raccoon wandering on property

How To Keep Raccoons Off Your Roof

It would be a great world if there were a safe and humane way to keep raccoons off your property and your roof. Out of your attic, out from under your deck or shed but sadly there is little you can do about the outside of your home. The inside can be protected. While raccoons can wander on your roof, whether they get or not is something you can control. Remember wildlife that is native to Ontario like squirrels raccoons and skunks are protected wildlife you cannot hurt them and trapping them can risk killing them. This is serious you could end up with a hefty fine so avoid harming native animals at all costs. If you want to protect your home from raccoons there is an endless variety of resources to do so. Most of it involves sealing areas off with something called galvanized steel mesh, which is waterproof. You can go further and get the rubber-coated kind, this will last years and protect many areas that could allow entry.

Young raccoons
Young raccoons have a higher chance of passing on raccoon roundworm which is an incurable parasite.

One of the most sensitive parts of your home is the drip edge and the soffits beneath it. The drip edge is open in many ways as the shingles are not directly attached to it. It can get old and rotten and the edge can be lifted by an animal that wants to get in. This is something a squirrel would more likely do but raccoons can fit through some tight spaces as well. If you have roof vents they can be torn off by an adult male raccoon. Sealing them off with a galvanized steel cage bolted to the roof over the vent will protect but allow the vent to continue functioning normally. You can even seal off your deck and shed it with the same material. The process is called trenching and you can do it easily on your own with a shovel and a spade over the weekend if the shed is open and accessible on all sides. You must dig, straight against the foundation, a foot deep six-inch wide mote around the structure. Attach the galvanized steel mesh with bolts and washers to hold it well to the side of the bottom of the structure and then burry it one foot and six inches out. Fill the most with soil and anything that burrows will be unable to make a home down there. This is highly effective against everything from wild animals to rodents.