Help! A raccoon broke in through the attic fan and started a family in the attic. I caught them all but there is a stinky mess up there.
The raccoon baylisascaris infection threat has me concerned. I called a company on recommendation to clean/repair the mess but they want $10K-20K and my insurance doesn't cover raccoon damage. Has anyone been through a raccoon attic cleanup without breaking the bank? I want to be able to sell the house in a year or two. I hope to learn from BBI collective wisdom before attacking this problem. Thanks.
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I was there when pest control captured mom....and pups...simply amazing.
IMO - something to be aware/concerned about, but if you take the necessary precautions, not something that would scare you off of doing it yourself. And certainly not involved enough that it should take a 15k bill to resolve. If anything, get some more estimates.
Good luck - at least you got the fuckers out, mine are still holed up in there.
Then I put my ear up against the thing at night, and I heard the little fuckers shuffling around inside the hull. Because there's a void between the cabin and the hull, those little bastards have managed to squeeze themselves out of sight or capture. I thought I had stunk them out of there, to no avail.
All of the articles on raccoon roundworm are scary, but not all are infected, the disease itself doesn't become active until at least a few weeks after the defecation, and with the right handling it can be adequately disposed of. Just be sure that whoever does it follows the rules - it's not something that can just be cleaned up with bleach and soapy water.
What I thought I could do was assault their sense of smell, and annoy them with talk radio (and I found the most awful religious 24x7 talk radio station there could possibly be, even I was ready to move out and I own the damn place).
They seemed to be gone, then came back. Not sure if the smell just waned, or if they were there the whole time. Unfortunately, where they (must be?) are is out of sight or touch, and I don't feel like sticking my hand in there to see if something bites it.
This was the end of my 'nice guy' tactics - next up, smoke. I'm going to fire up the smoker, get a fan and some hose, and smoke the fuckers out. Worst case scenario, free smoked raccoon for the neighborhood animals.
Dropping poison in there would not be good. God only knows how long the boat would stink for.
Dropping poison in there would not be good. God only knows how long the boat would stink for.
That stink is the only reason I'm concerned about their survival. I gave them time to GTFO unharmed, now, if I can ensure they're removed, it's dead or alive time.
Trapping is my next step - problem is it's a mother and her babies, and if I trap the mother I don't know what's going to happen to them.
Nasty little creatures.
I'm going to say they're only a few weeks old. One person told me to just wait it out, that she'd be gone with the whole crew in June, but I have fishing to do damnit!
Mike - that's actually not enough. Bleach does not kill the roundworm, you have to hit it with hot (preferably past boiling point) water. I bought a steam cleaner for that reason, but I have to get the fuckers out first.
Typically, the removal of the mammal and any damage caused by the feces or urine is not covered. However any damage caused by its teeth or claws is. A good adjuster will work with you on coverage for insulation, electrical wiring, roofing, siding damage.
Agree with others who already stated, get multiple quotes. Most one stop shop wildlife companies who claim to fix it all really gouge you on the repairs. Pay them to remove the animal. Get quotes for the rest.
Best of luck.