Raccoons are the most capable animal on this list. They are strong, they have hands, they remember where food is, and they will work at a problem for several nights running until they solve it.
From roughly March into June, a raccoon in a chimney or an outbuilding is very likely a female with kits. Removing her alone leaves young behind that cannot survive, cannot be reached without opening something up, and will make the situation worse in every respect.
We check for young before we plan the removal. It is the difference between a job that is finished and a job that turns into a demolition problem in July.
Raccoons are a rabies vector species in Maine. Separately, raccoon droppings can carry roundworm, and the eggs are durable. Do not sweep or vacuum accumulated droppings in an attic or shed without protection, and do not let children or pets into the space. A raccoon active in daylight and showing no fear of people warrants a call rather than a closer look.
We look at how the animal is getting in and where it is denning, remove it under our trapping and Animal Damage Control licences, and point out the openings that need closing. Capping a chimney, repairing a soffit or upgrading a coop latch is straightforward once the animal is out – and pointless while it is still in.
If it is a coop problem, we will also tell you honestly whether the losses look like raccoon, fisher, fox or weasel. They are not the same animal and they do not call for the same fix.
Anthony Thibodeau is listed on the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Animal Damage Control agent directory for Kennebec and Somerset counties, covering Oakland, Belgrade, Rome, Smithfield, Fairfield, Waterville, Sidney, Augusta and Winslow.
Tell us what you are seeing and where, and we will let you know what the job involves. Nuisance wildlife is the one service we run year round.
Call (207) 313-1372Describe the problem
Licensed Animal Damage Control agent · Registered Maine Guides · based in Oakland, Maine
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Spring and early summer, assume there are. Chittering or crying sounds during the day, and a female coming and going on a regular schedule, both point to a litter. It matters, because removing the adult and leaving kits is both inhumane and a worse problem – you then have a smell and a mess in a space you cannot reach.
There are rules about what you may trap, when, and what you must do with the animal afterwards, and they are not the same for a landowner as for a licensed trapper. Rather than guess, call and ask – we will tell you plainly whether it is a job you can do yourself.
If the way in is still open, something will. Raccoons are looking for a dry, defensible space, and an attic or soffit gap that suited one will suit the next. The removal is half the job; closing the entry is the half that lasts.
A raccoon in an attic tears insulation, fouls it, and will chew wiring. The structural repair and the clean-up usually cost considerably more than the removal did.
