Most people view raccoons as pests. However, there are still some who think they are cute and want to interact with them. The best rule of thumb for the latter group is to be wary of a wild animal because you never know how they will react to your presence. If you fall into the first group you are probably searching for ways to rid yourself of these pesky animals. Of course, the best way is to always seek a professional’s help. They are many factors that need to be considered before you attempt to rid your house of raccoons. Here are just a few of them.

• How are they getting into your house? If you would like to ensure that once you evict a raccoon from your house it does not regain entry, you have to inspect your house for any entry ways the raccoon has been using and seal them. If you do not locate all the entry ways and block them off, the raccoon will be back in no time. This could take a while, but it has to be done.
• Is the raccoon a mother with young? If this is so, you will have to wait until the babies are old enough to leave with their mother. This usually takes a few weeks. If you remove the mother and leave the babies alone, they will end up dying without her.
• Should you trap and relocate the family? You should never try to trap and relocate the family because this usually ends up in separating the mother and the young, which will also most likely cause the young to die. A professional’s help is needed because they will know how to reunite the mother and her young. A proper reunion will result in the mother moving her young to another den.
• What is the most humane way to evict these unwanted guests? Once you know that there are only adult raccoons and you have discovered all their entry points, you may try a few humane ways to make the raccoons leave. By assaulting their senses of smell, sound and sight you may be able to coax the raccoons to leave.

It can be difficult to get these guests to leave, but once you do it is important to block off any entry ways they have used before to ensure they do not return. There is also the need to clean up once the raccoons are gone. This like the removal is best left to the professionals. There are roundworm eggs in raccoon droppings that need to be avoided. If you do attempt to clean the area yourself you need to follow the guidelines set up by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Remember to be careful and play it safe when encountering any type of wild animal. If you are unsure of what to do call in the professionals and let them take care of what needs to be done.