Raccoon Removal in Hoschton, GA

Raccoons in your Hoschton home

Raccoons lived on the Hoschton farmland long before the houses did. When the fields were graded for new neighborhoods, they moved to what was left — the creek edges, the wooded strips behind the lots, and the banks of the community ponds — and the new neighborhoods gave them garbage cans, pet food, bird feeders and plenty of roofs. In the old downtown, the draw is different: older houses on crawlspaces, where a loose vent cover or a gap under a porch is an easy way in.

A raccoon in the attic is a bigger deal than a squirrel. It's strong enough to rip open a soffit or lift shingles, it's usually a mother with babies, it leaves droppings that carry a dangerous parasite, and Georgia law controls what can be done with it. None of that is something to handle from the top of a ladder. Here's what to look for from the ground, and what a licensed Jackson County pro does about it.

Georgia law: removal, not relocation

Georgia lists 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 can't simply be driven out to the country and let go — the legal outcome is removal, not relocation. Moving raccoons around spreads rabies and other diseases. A licensed pro knows how to handle a rabies-vector animal within the law, which is one of the main reasons this isn't a do-it-yourself job.

Signs you can spot from the yard

You don't have to see the raccoon to know it's there. From the ground, look for a torn or sagging section of soffit, shingles lifted at a roof edge, a bent roof vent, muddy paw prints on a downspout or a porch post, or a crawlspace vent cover pushed in. Raccoons are mostly active at night, and overhead they sound heavy — more like a dog than a squirrel. If there are babies, you may hear a high chattering sound. Write down what you notice and tell the pro.

Pond banks, wooded strips and HOA common areas

In Hoschton's newer communities, raccoons often spend the day along a pond, a drainage area or a wooded buffer that belongs to the HOA, then visit the houses at night. A raccoon in common ground is usually the association's business; a raccoon in your attic, chimney or crawlspace is yours. If several neighbors are seeing raccoons, let the HOA know so the common areas can be looked at too. On your own lot, bringing in pet food, closing up garbage and taking in bird feeders at night makes a real difference.

Finding the babies first

Georgia raccoons usually have their young from late winter into spring, often three to five at a time. If the mother is shut out while the babies are inside, they die there, and you end up with a smell, flies and a hole cut in the ceiling to get them out. Pros use small cameras to find the babies, and the family is removed in a planned order — usually the mother first, unless the whole family can be taken out together — before any opening is sealed.

The latrine is a health hazard

Raccoons pick one spot in the attic or crawlspace and use it as a toilet over and over. Their droppings can carry Baylisascaris roundworm, whose eggs can make people seriously ill and stay alive in the environment for a long time. This is not something to sweep up yourself, and it's a good reason not to poke around in the attic. A pro removes the droppings and soiled material and cleans the area properly.

How a pro clears and seals

The pro inspects the roof, chimney and crawlspace, finds the entry and checks for babies. The raccoons are removed legally, the family is accounted for, and only then is the opening closed — with heavy metal, because a raccoon will rip through a light patch. A chimney may need a proper cap. The latrine is cleaned last. If someone recommends replacing all the attic insulation, ask why; sometimes it's needed, and sometimes only the soiled section is.