The Right Tool For The Job

Raccoons are one of the most adaptable species of urban wildlife.  Unfortunately, this also often brings them into conflict with people.  Raccoons are quite fond of getting into attics and garages to use as den sites.  They have a number of ways to do this as I found out in a recent project.  The raccoons were climbing up the siding on the side of the garage (see the paw prints in the picture) and had removed a number of pieces of the soffit as well as chewing a hole in the roof!  Since there were a number of dogs, cats, and skunks in the area, standard live traps on the ground were not a good option as non-target species could be captured or injured accidentally by the dogs.  I used a specialized live trap, built by Comstock traps, and attached it vertically to the wall so only raccoons climbing in or out of the building would be captured.  This ensured there were no raccoons remaining in the garage after a short period of time and the entry points were properly sealed to prevent them from reentering in the future.