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"RACCOONS WON'T CAUSE STRUCTURAL DAMAGE" BULL ONEY!!!
By OLDRUSTYBUCKET1 in WHY ARE THEY IN THE POT?
May 30, 2009

How’d you like to have a mad boar ‘coon fall through the ceiling and land in your lap? It’s possible. Besides tearing you up, it might bite and/or inflict painful damage on one of the kids or grandkids. Do y’all have any stories related to squirrels and/or ‘coons? On Thursday, May 28, 2009 the Advocate carried an amusing snippet in the Home & Garden section. Entitled: Raccoons have made themselves at home on the deck, Karen Youso, in her fixit column in the Star Tribune, tells what to do when Mama Rocky and her brood homestead on your deck (or worse, in your attic -Rusty’s comment). She said if there’s a nest nearby, here’s what to do….drum roll here pilot, ..”Raccoons won’t cause structural damage.” What’s that green stuff randomly piled around in the herd bull corral? Referin’ to the Cotton Eye Joe: Whaddaya say? Again now.

THE 1982 TRAPPING ANNUAL carried my 50 state research related to the NEED for trapping fur-bearers. Most state wildlife departments stressed the damage critters cause .In homes, squirrels and raccoons caused the most damage, totaling in the MILLIONS of dollars annualy. It must’ve looked like an oval race track at one house. When the phone company told my friends their static and erratic service was due to squirrels chewing the lines in two, or the insulation off ‘em in their attic, hubby’d live trap ‘em haul them to the river and turn ‘em loose. The comical part was the bushytails seemed to be back “home” inside of 48 hours. He should’ve marked them with different colors of bright paint.

This link http://www.ridacritter.com/raccoons.php includes this and more. When raccoons get into buildings and nest in secluded places like attics, chimneys, soffits, crawl spaces, and other voids, they can do major damage to the building. In addition, they create a health hazard through their urine, droppings, shed fur, and parasites.

http://www.hawkeye.ca/animal_control/raccoon_in_attic.shtml says, “Raccoons like to get into attics as they provide a perfect nesting/den site. Attics are dry, warm and quiet. Raccoons gain access to attics through many possible locations. Around chimneys, roof vents, loose or missing soffit or fascia are perfect access points. Raccoons are able to use their keen sense of smell to locate damp rotting wood. They will target these areas on your roof to gain access to the attic, ripping up shingles and digging through the wood.
Damage by Raccoons to the attic integrity and roof and ceiling Raccoons are also attracted to attics because they can feel the heat loss from the roof and notice where the drafts are. These access holes are sometimes quite large, some as large as pizza size and will destroy the integrity of your attic and roof itself causing leaks or major floods after storms. Damage by Raccoons in my attic, home/house, to Insulation When raccoons are in your attic they disturb the insulation, either packing it down or moving it around, which diminishes or can even eliminate the insulation's effectiveness in keeping your house warm. This is especially dangerous as it promotes ice damming on your roof, which is quite dangerous as it promotes leaks. Damage by Raccoons to Electrical lines Electrical Lines are especially vulnerable for they can be stepped or pulled on (Rusty, “they can chew the insulation off the wiring” ) causing possible fires and shorts. Raccoons in the attic/home/house raise health and safety concerns Since attics are so large raccoons have sleeping quarters and their latrine (bathroom) area located in the attic. Accumulated raccoon poop and urine can lead to damage to the ceiling in your home and can lead to it falling into the room below. This is especially dangerous as it promotes diseases; removal of raccoons and removal of their feces/ urine is a specialist job. The last things you want on your ceiling are giant yellow stains and brown spots with mold growing around it. Prevention of raccoons in your attic and home/house To prevent raccoons in your attic ensure your roof is in good repair. Have a roofer inspect your roof.