518-512-0400 (Office Hours – Mon-Fri, 8am-2pm) [email protected]
518-512-0400 (Office Hours – Mon-Fri, 8am-2pm)
  [email protected]

Raccoon Removal Options for Albany, New York Homes

Need help removing a raccoon from your property? Call Us 24/7: (518) 512-0400

Removing raccoons from your property is not as easy as it might sound. If you are a homeowner in upstate New York, removing raccoons from your house or yard is necessary to protect both your family and your investment. The best way to repel, deter, or remove a raccoon depends on many factors, including where the raccoon has made its home. At Hudson Valley Wildlife, we are experts in a variety of raccoon removal options. After we conduct a thorough home inspection, we are able to determine the best solution for your wildlife problem.

Rooftop of a house in Albany, New York
At our client’s home in Albany, New York (pictured above), the owners heard animal sounds coming from inside their home. They were not sure what they were hearing, so they called us to conduct a thorough home inspection. We determined that we were hearing the sound of baby raccoons. This meant that the mother had also made a home inside the house. We needed to act quickly to find these wild animals and remove them because raccoons can present major health problems for you and your family.

Health Concerns Associated with Raccoons in Your Home

Raccoons are the number one Rabies Vector Species in the United States. This means that they are the primary carriers and spreaders of the rabies virus. Any warm-blooded animal is capable of contracting and carrying the rabies virus. But a Rabies Vector Species is far more likely to spread the disease, meaning a raccoon could lead to your dog or cat getting sick, should the raccoon interact with your pet. Other animals that are considered rabies vector species include red and gray foxes, woodchucks, skunks, and bats.

Spreading rabies is not the only problem with raccoons. Raccoon droppings are toxic and emit an unpleasant odor that can linger for a long time. A raccoon can also cause massive amounts of damage as it makes a home in your attic or inside your walls. They tend to rip massive entry holes as they go to make their den, whether through vents, soffits, siding, or even right through shingles and into the roof or chimney.

raccoon inside a chimney in Albany, NY
Because of the rabies vector species designation, it is important to seek professional help when you discover a raccoon problem. We advise that homeowners avoid approaching raccoons in their homes or yards. These New York Capital Region homeowners were smart to call us for help so quickly. It may be tempting to try to solve the problem yourself by purchasing wildlife repellent chemicals, but such chemicals more often than not turn out to be a waste of money. Not every product advertised as a raccoon repellent will yield successful results.

Yet there is one exception that does work when a mother raccoon and her kits are involved…

Raccoon Eviction Fluid: A Natural Raccoon Repellent

Raccoon eviction fluid is a natural repellent that is effective specifically on families of raccoons. It is made from the urine and gland excretions of a male raccoon. Raccoons are primed to want only their own offspring to survive. A male raccoon will kill baby raccoons that are not his own. Female raccoons with young offspring will avoid making nests near the scent of male raccoons for this reason. Raccoon eviction fluid will often provide the same effect for a simple repellent solution.

baby raccoon in a grassy lawn
We do not recommend pouring raccoon eviction fluid directly onto a surface. The best way to use it is to apply it to a soft material that can absorb liquid. We prefer to use a tennis ball, but you could also apply the fluid to a cloth or a sponge. You then toss the object into the area that the raccoon is inhabiting (while being careful to avoid the raccoons themselves!). If this area is hard to reach, you can attach a rope or string to the object for easy retrieval. Within a day or two, the raccoon and her kits will be gone, and you can then repair the damage to your home.

Raccoon eviction fluid is not a cure-all, however. It can be treacherous for a female raccoon to move her young to another place, so she will only do so if she is certain that it is necessary. If she determines that the male raccoon scent is a false alarm, another solution will be necessary. Raccoon eviction fluid also does not work on male raccoons, and will often make them more aggressive. The fluid should only be used if you are certain a female raccoon and her kits are on your property. Again, we strongly recommend not undertaking raccoon removal yourself, owing to the potential dangers.

Removing Raccoons from Your Chimney

For the raccoons that we found in Albany, raccoon eviction fluid proved to be effective. First, we discovered that they were living inside the chimney. This is a common location for a mother raccoon to make her nest inside a house. In nature, raccoons like the structure of a rotted tree trunk (quite similar to the spacing of a chimney) for their dens.

Next, we applied the raccoon eviction fluid to a tennis ball and left it inside the chimney. After two days, the raccoon family appeared to be gone, until the Albany homeowners began to hear the sound of a baby raccoon again. They called us to return, and we found the runt of the litter still living inside the chimney. The mother had left it behind when she moved her family away from the smell of the raccoon eviction fluid.

baby raccoon found inside a chimney in Albany, NY

The baby raccoon was small enough for us to pick up with gloves. We safely transported it to a wildlife rehab center, where it will be cared for until it is ready to go back to the wild. Finally, we removed the tennis ball, installed a cap over the chimney flue, and ensured there were no entry points for the raccoons to return. The chimney cap will also prevent other wild animals such as squirrels, who are also drawn to your chimney because of its close resemblance to a hollowed tree trunk.

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

Hudson Valley Wildlife provides raccoon removal solutions throughout New York’s Capital Region and Upper Hudson Valley, from Woodstock and Rhinebeck all the way up to Saratoga Springs. Contact us today for help with raccoon removal, or for emergencies, call us 24/7 at 518-512-0400.

Let us help. Contact Hudson Valley Wildlife Solutions today!