Not All Roof Vents Are Raccoon Proof!

By Steven Shaffer, President of A All Animal Control of South East Ohio

Here’s a picture showing part of the roof and roof vent from a client’s home. This client had a raccoon raising pups in the attic and called A All Animal Control of South East Ohio to remove the animal. It’s very common for raccoon to access attics through these vents. The client in this case had dealt with this problem several years ago by installing heavy screen to the metal shaft that housed the fan in these two vents. The screen the client had installed extended all the way to the vent cover. It was undisturbed on both vents and provided no access.

After the female raccoon and her young were removed, it was time to find the animal's access point. During inspection, I tried to locate the access point. I spent about 35 minutes and frustratingly, could not locate her access point. All of the attic roof vent screening the homeowner had installed, the soffits, connecting rooflines, the chimney cap, attic vent screens, etc..., were all solid and raccoon-proof.
Finally, I began looking for hair as I could find no tracks or other signs of raccoon. Again, I had no success. As a last resort, I looked again at the roof vents. It’s difficult to get your head under these to see well, as the gap is very small. I finally did notice the screen installed by the client on the vent located in the left side of the roof had a few raccoon hairs on it.
I attempted to squeeze my head in far enough to allow me a better look and here’s what I found! The raccoon had learned to push up the plastic cover, in which a connecting rivet for the plastic cover, had failed. This failed rivet allowed her to push up the cover and enter the attic. Kind of like a trap door!! When she entered it shut behind her. When she left it shut behind her. No obvious outside sign! The client had told me that he had searched everywhere as well and could not find how she was getting in. I nearly missed it myself. I quickly permanently raccoon-proofed both vents. Raccoon amaze me!! For all of your wildlife problems call A All Animal Control of South East Ohio at (740) 732-1080 or (740) 260-3274. Email us at seohio@aallanimalcontrol.com

Tricky Ohio Raccoons

By Steven Shaffer, President of A All Animal Control of South East Ohio

The most unique raccoon situation I’ve dealt with was for a homeowner who owned several cats. The home had a large enclosed porch that was set up as a playroom for the cats. There were two cat doors installed to allow the cats to come and go. One allowed access to the enclosed porch/playroom area. The other allowed access to the interior of the home. The homeowner only fed the cats in her kitchen area and never in the cat playroom. Though the homeowner had many cats, she had been noticing that they had been consuming a very large amount of cat food. This had continued for over 1 year.
Finally, the homeowner went on vacation, asking a friend to feed her cats and watch her home. The friend filled the food bowls daily. One day the friend found a huge mess in the kitchen. Drawers and cupboard doors had been torn open, and food items scattered across the floor. She cleaned up the mess and filled the bowls. This continued daily until the homeowner returned. The homeowner then contacted A All Animal Control of South East Ohio to find the culprit.
From the sign, I determined that raccoon had learned to access the home through the exterior cat door, cross the playroom, enter the second cat door and stroll down the hall to the kitchen's smorgasbord of food.
I set a trap in the playroom to catch the raccoon entering through the cat door . In three consecutive nights I caught three adult male raccoon.
To prevent this from reoccurring, the homeowner installed an electronic cat door. This new cat door required a device that had to be attached to the cat’s collar. As the cat approached the door, this device would unlock the door. The door’s manufacturer guaranteed that no animal could ever enter if it was not wearing this device.
Several years went by before I received another call from this client, experiencing the same issues with a raccoon repeatedly entering her home through the new animal proof electronic cat door. She had come downstairs one morning and caught the raccoon feeding at the cat bowls. The raccoon calmly walked down the hall and exited through the cat door into the playroom. It then exited to the outside through the electronic door. These electronic doors are only to prevent animal entry and not access, so it was easy for the raccoon to exit.
I once again setup, and immediately caught another large male raccoon.
With the supposedly animal-proof cat door, what exactly was happening?
This raccoon had figured out how to unhook the two electronically controlled latches, one located in each bottom corner of the cat door. It did this by inserting a single claw, one from each front foot, into the crack of the door, and depressing both latches simultaneously to enter. I am still amazed this raccoon figured this out. For all of your Animal Control needs contact A All Animal Control of South East Ohio at (740) 732-1080 or by sending an email to seohio@aallanimalcontrol.com

A All Animal Control of South Eastern Ohio Offers Complete Wildlife Control

No matter what the wildlife control problem, A All Animal Control of South Eastern Ohio has the knowledge of over twenty years of experience and tools to get the job done. “I will control virtually any mammal, bird or reptile, in all situations. Bats and ground moles are my specialties.”, states Steve Shaffer, President of A All Animal Control of South Eastern Ohio.
“I began trapping when I was 9 years old. Then in the late 1990’s, I began to get calls from individuals that were having difficulties with animals causing damage to homes and properties. These calls were often for animals that were out of season, in cities and towns where normal trapping is not allowed, or were for animals that were not furbearers, squirrels, bats, snakes, etcetera,” he said.
It was then that the opportunity arose to turn a talent into a full time business. “Because of these calls, I obtained an Ohio Nuisance Wild Animal Trapping Permit and started a business under the name of Steve’s Wildlife Removal. In January of 2008 I joined a National Team of Wildlife Experts to further my knowledge and training. At that time I also changed the business name to A All Animal Control of SE Ohio LLC,” Shaffer added.
Shaffer uses only humane methods of removal and exclusion. “Virtually all my methods involve the use of live traps, scare tactics and exclusions. Exclusion is the process of animal proofing the structure and either installing mechanisms to allow the animals to leave and not return or to prevent their entry in the first place,” Shaffer said. He continued, “I have a vast amount of experience in removing nuisance animals and permanently solving human/wildlife conflicts. I will solve the problem in the most humane way possible or there is no charge. I guarantee all my exclusion work and that no job is too large or small means to offer most complete wildlife service.
No matter how docile or harmless an animal might seem, there are many reasons to have an animal removed as there is no limit to damage wildlife can cause. “The reasons are many. First is the risk of contracting diseases. An animal can be infected with rabies and not show symptoms. There is also the risk of being bitten. Often homeowners will catch a non-target animal and are at a loss as to what to do with it. Each year I get calls from people catching skunks when after raccoon. In the case of squirrels for instance, ladders and other required equipment, make the job expensive and dangerous. Finally, Ohio law states you cannot just release animals into the country,” stated Shaffer.
Want to learn more? For more information visit Shaffer’s website www.aallanimalcontrol.com/animal_control_southeast_ohio.cfm or email seohio@aallanimalcontrol.com or phone 740-732-1080 or 740-260-3274. Look for featured articles in Cambridge, Ohio's The Daily Jeffersonian and Zanesville, Ohio's Time's Recorder.