Update on the Raccoon Issue

seadoug

seadoug

Well-known Member
Location
Texas
Sorry for the long story, but the exterminator visited today. He was the guy who assesses the damage. He went into the attic, and all I could hear him say was "Wow!" He saw damage, poop and urine. He sent me pics of the poop and urine steams (won't share those). He seems to think they got into the attic via a loose hanging wire they accessed from our elevated back yard, which is actually even with the second story of our house.

He said one must have been really angry because he not only tore out the screen in the dormer but tore out the wood surrounding it as well. They got caught in some wires on exit because there were wires hanging outside that should have been in the attic. They also chewed into the wood on some of the eaves in various corners.

He had another guy come out today and seal any possible openings. He said the insulation could now carry disease because of the excrement so tomorrow another guy will be removing the old insulation and installing new. It is super expensive. Their handyman will be coming out tomorrow to repair and paint all the wood trim and install a plexiglass window in the dormer that will be impenetrable. There will be a small hole in it for wires that go to the dish on the roof.

He told me I was lucky that we identified it early because he'd just left a house that had much more damage. Even so, I watched him as he calculated the costs. Suffice to say, I just paid our property taxes and homeowners insurance and was looking forward to catching up financially. This work will cost more than the two combined. He offered a payment plan. :( Here is some of the damage caused by the raccoons.:oops:

Raccoons 1.jpg

Raccoons 2.jpg
 
Oh, boy! 😦 Sorry for your troubles, my friend. 🤗 Unfortunately, it's going to cost you. Fortunately, you discovered what was going on before the little f*ckers could cause any more damage. Thankfully, the exterminators will make sure they can't get in again.
 
@seadoug thankyou for the detailed explanation and the photos. Most people don’t realize the damage raccoons can cause and also the diseases they carry.

They carry rabies, a certain type of roundworms, and leptospirosis.

Rabies and Lepto can be fatal to a horse. As cute as those little masked bandits are, they are not welcome anywhere near my home or my barn; neither are opossum for the same reason

Not only their saliva can be dangerous, but also their urine and excrement. Thankfully, my dogs do a pretty good job of keeping them away from the house, but some years ago, I found raccoon manure on a hay bale, and that meant throwing the entire very expensive bale of hay out.

I am so sorry you’re having to spend all that money. I get what you’re saying about it eating up money that was allotted for more important things. And it isn’t likely that your insurance will pay for that. Even if theywould cover it, your premiums would probably go up.

Thank goodness, you found somebody reliable to come in and assess the problem, who find somebody reliable to repair and seal the damage. Yes to the insulation being replaced.

If you have anything of value stored in the attic, you may want to mask up, glove up, go upstairs, and go through things after the repairs are done. I hate to say it, but I’m betting there’s probably more damage up there. The repair people are just addressing the house issues.😢😢
 
seadoug said:
Sorry for the long story, but the exterminator visited today. He was the guy who assesses the damage. He went into the attic, and all I could hear him say was "Wow!" He saw damage, poop and urine. He sent me pics of the poop and urine steams (won't share those). He seems to think they got into the attic via a loose hanging wire they accessed from our elevated back yard, which is actually even with the second story of our house.

He said one must have been really angry because he not only tore out the screen in the dormer but tore out the wood surrounding it as well. They got caught in some wires on exit because there were wires hanging outside that should have been in the attic. They also chewed into the wood on some of the eaves in various corners.

He had another guy come out today and seal any possible openings. He said the insulation could now carry disease because of the excrement so tomorrow another guy will be removing the old insulation and installing new. It is super expensive. Their handyman will be coming out tomorrow to repair and paint all the wood trim and install a plexiglass window in the dormer that will be impenetrable. There will be a small hole in it for wires that go to the dish on the roof.

He told me I was lucky that we identified it early because he'd just left a house that had much more damage. Even so, I watched him as he calculated the costs. Suffice to say, I just paid our property taxes and homeowners insurance and was looking forward to catching up financially. This work will cost more than the two combined. He offered a payment plan. :( Here is some of the damage caused by the raccoons.:oops:

View attachment 488039

View attachment 488040
Click to expand...
Wow, sorry seadoug! That's pretty serious!
 
You should check with your insurance agent. There are restictions on many homeowner policies on animals and the kind of damage they do. Coverage or lack of may be detailed or categorized on your policy.

"If a raccoon wreaks havoc in your garage or attic, homeowners insurance may help pay for repairs to the structure. But damage to the items you've stored inside the garage or attic typically won't be covered."

Above was found here -> Allstate
 
MACKTEXAS said:
You should check with your insurance agent. There are restictions on many homeowner policies on animals and the kind of damage they do. Coverage or lack of may be detailed or categorized on your policy.

"If a raccoon wreaks havoc in your garage or attic, homeowners insurance may help pay for repairs to the structure. But damage to the items you've stored inside the garage or attic typically won't be covered."

Above was found here -> Allstate
Click to expand...

Also to be considered is the amount of the HO deductible. For example, in order for me to remotely afford my homeowners insurance, I had to raise my deductible from $500 to $2000.

If @seadoug has a high deductible, there’s a chance that it might not be worth turning it into the insurance company for the few hundred dollars that might be remaining that they would cover. Just something else to consider.
 
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@seadoug, I'm sorry to hear of your problem with raccoons. A couple I worked with had the same issue. After they fixed the damage, they returned & the second time they finally evicted them for good with the help of a wild life removal company.

Sadly in Ohio, raccoons are not considered a nuisance animals which they actually should be. They have overpopulated & have been more than happy happen to move into the cities just like the coyotes. The only way to reduce their number is during hunting season. The amount of damage & money they cost home owners & farmers is unbelievable.

@Imogene, my husband went out to feed the horses one morning & found a hole chewed in the top of my feed bin that I had for many years. When he opened the lid, there was a racoon inside chowing down that looked up & chattered at him like a long lost friend. I had to throw away 100# of grain.

They are walking petri dishes. Just the other day, my ER doc friend & I was talking about rabies. He told me he had seen a lot of people over the years that had to get the rabies shots because of just getting a scratch from their paws which can carry the virus from them licking them.

Another thing to watch out when dealing with a sick raccoon is distemper. They can get both canine & the feline versions of this. I remember one year getting a lot of calls for sick raccoons where the home owners thought it was rabies, but it turned out to be distemper.
 
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@Lilac, In the 80’s, I once had to shoot a distempered raccoon, when it came staggering into my yard by the apple trees. Shooting it was the best thing on all counts.

I ended up having to dig a very deep hole and cover the raccoon with lime, because nobody would come and get it. That really tissed me off. I lived in a rural area of the Shenango Valley, PA so I thought surely someone of wildlife authority would help, but no such luck.

I am down to one horse who is 30-ish, and his companion who is on loan until???. As you know, it’s getting time for spring shots. Shots are a 3-way because these guys are a closed herd, plus a rabies vaccine.

Rabies issues have been most nonexistent on my end of the county, but in the NE corner of my county, a horse was PTS’d in February, 2024 from rabies.

It a horrible disease and while part of you was choking on having to pitch 100# of feed, the bigger part of you was not about to risk feeding a pound of that to a horse. I would have done the same thing.
 
I'm sure sorry, seadog. That stings, man.

I had to help replace a whole garage once because of raccoons. I was renting a house that belonged to my cousin's husband. His grandmother left it to him, and he could have asked for 3 times what he charged me for rent. So I helped pay the electrician and helped him buy the materials and do all the repairs you're allowed to do yourself.

The garage was detached, and I only used it to store tools and the lawn mower and stuff because it was small and it smelled "off", so I had no idea there was a whole big family of raccoons in the rafters until I investigated why the light suddenly quit working one day. What a gawd-awful mess those critters made!

Luckily, a local wildlife conservation group trapped and relocated them for free. There were 3 adults and 6 kits and juveniles, and they did a lot of damage. We had to remove one whole wall, but the up-side of that is we were able to make the little garage a little bigger and add cabinets and a side door.
 
I thought this was a thing of the past. There were lots of sites dedicated to this sport?.

“What do coon hunters do with raccoons?
Experienced coon hunters use a variety of techniques, including hunting with dogs, to catch raccoons, which are highly valued for their fur and meat. Coon hunting is often done at night when raccoons are most active, making it a fun and rewarding experience for hunters of all ages and skill levels.” It was dated Dec. 2025
 
I feel for you, @seadoug. Raccoons can do a lot of damage in a very short amount of time. Like you, I called in the professionals and have no regrets over it.

We luckily determined we had a problem on the first day and the raccoon apparently only came twice (not at all once the trap was set), but between minor repairs and trap rental it was nevertheless a $600 experience.
 
Sorry to hear they did so much damage @seadoug but, thank goodness you discovered them when you did. Thankfully, we don't have raccoons here, I hadn't realised what a nuisance they can be.
 
Jules said:
I thought this was a thing of the past. There were lots of sites dedicated to this sport?.

“What do coon hunters do with raccoons?
Experienced coon hunters use a variety of techniques, including hunting with dogs, to catch raccoons, which are highly valued for their fur and meat. Coon hunting is often done at night when raccoons are most active, making it a fun and rewarding experience for hunters of all ages and skill levels.” It was dated Dec. 2025
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One of my favorite things to do when young was going coon hunting, being in the woods at night and listening to the dogs baying is a beautiful thing. And yes we pelted them and ocassionally ate them, not my favorite food though.
 
Jules said:
I thought this was a thing of the past. There were lots of sites dedicated to this sport?.

“What do coon hunters do with raccoons?
Experienced coon hunters use a variety of techniques, including hunting with dogs, to catch raccoons, which are highly valued for their fur and meat. Coon hunting is often done at night when raccoons are most active, making it a fun and rewarding experience for hunters of all ages and skill levels.” It was dated Dec. 2025
Click to expand...

Coon hunting is evidently as big a deal today, as when I was a kid.

Coonhound World Championship | United Kennel Club (UKC)

growing up, my good friend‘s grandfather owned the local roadhouse. He also had a plethora of animals and a cache of rattlesnakes. Not only did he relish hearing the coonhounds Bay at night, he also offered bounties on rattlesnakes to resell them for their venom. We had massasauga swamp rattlers in my area; they have been on the endangered list for at least 15 years that I know about.

anyway, Vaughn likely sold the pelts of the raccoons, and kept the meat to feed to his other critters. I don’t know, I never asked. All I know is they never showed up on the bar when someone ordered a hamburger.🫣🫣
 
C50 said:
One of my favorite things to do when young was going coon hunting, being in the woods at night and listening to the dogs baying is a beautiful thing. And yes we pelted them and ocassionally ate them, not my favorite food though.
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Are they safe to eat? How do people know if the raccoon has rabies or distemper or some other disease?
 
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