| I have a raccoon in my chimney! Now what do I do? | | | | would seem that if you wait until nightfall and put a |
| I have heard that question many times in my career | | | | cap on the chimney, your problem will be solved. I'll |
| as a Nuisance Wildlife Removal Expert. | | | | give you two reasons not to cap your chimney while |
| Should I light a fire? For some reason, the first | | | | the raccoon is away. First and foremost, the raccoon |
| course of action people tend to think of is lighting a | | | | may very well be a young Mother and now you have |
| fire! This is a bad idea for you and the raccoon. We | | | | 3-7 dying babies in your chimney. When they |
| tend to think of fireplaces and chimneys as straight | | | | eventually die, they will decompose and an odor will |
| shots up through the house. In fact, fireplaces are | | | | permeate your house. Secondly, if you exclude the |
| constructed with smoke shelves that deliberately | | | | raccoon from its home, it can do GREAT damage to |
| make a turn so it is not a straight shot up. This shelf | | | | your roof trying to get back in. Most important to |
| is the perfect spot for raccoons to nest and raise | | | | that mother raccoon is to reunite with her babies, no |
| their babies. If a fire is lit and the smoke rises | | | | matter what it takes to get back into your home. |
| properly up the chimney, the raccoon may very well | | | | GET THAT RACCOON OUT! |
| sit on that shelf and wait out the fire. Often times | | | | The best way to get the raccoon out of your |
| they die while sitting on that shelf. Now you have a | | | | chimney is to hire a Nuisance Wildlife Removal expert. |
| dead raccoon that will be decomposing in a short | | | | They will inspect your home and decide the best |
| time. | | | | way to get the raccoon out. They will determine |
| The raccoon is stuck in the chimney!This is a | | | | whether there are babies involved and remove them |
| common misconception. The raccoon didn't fall down | | | | as well as the mother. They will then advise you of |
| the chimney. It climbed down - and it will climb back | | | | the options for capping the chimney so you will never |
| up! Raccoons are nocturnal and will go out to | | | | have this problem again. |
| scavenge for food each evening. Knowing this, it | | | | |