Damage Raccoons Can Cause in Your Attic
As winter approaches, raccoons need to find a warm and cozy shelter to live in and attics are a perfect choice. Not only is it warm and safe, but there’s proximity to the garbage and other food sources that raccoons crave. For a pregnant raccoon, an attic is just the perfect delivery room and nurturing home. When you start hearing loud thumping, walking noises, growls and cries coming from your attic, especially at night, you’ve probably got a raccoon problem. Although cute-looking, raccoons are one of the most destructive wildlife animals. Their curiosity and intelligence drive them to explore. But for homeowners, their exploration can cost you thousands of dollars in repairs. Here are some of the raccoon’s damage they cause:
Insulation Damage
Once a pregnant raccoon gets access to your attic, the first action is to make a nest and the insulation is the best material. They will tear it up indiscriminately to create a cozy nest for their kits. Damaged insulation means that your home wouldn’t be able to retain heat efficiently. Therefore, your electric bills associated with heating and cooling is sure to increase.
Damage to Ducts
If you have ductwork running through your attic, they may be at the mercy of raccoons. And know this, they will mercilessly destroy the ducting. Even worse is when their kits get old enough to leave the nest. Together with their mother, they’ll wreck unimaginable damage to the ductwork, resulting in malfunctions in your HVAC system.
Contamination
Raccoons also scatter around their feces and urine in attics. Unfortunately, there are major health risks diseases associated with their waste like Leptospirosis, Salmonella, and Roundworm. If contracted and left untreated, roundworms can damage the nervous system of both pets and humans.
Chewing Wires
Raccoons can’t just help themselves, they love to chew on wires. In the best-case scenario, you discover it on time and spend a lot on repairs. In the worst-case scenario, the exposed wires result in a fire incident.
Wood Damage
How do you think raccoons get into attics? They identify weak areas around the roof, like weak wood, vents, or seams. Thereafter, it’s just a matter of chewing their way through. Inside the attic, they’ll continue to chew through the wooden structures there. This may affect the structural integrity of your building.
Damage to Other Materials
Due to their curiosity, raccoons love to take things apart. Anything they can lay their hands upon will be shredded into pieces. Because of this, it’s not uncommon to find pieces of paper and nylon scattered around the attic when there’s a raccoon infestation. Some raccoons have torn up exterior walls in thinner areas just to access the attic. Similarly, they have been known to rip through an entire roof even when shingles and wood were present. This will result in leaks and as you know, water in the attic just accelerates the damage.
Conclusion
If you notice the presence of a raccoon in your attic, you have to act promptly. For every delay, the raccoon is wrecking more destruction. That’s why you have to call a wildlife removal professional to help in their removal. Thereafter, the infected attic has to be decontaminated to kill all bacteria. Finally, you have to repair all the damages caused by the raccoon.
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