Heavy thumping and scratching in the attic, especially at night, often means a raccoon has moved in — and in spring and summer, it's frequently a mother with babies. Here's how to handle it correctly.
Check for babies first
This is the step DIY attempts miss: a female raccoon often chooses an attic to den and raise her young. If you seal the entry or remove only the mother without the kits, you trap helpless babies inside your walls — leading to a much worse (and smellier) problem.
A proper job starts with inspecting to find every entry point and determining whether young are present.
Humane removal, then cleanup
Once the situation is understood, the raccoons are humanely removed (reuniting or relocating as appropriate). Then comes the part many companies skip: cleaning up. Raccoon droppings and urine contaminate insulation and can carry parasites and pathogens, so the area needs proper decontamination.
Damaged soffits, vents and insulation get repaired as part of restoring the attic.
Seal it so they can't return
The final and most important step is exclusion — sealing every entry point with materials raccoons can't tear open. Without it, a clean attic today is an open attic next month.
Our raccoon removal service does the whole job — inspection, humane removal, cleanup and exclusion — across South Florida. Call 561-940-1895.