Raccoon Removal in Duluth, GA
Heavy footsteps overhead at night, like a dog walking around in the attic? In Duluth that's usually a raccoon, often a mother with young. Call us and tell us about the job — we will confirm the local crew for your county before any work starts.
Raccoons in your Duluth home
Raccoons have plenty going for them in Duluth. The woods along the Chattahoochee and the tree cover between neighborhoods give them shelter, and suburban yards give them garbage, pet food and birdseed. Most attic raccoons don't start in the attic. They start somewhere lower, like under a deck, in a crawlspace behind a loose ground vent, or inside an uncapped chimney on an older home, and then climb up. Raccoons are strong and use their front paws like hands, so they can pull a soffit loose, bend a vent, or lift shingles at a weak edge. On a newer townhome, they often go for a gap at the roof-to-wall joint and widen it themselves.
Homeowners usually describe the sound as a dog walking around in the attic: heavy and slow, not the quick scratching of a squirrel. If you also hear high chattering, there are probably babies. That changes the job, because the young have to be found and removed with the mother. Raccoons are also a regulated species in Georgia and leave behind waste that's a real health hazard. Here's how our wildlife crew handles all of it.
From the deck to the attic
In Duluth, a raccoon problem often begins at ground level. On older homes, a crawlspace with a broken ground-vent screen is an easy den, and on newer homes the dry space under a deck works the same way. A raccoon that's comfortable there will eventually climb, especially a female looking for a safe, warm place to have young. The attic above a loose soffit and the uncapped masonry chimney that many older houses still have are the usual next stops. A pro checks all three places, because sealing the attic while a raccoon is still living under the house only moves the problem.
Finding the babies before anything is sealed
Raccoon young are usually born from late winter into spring, and for weeks they stay hidden and quiet in insulation, behind a knee wall, or on a chimney smoke shelf. If the mother is trapped and the hole is sealed, the babies die where nobody can reach them. That's why pros use cameras to find young in tight spaces before they close anything. The usual approach is to remove the mother first and then hand-remove the babies, or remove the whole family together when that's possible. Either way, the hole doesn't get sealed until the count is confirmed.
Georgia law: removal, not relocation
Georgia classifies the raccoon as a rabies-vector species, along with the skunk, fox, bobcat and coyote. Under O.C.G.A. 27-2-10, a trapped raccoon cannot legally be driven somewhere else and released. The lawful outcome is removal, not relocation. The rule exists because moving raccoons spreads rabies and other diseases to new areas. A licensed pro knows how to handle and dispose of a rabies-vector animal legally, which is one of the main reasons this isn't a do-it-yourself job.
The latrine and roundworm
Raccoons go to the bathroom in the same spot over and over, and in an attic that means one area of insulation gets soaked and packed down over time. Raccoon droppings can carry Baylisascaris procyonis, a roundworm whose eggs last a long time and can make people seriously sick. So the latrine has to be removed and the area sanitized, not just swept up. A good pro removes the contaminated material and treats the spot. They should also show you how far the contamination actually goes before quoting a full insulation replacement.
A seal strong enough for a raccoon
A raccoon will test any repair. A patch that would stop a squirrel won't stop an animal that can pull with its full body weight. After the family is out, the pro closes the entry with heavy-gauge steel and secured metal flashing, replaces broken crawlspace vent screens with sturdy metal, and puts a proper chimney cap on any open flue. On an older Duluth home that may mean several small repairs around the house. On a townhome, it means making sure the gap at the shared roofline is fully closed.
Remove what's feeding them
Raccoons keep coming back to a yard that keeps feeding them. Garbage cans without tight lids, pet food left out overnight, and spilled birdseed all bring them back. After removal, secure those, block off the space under the deck with buried metal screening, and keep grills clean. These steps don't replace sealing the house, but they make your yard less attractive than the one next door.
Common raccoon questions in Duluth
There's a raccoon in my attic in Duluth — what should I do?+
There's a raccoon in my chimney — how is that handled?+
Is it legal to trap and relocate a raccoon in Georgia?+
Are raccoon droppings dangerous?+
A raccoon is denning under my deck — can it be removed?+
How much does raccoon removal cost in Duluth?+
Other Duluth problems that come with raccoons
Our wildlife crew handles these closely related problems — the ones that most often turn up with a raccoon issue.
Got more than raccoons in Duluth?
Raccoons are rarely the only thing using an attic or yard in Duluth. See everything we handle locally on the Duluth wildlife removal hub, or jump to Georgia wildlife removal.
Want the background before you call? Read our statewide guide: Raccoon in the attic: babies, rabies law and what happens next.
One call to your Duluth raccoon crew
The longer raccoons stay in the attic, the more they chew and the bigger the cleanup. Call us and tell us about the job — we will confirm the local crew for your county before any work starts.
- Local to Gwinnett County. Georgia DNR-compliant handling — call to ask about licensing and insurance.
- Humane exclusion. One-way doors and steel sealing, not poison.
- Done right. Removal, exclusion and cleanup.