masked bandits that are nesting in your attic by day, and raiding your trash cans by night. As carriers of disease, it’s easy to understand why you’d want to remove raccoon from your property.
If you know about trapping and exclusion and don’t mind disinfecting the nesting area yourself once the raccoon is gone, you can try to remove the raccoons yourself. For the amount of work that goes into it though, you’re better off hiring a professional. They have the experience, necessary equipment, and are legally allowed to trap and remove the raccoon from your property, whereas you might not be able to (depending on which state you live in).
Read on to learn more about what’s involved in removing raccoons.
Trying to remove raccoons yourself
Trying to get rid of raccoons yourself is not as easy as all the DIY tips make it seem. Raccoons repellents aren’t very useful and it’s highly likely that you’ll need to trap the animals to get rid of them.
Removing raccoons isn’t as simple as buying a trap and catching the raccoon. There are a lot of different factors involved. Including:
- Identifying how many raccoons are nesting
- Access points (how they’re getting into space)
- Types of trap
- The best bait to use
- Where to place the trap
You’ll also need to know what to do with the raccoon once you’ve caught it. Your local state laws will limit your options here. Most will only allow for on-site release or on-site euthanasia. So once you’ve captured the raccoon, you’ll have to release the raccoon back onto your property or humanely kill the raccoon yourself.
Then there’s the added complication of baby raccoons. If you have a raccoon nesting in your attic, it’s probably a mother and her kits. If this is the situation with your raccoon squatters, then hire a professional straight away.
Once you’ve removed the raccoons, you’ll need to repair or seal up their access points to prevent other animals from occupying the vacant space. You’ll also have to perform a thorough cleaning and disinfect the attic where they were living. Raccoons are carriers of parasites and disease, both of which will be left behind in their fecal matter, even after the raccoon is gone.
Hire a professional
Make sure you contact a wildlife removal company and not pest control. Some pest control agencies may tell you they can solve the problem, but the reality is that they aren’t equipped for dealing with raccoons and will leave you out of pocket without results.

Wildlife removal agencies have the appropriate training, experience, and equipment to be able to remove the raccoon from your property with minimum fuss. They are also legally allowed to trap and remove the animals, taking away the hassle of working out what you can and can’t do, and how to go about it.
A professional will go into the attic, find where the raccoon is nesting and how many there are. They identify the areas the raccoons are getting in and perform the repairs and exclusion work for you. Once they’ve removed the raccoon, they should also clean the area. If in doubt, you can always call and ask what methods they use for raccoon removal, and what’s included in their services.
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