Guelph, Ontario – 2024
This article will analyze and recount a case of a raccoon removal from a roof in Guelph, Ontario. The raccoon had penetrated a sensitive area of a steel roof. This is not an uncommon event, even while many people believe that steel roofs must be impenetrable to animal access; the steel itself only covers the area that would normally be covered by shingles. There is a layer of protection to that, as animals will not be able to chew through it; however, your roof still has soffit wall intersections, still has roof vents, and still has soffits under the roof as well as a drip edge. One important thing to remember is that most steel roofs are placed directly over the previous roof with gaps underneath. If the previous roof was in disrepair, animals like squirrels and rodents can still crawl under the steel roof and access the roof beneath it. Even raccoons can find a way under the steel roof and can also penetrate roof vents, soffits, and soffit wall intersections. A steel roof is not protection against wildlife and rodents and may be even more sensitive to their ingress.
This visit is located between Paisley Road and Waterloo Avenue in Guelph, Ontario.
The technicians, before the work is done, must first inspect and confer with the customer or customers on the issue and then must inspect for the source of the activity and find the main entry way the animal used to penetrate into the attic space. A trained technician can do this simply by looking for normally sensitive areas animals often get into and see if any have been penetrated. In this case the penetration point or the main entry point was a soffit wall intersection. The raccoon had pulled up part of the soffit a the corner where the soffit side of the roof met the steel roof and got in, evading the steel part of the roof entirely.
Guelph, Ontario: Title of city
Guelph, situated in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, is affectionately known as The Royal City. Nestled approximately 22 kilometres east of Kitchener and 70 kilometres west of Downtown Toronto, Guelph is strategically located at the confluence of Highway 6, Highway 7, and Wellington County Road 124. As the administrative centre of Wellington County, Guelph enjoys political autonomy from the county.
Originating as a settlement in the 1820s, Guelph’s establishment was spearheaded by John Galt, the inaugural superintendent of the Canada Company. Galt established the headquarters and his residence within the community. The region, which later became Wellington County, was originally part of the Halton Block, a Crown reserve designated for the Six Nations Iroquois. Consequently, Galt is widely regarded as the founder of Guelph.
Exterior Inspection
When the technician arrived on site they performed an exterior inspection of the property and found the main entry way to be a roof soffit intersection which are very sensitive areas that animals like raccoons and squirrels can easily penetrate as the soft is often made from aluminum, a pliable metal that is not attached in any way to the roof itself. This area can be easily pulled back to reveal an easy to access entry way for wildlife. This area was the main entry way which is where the one way door should be installed. Other areas where found that where also open and accessible to wildlife and rodent access including an open area under the deck overhang that could allow ingress into the wall, areas where gutters hung above the roof that had wide and easily accessible entry ways beneath them.
Initial Measures
The first step was to install the one way door at the main entry way which was the roof soffit intersection that also intersected with the wall of the house itself. This area was very tight so the technician needed to use additional galvanized steel mesh to make a cage that would allow the raccoon to vacate from the soffit intersection and then through the door itself, otherwise the raccoon would get stuck while trying to vacate through the door if it had been applied directly to the opening.
Proposed exclusion
The technician sealed off two further areas including an open area under the deck overhang which had not been sealed off by the home builders that was an easily accessible area for squirrels and smaller raccoons as well as a section of gutter that hung over the metal roof which would have allowed the raccoon to reenter the attic space. These are additional areas that must be sealed to ensure the animal does not get back into the attic.
Conclusion
The technician excluded the needed areas and the raccoon was allowed to vacate. There were no other easily accessible areas to re-enter the attic after the exclusion the animal left the property to find a new place to den. The customer was pleased with the work and the result was a home free from wildlife ingress. The door was removed and the entry way was then sealed
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Raccoon Removal from Roof with Raccoon Babies in Scarborough