Photo Album: Raccoons Leave a Toxic Mess in Beachwood, NJ Basement
Raccoon feces
Overhanging trees often provide arboreal animals an opportunity for roof access. Once there, they look for ways to gain access inside the home. Chimneys are a common access point for squirrels, raccoons, bats, and birds. As long as a chimney has a secure, poorly fitting, pest-proof chimney cap that covers the entire opening, chimney access is usually not a problem. Cowleys does installs of chimney caps for interested homeowners. For those who live in areas with high squirrel and raccoon populations, they is something that should not be overlooked. Sadly, animals trapped in chimneys often die a slow, miserable death. The homeowner has a stinky, rotting hard-to-access carcass to try to remove. Chimney caps also keep out birds - especially chimney swifts!. Birds are attracted to chimneys (and dryer vents for that matter) as nesting locations because of their warmth. Chimney caps also keep out rain as well as high winds that can create downdrafts in an open chimney. Downdrafts allow cold air to enter the home and can also cause a home to fill up with smoke.
We removed all of the contaminated insulation
Fiberglass insulation acts like a urine sponge, and once it is saturated, the ruined insulation must be removed. It is not salvageable. Next, we cleaned up all of the piles of droppings and scrubbed down the urine stains. Finally, we sanitized and deodorized the entire basement. After we were finished, there were no signs that a raccoon had once taken up residence there. This basement looked and smelled as good as new.
Full sanitizing and deodorizing of this basement.
A Cowleys nuisance wildlife technician successfully trapped and relocated the trespassing raccoon. However, as often happens with wildlife infestations, the raccoon left a toxic mess of droppings and urine behind. When animals droppings are dried out and disturbed, airborne particles can be released and travel on air currents throughout the home creating a serious health hazard for the home's occupants. Also, the smells of animal wastes are not only unpleasant for those living in the home, they are also an attractant for other wildlife to come in and "join the party." The residue left by wildlife in a home must be be cleaned up, and the cleaning needs to be done safely with proper protective equipment. Cleaning up animal waste in an enclosed area is not a weekend DIY project. Cowleys has a specialized group of technicians who are trained and have the equipment to safely clean up this biohazard.