Raccoon Removal in Holly Springs, GA

Raccoons in your Holly Springs home

Look at what a new Holly Springs subdivision leaves for a raccoon. There's a stormwater pond for water and crayfish, brush and stump piles pushed to the back of the lots, and houses still under construction in the next phase with open framing. Once the new houses fill in, there's also garbage, pet food and grill grease. Raccoons that lost their hollow trees to clearing don't have to go far for any of it. When a female needs somewhere safe to have kits, the nearest attic or chimney works.

Raccoons are heavy and they sound heavy. Owners say it sounds like a dog walking around up there. They're also strong enough to pull back a soffit panel, lift shingles or bend a vent cover, so they often make their own way in. Once babies are born you may hear high-pitched chattering. From there the job has three parts that have to go in order: find the kits, follow Georgia's rabies-vector rules, and clean up the latrine.

Georgia law: no catch-and-release

Georgia lists the raccoon as a rabies-vector species, along with skunk, fox, bobcat and coyote. Under O.C.G.A. 27-2-10, a trapped raccoon can't be legally relocated. Driving it to the woods past the next exit and letting it go isn't allowed. The legal option is removal. The rule exists because relocated raccoons spread disease and seldom survive in new territory. Following it correctly is a big part of why this is a job for a licensed pro.

Finding the kits comes first

Raccoons here usually give birth in late winter and spring. The kits can't move for weeks, and they're tucked deep in insulation or a wall cavity. If the mother is trapped out and the hole sealed, the kits die where nobody can reach them. Our pros use cameras to see into tight spaces, so they don't have to guess where the young are. Usually the mother comes out first and the kits are taken out by hand right after, unless the whole family can be removed together.

The latrine is the dangerous part

Raccoons use the same spot as a toilet every time. After a few weeks in an attic, that spot is a soaked, flattened patch of insulation with stained drywall underneath. Raccoon droppings can carry Baylisascaris roundworm, whose eggs survive a long time and are dangerous if people ingest them. Don't sweep it up yourself. Cleaning the latrine is part of the raccoon job. The fouled material comes out and the area is decontaminated.

What the raw edge feeds

Raccoons stay near a new neighborhood because of the leftovers from construction. The pond edge gives them water and food. Brush piles and the unfinished house next door give them daytime cover. Then the new homes add trash cans, cat food on the porch and birdseed. Sealing your house matters, and so does taking away the food: latch the trash lids, bring pet bowls in at night, and keep the grill clean. If you skip that, the next raccoon from the pond edge just tries the house again.

Raccoons test a repair, so build it strong

A raccoon that pulled a soffit open once will pull on the patch too. So the pro doesn't use squirrel-grade materials. The repair uses heavy-gauge steel, fasteners set into solid framing, and a proper chimney cap, all fitted after the family is out. The ground vents and crawlspace openings near the slab or foundation get the same treatment, since a raccoon checks those as well. Insulation is replaced only where it's actually fouled. It's often recommended when it isn't needed.

From under the deck to the attic

A lot of Holly Springs raccoon calls start outside, with a raccoon sleeping under a new deck or in the crawlspace. It's worth acting at that stage. A raccoon settled under the deck often climbs into the attic next, especially a pregnant female. The pro removes the animal and any young, then closes the space under the deck with buried wire mesh so it can't be used again.