Are raccoons in your chimney in Cordova TN? One of the most commonly found animals in a chimney is the raccoon. Chimneys are similar to hollow trees, which are a favorite nursery spot for mother raccoons. In chimneys, you may also find a little family of raccoons or even a single bachelor. Raccoons are extremely good climbers. They can easily climb onto your roof and into that nice warm, safe chimney.
When Do Raccoons Have Babies?
Typically raccoons begin breeding around December and have their young in the springtime. Once Spring arrives, you may hear baby raccoons crying. Raccoons typically will have around three to five babies during this time.
DON’T Do This If You Have Baby Raccoons In Your Chimney!
NEVER seal or cap your chimney before the baby raccoons are removed. During the day the mother raccoon will leave her babies to search for food and water. The babies usually sleep all day and you may not realize they are still there. If your chimney is sealed with the baby raccoons still inside, the mother raccoon will tear your home apart trying to get to her babies. If the mama raccoon is unable to get to her babies, you will hear them crying and they will eventually die.
Never, EVER Use Fire!
Many people consider turning on their fireplace believing that since the animal got in by itself, it will get out as well. This is extremely inhumane as the babies will burn to death along with their mother who will do everything she can to save them. If you think you have raccoons in your chimney, keep the damper tightly closed until you can reach a qualified Wildlife Technician. You may not know if the raccoons have nested on top of the damper. Opening your damper could dump a terrified raccoon into your living room!!
How We Can Help
Our Wildlife Technician will come out and perform an interior and exterior inspection of your home. He will ask questions about the condition of your home. Do you think raccoons could also have access to the attic? Is there a specific time of day that you hear the most activity? Describing the type of noises you hear helps with species identification. Depending on the species, some are more active at specific times of the day. For more information on raccoons, check out Raccoon Removal In Memphis TN.
During the interior inspection, the technician will listen to the chimney from the inside to locate the position of the raccoons. The technician will then go into the attic to check for signs that the raccoons have been in the attic. He will search for droppings, chewed wires, and damage to your HVAC, or duct work. Once the technician has noted all his interior findings, he will then perform an exterior inspection. This will include using a ladder to inspect your chimney from top to bottom for entry points. He will look for a missing brick or gap in the foundation. You may simply need a chimney cap over the top of the chimney which is a quick and easy fix. Once our technician has completed assessment of all the entry points and damage, he will give you a quote to repair the area.
How We Trap Raccoons
Trapping services will differ depending on whether there are babies or not. If there is any indication that there may be raccoon babies inside, we use an eviction fluid. This fluid gives off a smell that sets off a biological reaction in the mother raccoon to protect her babies. This can take a couple of days to take effect. Once it does, the mother raccoon should move her babies to another area without further prompting from us. This keeps the raccoon family safe and is the best way for babies to survive. If we try to trap the mother raccoon and babies together, she could attack her own young. This is result of her stress. She may even reject the babies if they are placed in separate cages.
If there are no baby raccoons in the chimney, we will insert an excluder trap over the main entry point. We will then seal all the other areas where the raccoons could get in or out. The raccoons will have to go into our trap if they want to get out. After we have trapped the raccoons, we will relocate them 25 miles away so they are not able to come back. Once we have removed all raccoons, we will seal up the last entry point. After this sealing process (also known as an exclusion) is complete, you should once again have a quiet raccoon-free home.
Raccoon Removal Warranty
When we do a full exclusion, we provide a one-year warranty on all of our work. This warranty will cover all of our work that any animal may try to tear out or damage. If the specified wildlife does get back in through an area we have sealed, repairs to the exclusion are at no cost to you. This warranty does not cover any new holes, only ones we have previously worked on.
Apex Wildlife Control services all of the Memphis area and we try to make appointments within a few days of calling. So if you have a raccoon in your chimney in Cordova TN, please give us a call at 901-598-8555 and we will be happy to help!
