They may be cute, but having a raccoon or two hanging around your Salt Lake City home can quickly turn into a problem. Notorious for rooting through your trash cans and stealing your pet’s food, raccoons will find ways to get into your home, damaging property and spreading harmful diseases to you and your family along the way. Read on to learn more about why raccoons have invaded your Salt Lake City home, and how Pest Pro Pest Control can help you remove them today.
How Raccoons Get Into Homes
The first step to keeping raccoons out of your Salt Lake City home is to understand how they get inside in the first place. Below are some of the ways these pests might be getting in:
- Roof/soffit intersection: This is the place where an upper and lower roof meet. If these soffits are made from thin, lightweight materials, such as aluminum or plastic, raccoons can easily muscle their way inside.
- Vents: Vent coverings that are weak, or made of things like plastic are easy for raccoons to get through. Raccoons are attracted to vents because of the warmth that emanates from them, encouraging them to peel back the covering and wiggle their way inside, eventually finding their way into your house.
- Chimneys: Chimneys and the top of fireplace dampers resemble hollowed-out trees, which is where raccoons like to nurse their young. As a result, raccoons are likely to be found resting in your chimneys.
- Plumbing vents: If the plumbing vents on your Salt Lake City roof are wider than the average raccoon’s diameter (and are made of flimsy material like plastic or aluminum), raccoons will easily pull them off and crawl down the vent into your home.
What Raccoons Are Looking For In Your Home
Like all pests, raccoons are simply looking for shelter, as well as easy access to food and water. Here are some of the more specific reasons raccoons are looking to invade your Salt Lake City home:
- Shelter: Whether it’s for themselves or for their young, your home provides the perfect place for raccoons to safely live. Your chimneys offer a safe space for raccoons to nest and nurse their young, and your attics and garages offer adults consistent shelter from the elements, allowing them to live peacefully and continue to reproduce.
- Water: If your house has leaky pipes or spigots anywhere, this will also attract more raccoons. Having this easy access to clean water makes setting up shop in your garage or attic all the more appealing.
- Food: Ultimately, food is the reason why raccoons are looking to invade your Salt Lake City home. The trash cans in your garage are like a five-star restaurant beckoning to them, and they will look for any possible way to get into your home to reach this. Pet food left outside is another enticing display of food they will do almost anything for.
When Should A Professional Be Called?
It may be tempting to try and rid your home of raccoons yourself; however, it is not recommended. Raccoons are capable of spreading deadly diseases to humans and your pets, the most notable of these diseases being rabies. If there are raccoons frequenting your yard or trying to invade your home, call a professional right away. You don’t want them to successfully gain entry, and you don’t want to put yourself, your family, or your pet in a position where you could be harmed.
Wildlife Prevention Tips For Homeowners
Raccoons are only one of the many different types of wildlife that will try to gain entry to your Salt Lake City home. Here at Pest Pro Pest Control, we have spent the last decade helping local homeowners keep their yards and homes wildlife-free. Customer satisfaction is at the core of our operations — our technicians work quickly to safely and effectively remove wildlife from your property, ensuring no diseases are spread in the process. Owning a home can definitely be a lot of work, and having to wildlife-proof your Salt Lake City home for raccoons and other wildlife can be overwhelming. Let the experts take care of that for you and provide you with peace of mind. Call us today!