“No, raccoons typically won’t go away on their own. Once they find shelter, like an attic or basement, they’ll likely stay, especially if they’ve established a nest or are raising young. Waiting for them to leave can result in costly damage and potential health risks.”
Raccoons are notorious for their cleverness and adaptability, making them a common nuisance for homeowners, especially in areas like Dallas, TX. Whether they’re rummaging through trash or making themselves at home in your attic, raccoons can quickly turn a peaceful household into a chaotic one. If you’ve noticed a raccoon around your property, you may be wondering, “Will they just go away on their own?” While it’s natural to hope that these masked intruders will leave, the reality is that raccoons rarely solve their own problems—they often stick around for the comfort, shelter, and food your home provides.
Once a raccoon finds its way into your attic, crawl space, or other hiding spots, it sees your home as a secure refuge. Rather than wandering off, they’ll typically settle in, making it harder to evict them. This can lead to significant damage, increased risks of disease, and sleepless nights as they become more active at night. In this blog post, we’ll explore why raccoons don’t just leave on their own, the potential dangers of waiting, and how AAAC Wildlife Removal can help you reclaim your space safely and humanely.
Why Raccoons Stick Around
Raccoons are clever and adaptable creatures, which makes them very effective at finding and settling in places that provide them with food and shelter. Once they’ve found a suitable spot in your home—whether it’s your attic, basement, or garage—they’re unlikely to leave on their own. Here are some key reasons why raccoons stick around:
- Shelter and Safety: Your home provides a warm, secure environment for raccoons to nest, especially during colder months. Attics, crawl spaces, and chimneys offer a quiet refuge away from predators.
- Food Availability: Raccoons are opportunistic feeders and will return as long as they find food sources, such as pet food left outside, open trash bins, or fruit trees in your yard.
- Breeding and Raising Young: Raccoons often use attics or secluded areas of your home to raise their young, and once they establish a nest, it’s unlikely they’ll abandon it easily.
- No Natural Predators: In suburban and urban environments, raccoons face fewer natural predators, which makes the shelter and food your home offers even more appealing.
- Comfort and Familiarity: Once raccoons find a home that meets their needs, they become comfortable and familiar with the environment. They’re not likely to leave for a less reliable spot.
By understanding these reasons, it becomes clear that raccoons won’t simply leave on their own—they’ve found exactly what they need to survive and thrive.
The Risks of Waiting
Allowing raccoons to stay in your home may seem like a harmless choice, but it comes with serious risks. First and foremost, these creatures can cause significant property damage. From chewing through insulation and wires to ripping up drywall, raccoons can leave your home in disrepair. The longer they stay, the more costly the damage becomes. Additionally, their droppings can contaminate insulation, posing serious health risks for your family, while parasites like fleas and ticks may also make their way inside.
Raccoons also carry diseases like rabies, leptospirosis, and roundworm, which can be transmitted through their urine, saliva, or feces. Their nocturnal activities can disrupt your peace as they roam through your attic or crawl space at night. If left unchecked, a small problem can quickly turn into a larger infestation, with females giving birth to multiple babies each year. This makes the issue harder to handle and more expensive to fix. It’s clear that waiting for raccoons to leave on their own is not a viable solution.
DIY Methods: Why They Often Fail
While it might be tempting to try to handle a raccoon infestation on your own, many DIY methods simply don’t work and can even make the situation worse. Common solutions like using bright lights, loud noises, or strong odors might provide temporary discomfort for the raccoons, but they rarely drive them out for good. Raccoons are intelligent creatures, and they often adapt quickly to these tactics. Once they’ve settled in, it’s hard to convince them to leave without a more permanent solution.
Additionally, attempting DIY removal can be dangerous. Raccoons are wild animals and may become aggressive if they feel threatened. Handling them without proper equipment or expertise can lead to injury or exposure to diseases. Moreover, many DIY methods fail to address the root cause—sealing up the entry points and removing nesting materials—leaving the possibility for the raccoons to return. That’s why professional wildlife removal is the most effective way to ensure the problem is dealt with safely and thoroughly.
How AAAC Wildlife Removal Can Help
When it comes to raccoon infestations, it’s crucial to rely on professional wildlife removal services. At AAAC Wildlife Removal, we offer comprehensive solutions to ensure your home is protected from these crafty creatures. Here’s how we can help:
Expert Property Inspection
Our team starts by performing a thorough inspection of your property to identify all potential entry points and signs of raccoon activity. This step is crucial because raccoons can enter through very small gaps, and a detailed inspection ensures we don’t miss any possible entryways. We assess the structural integrity of your home, checking for areas like the roof, vents, and even chimneys that could be vulnerable to intrusion. Once we’ve located the entry points, we can begin crafting a strategy for safe removal and long-term prevention. Identifying areas of damage is also key, as raccoons can create holes in walls or insulation, or cause destruction to wiring. Our goal is to fully understand how the raccoons are accessing your space and develop a plan tailored to your home’s needs.
Humane Trapping and Removal
We use humane methods to trap and remove raccoons, ensuring no harm comes to the animals or your home. The process begins with placing traps in areas where raccoon activity has been detected. These traps are checked regularly, and once the raccoons are caught, they are transported safely and relocated far from your property to prevent them from returning. Handling wild animals can be dangerous, which is why we recommend professional help. Raccoons are known to be aggressive when threatened, and attempting to capture them without the proper tools can lead to injuries or exposure to diseases. Our trained team is equipped with the right gear to safely manage the entire process, allowing you to rest easy while we take care of the problem.
Exclusion Services
After successfully removing the raccoons, our next step is to prevent them from coming back. We offer exclusion services, where we seal off any entry points that the raccoons may have used. This can include repairing holes, covering vents, or reinforcing areas around the roofline that are particularly vulnerable. By taking these preventive measures, we ensure that the raccoons can’t re-enter your home. This is an essential step in the process because even one unsealed gap can allow new raccoons to make their way inside. Our team will carefully inspect your property to find all potential weak spots, providing a comprehensive solution to keep your home raccoon-free for good.
Damage Repair and Cleanup
Raccoons can cause significant damage to your home. They may tear up insulation, chew on electrical wires, or ruin structural components as they make their way through your attic or walls. Once the animals have been removed, we offer repair services to restore your home’s integrity. Whether it’s replacing damaged insulation or repairing drywall, we’ll make sure your home is fully restored. Additionally, raccoons can leave behind hazardous waste in the form of urine, feces, and parasites, which can contaminate your living spaces. Our sanitation services will thoroughly clean and disinfect any affected areas, ensuring that your home is not only safe from further damage but also hygienic and healthy for you and your family. We handle both the structural repairs and the cleanup, so you can enjoy peace of mind knowing the problem has been fully addressed.
Ready to Reclaim Your Space?
If you’ve noticed signs of raccoons in your home, don’t wait for them to leave on their own. The longer you allow them to stay, the more damage they can cause and the greater the risk to your health and safety. Contact AAAC Wildlife Removal today to get the professional help you need to remove raccoons and prevent future infestations.
Our team is ready to provide a thorough property inspection, humane trapping, and effective exclusion services to ensure your home is safe and secure. We also offer damage repair and cleanup to restore your space to its original condition. Don’t let raccoons take over your home—trust the experts at AAAC Wildlife Removal to handle the problem quickly and efficiently.
Call us today or visit our website to schedule an inspection. Let’s take back your space, safely and humanely.
