Photo Album: Raccoon Family Takes Shelter in Neptune City, NJ
Find the Access Point and Seal it Off
After a thorough inspection, we discovered two possible access points that the mother raccoon was using to gain access into the home. One was under the soffit on the side of the house and the other was by the gable vent. In order to safely retrieve the mother raccoon, we sealed off the gable vent with hardware cloth and will treat the area under the soffit as our main access point. Hardware cloth is a 22 gauge stainless steel cloth that is resistant to rust and corrosion.
Set-Up the Nose Cone and the Comstock Trap
Since the access point was at an odd angle, we had to be a bit creative and create a custom nose cone out of hardware cloth. Nose cones are used as an extension to a device to guide animals directly from the access point into a device. We then set-up a Comstock trap and secured it into the roof.
What is a Comstock Trap
A Comstock trap is a heavy duty professional device that is triggered by a swing bar wire trigger mechanism which allows the raccoon to be captured safely and humanely. This device is reliable, durable, and requires little maintenance.
Mother Raccoon Safely Retrieved
In no time at all, the mother raccoon was safely and humanely caught.
Safely Retrieve the Babies
Now, we now could safely enter the attic and remove the baby raccoons. We use a heat-sensor camera that registers different body temperature levels and converts them into a film or video image. Essentially, similar to night-vision goggles, this infrared camera records the heat signals of the baby raccoons so we can locate their exact nesting area. The homeowner informed me that he hired a contractor to fix the hole in his soffit. As a temporary solution to prevent any additional wildlife from entering the attic, I sealed the access point with metal flashing and hardware cloth. Now, with the mom and babies reunited, I was able to relocate the entire raccoon family to a safe location.