An Emergency Raccoon Removal in Loudonville, NY

When you need a wildlife removal professional in upstate New York, make sure you hire one who works with a variety of animal species. Every wildlife removal job is unique, and you never know what you might find during a home inspection. If you think you hear squirrels in your attic, they could turn out to be a family of bats or even something bigger. At Hudson Valley Wildlife Solutions, you can count on our years of experience in a variety of wildlife removal cases. The following unusual story of a raccoon removal job in Loudonville shows that we are prepared for anything because we have seen everything!

raccoon on tree branch

Preventing a Potential Wildlife Infestation

The homeowner called us for a routine check for squirrels in the house, as well as squirrel proofing services to prevent a potential infestation. These services are important in suburban neighborhoods like Loudonville, where squirrels often shelter from inclement weather inside attics. We went through a detailed inspection of the home and looked for necessary repairs. While we found no squirrels, we did find a potential problem area where they might enter the home in the future.

chimney on house exterior

Wild animals often shelter in chimneys because they resemble the inside of a tree trunk.

A chimney can be an attractive shelter for wildlife. The dark narrow space in the chimney flue reminds them of a comfortable home underground or inside a tree. This can cause a myriad of problems for homeowners and may lead to wildlife entering the living area of the house. At this home in Loudonville, we installed a chimney cap to ensure that smoke could still get out, but animals could not get in. But there was one little catch….

Signs and Symptoms of a Raccoon Problem

Unknown to us, a raccoon had been inside the chimney while we installed the chimney cap! The angle of the chimney’s smoke chamber gave it a place to hide from us on our initial inspection, so it was trapped inside after the installation. And our work on the chimney likely made it want to continue to hide. You may be surprised that a raccoon would fit inside a chimney, but they are quite agile animals. When they seek shelter from harsh winds and rain, they are able to squeeze into smaller spaces than one would expect.

Raccoons often create a den inside a house’s attic. They make a lot of noise up there, sometimes sounding like a human walking around. Oftentimes, a homeowner will call the police because they think there is a burglar in their attic or on the roof, but it turns out to be only a raccoon. Chimneys are also an appealing hiding place for raccoons. They often shelter inside the hollowed-out center of a rotted tree trunk, and a chimney flue provides a similar structure. Raccoons will push themselves into the top of the chimney flue and climb up and down it with their back pushed against the opposite inside wall.

If you think you have a raccoon in your home, you should immediately arrange for raccoon removal. Raccoons create a latrine area within their shelter that rapidly becomes soiled and develops a foul odor. If you don’t get them out quick, this latrine can cause severe damage to the house’s ventilation. Raccoons will also chew and rip up construction material to make their living space more comfortable. As the number one rabies vector species in New York State, there are many regulations on how to handle a raccoon problem. This is another reason why you should always contact a professional.

raccoon in a forest in Upstate NY

A Humane Raccoon Removal Solution

This particular raccoon had lost his exit point from the house when we installed the chimney cap. He had nowhere to go but all the way down to the fireplace. By pushing on the grate and fireplace cover from the inside, he was able to exit the chimney into the living room of the house. We received a call late at night when the homeowner found the raccoon downstairs. As we promise our customers, we are available 24/7 for wildlife removal services, so we drove back to Loudonville for this unexpected raccoon removal job.

fireplace opened from inside by raccoon

Raccoons can be aggressive, which poses another safety risk to homeowners. It is crucial to contact a professional who knows how to safely and legally provide raccoon removal services. When we arrived at the house, we located the raccoon and chased it behind the furnace into a tight area with no easy escape. We placed a forced capture cage with some bait inside to trap the raccoon in this area. A raccoon will typically be enticed by the food and crawl into the trap, and then we can transport it back into the wild.

This raccoon, however, was not interested in the bait, and it climbed over the top of the cage to escape. We followed it through a doorway into the attached garage and cornered it again. We grabbed the raccoon with a catch pole and pulled it safely into the cage, to transport it to a safe place for local wildlife. Luckily for the Loudonville homeowner, the chimney cap we installed to keep out potential squirrels will also keep out raccoons.

One lesson learned from this episode is to always check the chimney before you cap it! After a long night, we released the raccoon back into the wild and returned home. When you call Hudson Valley Wildlife Solutions, you can rest assured that we will take a good look inside your chimney when we inspect your home.

Do you need professional raccoon removal services in the New York Capital Region? Contact Hudson Valley Wildlife Solutions today to arrange a home inspection.

Click here to read more about our raccoon removal and trapping services, or click here to read about another successful raccoon removal in Albany, NY.

raccoon in trap

Let us help. Contact Hudson Valley Wildlife Solutions today!

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