Raccoon Removal in Powder Springs, GA

Raccoons in your Powder Springs home

Raccoons travel at night, and the Silver Comet Trail gives them a protected route through the middle of Powder Springs. They also come in from the open, semi-rural land toward the county line, where creeks, fields and woods support plenty of them. When a female needs a den for her kits, the houses closest to those routes are the first she tries. Older homes near downtown are especially easy: chimneys without caps, rotting soffits, loose crawlspace vents. A raccoon tears its way in rather than squeezing through.

Homeowners describe the sound the same way: like a dog walking around the attic. If there are kits, you may also hear a chattering noise. A raccoon job has three parts that can't be skipped: removal that follows Georgia law, finding every kit before anything is sealed, and cleaning out the latrine. Here's what that involves.

Georgia law: raccoons can't be relocated

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 can't legally be driven off and released elsewhere. It has to be removed. That rule exists because relocating raccoons spreads rabies and other diseases. So the common plan of renting a trap and dropping the animal at a park isn't a legal option, and it's one of the main reasons this is a job for a licensed pro.

Find the kits first, using a camera if needed

Raccoons usually have kits from late winter into spring, and the young can't leave on their own for weeks. A raccoon in the attic or chimney is very often a mother with a litter. Pros use cameras to find the kits, which may be tucked under insulation, deep in a soffit or on a chimney smoke shelf. Then they either remove the whole family together or take the mother first and the kits right after. Sealing her out while the kits are still inside leads to dead kits in the ceiling, and a mother raccoon will rip open a new hole trying to reach them.

Chimneys and crawlspaces on older homes

The older houses near the historic downtown are where raccoons find the easiest dens. An uncapped or damaged chimney works like a hollow tree, and a female will raise kits on the smoke shelf. Older crawlspaces with broken or missing vent covers give her a dry, hidden space under the floor. Newer subdivisions toward the county edge have fewer of these problems, but decks and sheds that back onto trees or open land still attract raccoons. Each kind of house has different weak points, and the inspection should cover them.

The latrine is a health hazard

Raccoons use the same spot as a toilet every time. In an attic or crawlspace that leaves a pile of droppings soaking into insulation and wood. The droppings can carry Baylisascaris roundworm, whose eggs are hardy and dangerous to people, especially children. Removing the raccoon isn't the end of the job. The latrine and soiled material have to be removed and the area sanitized. Don't sweep it up yourself.

Sealing has to be stronger than for squirrels

Raccoons get in with strength, so the repair has to hold up to the same treatment. After the attic or crawlspace is confirmed empty, the pro closes the entry with heavy-gauge metal: steel mesh over vents, reinforced flashing at the roof edge, a proper cap on the chimney, and secure covers on crawlspace vents. Our crew says that if an animal is removed but the house isn't sealed, another one usually moves in and the problem starts over.

What draws them in, and what you can change

The trail and the open land bring raccoons nearby. Food keeps them there. Trash cans left open overnight, pet food on the porch, fallen birdseed and fruit all give a raccoon a reason to stay on your property instead of moving on. Lock up trash, bring pet food inside at dusk, and keep the area under decks closed off. Combined with a sealed house, that leaves a raccoon passing through with nothing to stop for.