Do you have raccoons in your crawl space in Memphis?  Believe it or not, a big ol raccoon only needs four inches of space to squeeze through!  Raccoons easily can fit through small crawl spaces and squeeze under your home. You can hear bumping and banging or scratching underneath your home. If this happens, look for open trash cans. Also, make sure neighbors are not feeding the raccoons at night. Leaving dog and cat food outdoors is another way to attract raccoons. While this may not seem like a big deal for many people, it can create major problems for neighboring houses. 

Why do raccoons like crawl spaces?  Well, once a raccoon finds good feeding grounds, he will want to stay nearby. Raccoons typically search for a quiet place, easily accessible and has a plentiful food and water source. It is actually much cooler under the house.  Raccoons will choose a crawl space over an attic during the summer, especially during a Memphis summer!  Also, crawl spaces typically have a ready supply of mice and rats for these lazy little fellows!

When walking around your property, search for holes that are bigger than a baseball or any chewing or claw marks. These are sure signs that an animal bigger than a squirrel has been going in and out of the hole. Raccoons typically will not dig a new hole and will use holes that are already available to them. Raccoons are opportunists and will go into a space that was previously created and left by other animals. Ground vents and rotted wood are also possible points of entry for raccoons.  This ground vent to your right is a perfect example of a raccoon entry point.

If you find signs of raccoons in your crawl space, you have a couple of different options. We will do outside trapping or trapping full exclusion. Full exclusion lets us completely seal your property against reentry of animals. Trapping simply traps the raccoon for relocation. We release the raccoons about twenty-five miles from your home so that they will not be able to find their way back to you.

During an inspection, our technician will search for all probably and possible entry points. The technician will complete a full interior and exterior inspection from the crawl space to your attic, and from your foundation to your roof line. He will also check for any damages under the house including all the ground vents.

The technician will photograph any damage he finds so you can see what is going on under your house. These photos will be provide to our clients free of charge.  He will also check the foundation and all the crawl space doors as well.  Afterward, the technician provide an estimate to repair any damages, seal the building, and trap any animals hiding in or under your home.

At Apex Wildlife Control, we are a one stop shop for exclusion and trapping.  But we also offer exterior trapping only.  With exterior trapping only, we do not do any exclusion work or seal any entry points.  If an area that raccoons have been accessing is not property sealed, then we cannot guarantee that other raccoons will not enter that area.  Once a raccoon has left its scent in your attic or crawl space, other animals will try to enter this area as well.  This scent basically tells other animals that this space is a good place to live.  And now that the tenant was "evicted", its available!

Our technician will verify the species gaining access to your crawl space. After he verifies the species, he will set traps in the best exterior location possible.  On average, we usually set two to three traps unless we know the exact number of raccoons present. We will add traps according to the number of raccoons in the family.

Our technicians are very knowledgeable about raccoon activity. We select the best bait possible for the circumstances. When picking bait for an exterior trap we have to consider the wildlife and any domestic animals in the area. If there are stray cats around or outdoor pets we will use a bait that is less likely to entice them. We want to avoid trapping the wrong species or any domestic animals.

Once traps are set and baited, we will begin the seven-day trapping process. We schedule three trap checks for seven days for outside trapping. It is not necessary for you to be home for these trap checks. We do ask that you check these traps daily and give us a call if a raccoon is caught. This will allow us to pick up the animal sooner to prevent dehydration.

Apex Wildlife Control is very successful with exterior trapping for raccoons. With that said, our company cannot guarantee any of our exterior trapping services. This is because we cannot make an animal enter a trap. Our goal is to entice them into the trap, but they can always choose not to enter. Raccoons are extremely smart, even smarter than most dogs!  If a raccoon has been previously trapped, it may be trap-shy and refuse to go into a trap no matter what.  Younger raccoons are usually easier to trap.  By the look on his face, this fellow will be harder to trap next time!

Apex Wildlife Control does not use “kill” traps for raccoons. Once we trap these little fellows, we will take them about twenty-five miles out and relocate them. This is far enough away that they will not find their way back to your home and back into your crawl space.

So if you have a little masked bandit hiding in your crawl space, give Apex Wildlife Control a call today.  We're here to help!