Help - Raccoons living in my chimney - Page 2

Bipetual · July 22, 2015

I really think it would be best to wait until they leave and have a screen installed. It won't be too long now.

recruiterg · July 22, 2015

I've thought about throwing a smoke bomb (firework) down there and trying to smoke them out.

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MissS · July 22, 2015

Yes they are very loud and annoying at this point in their lives. They are up there playing pretty rough and tumbling around. They are big enough to begin to venture out at night. While they are gone you can cover their entrance. Or they will be leaving shortly all on their own.

If it were April and you told me this I would tell you how to remove them, but interfering now would be detrimental to their lives. A smoke bomb could well be lethal and then you would have to deal with the smell in your chimney.

Patience is a virtue...

rhines81 · July 22, 2015

You also (for future reference) need to consider how raccoons accessed your chimney to begin with .... limbs over your roof, etc...
It's not an easy feat for an animal to climb up siding an upside-down under an eave to get to your roof. Cut back suspect trees to limit pathways.
A squirrel would even have a very difficult time accessing my roof from any nearby tree. Raccoons are much less acrobatic.

AdrianaG · July 23, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjake100

I had an issue with bats one time and the guy that helped me get rid of the problem called it exclusion.

I would love to hear your bat story. Earlier this week, as I was inspecting my tomato patch I heard squeaking coming from 25 feet up from the attic vent. I could just barely make out 8 sets of little brown ears and noses. When a little umbrella like wing popped up I knew it was bats!

After Googling around, I put my Big Girl Panties on and climbed a step-ladder up the attic trap door. I fully expected a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds and was prepared to duck out of there pronto!

What I saw was a perfectly clean attic and 20 little bats, hanging in perfectly straight lines, contained by sturdy wire mesh in the 4" deep x 14"w x14"h attic vent cavity. I'm thrilled when I go out in the garden now to see the Peanut Gallery up there supervising me.
Other than popping my head up, I have not yet actually gone into the attic and am worried about disturbing the colony since I have read that this is a Maternity Colony composed of females and babies.

How big a mess should I expect of guano and urine? I'm thrilled to let them live in my attic bat condo as long as they don't infiltrate the attic and there are no health issues. I understand that they will move out after the babies can fly and the moms will be back again next year. If necessary I can make the screen removable to allow for clean-up after they move out.

Labradors2 · July 23, 2015

AND you could use all that loverly bat guano on your veggie garden!!!!

It sounds like a win/win situation!

Linda

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdrianaG

I would love to hear your bat story. Earlier this week, as I was inspecting my tomato patch I heard squeaking coming from 25 feet up from the attic vent. I could just barely make out 8 sets of little brown ears and noses. When a little umbrella like wing popped up I knew it was bats!

After Googling around, I put my Big Girl Panties on and climbed a step-ladder up the attic trap door. I fully expected a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds and was prepared to duck out of there pronto!

What I saw was a perfectly clean attic and 20 little bats, hanging in perfectly straight lines, contained by sturdy wire mesh in the 4" deep x 14"w x14"h attic vent cavity. I'm thrilled when I go out in the garden now to see the Peanut Gallery up there supervising me.
Other than popping my head up, I have not yet actually gone into the attic and am worried about disturbing the colony since I have read that this is a Maternity Colony composed of females and babies.

How big a mess should I expect of guano and urine? I'm thrilled to let them live in my attic bat condo as long as they don't infiltrate the attic and there are no health issues. I understand that they will move out after the babies can fly and the moms will be back again next year. If necessary I can make the screen removable to allow for clean-up after they move out.

beefsteak · July 23, 2015

You will get more bats in your attic each year and that will be a mess. Get them out of there and put up bat houses outside.

Bipetual · July 23, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdrianaG

I would love to hear your bat story. Earlier this week, as I was inspecting my tomato patch I heard squeaking coming from 25 feet up from the attic vent. I could just barely make out 8 sets of little brown ears and noses. When a little umbrella like wing popped up I knew it was bats!

After Googling around, I put my Big Girl Panties on and climbed a step-ladder up the attic trap door. I fully expected a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds and was prepared to duck out of there pronto!

What I saw was a perfectly clean attic and 20 little bats, hanging in perfectly straight lines, contained by sturdy wire mesh in the 4" deep x 14"w x14"h attic vent cavity. I'm thrilled when I go out in the garden now to see the Peanut Gallery up there supervising me.
Other than popping my head up, I have not yet actually gone into the attic and am worried about disturbing the colony since I have read that this is a Maternity Colony composed of females and babies.

How big a mess should I expect of guano and urine? I'm thrilled to let them live in my attic bat condo as long as they don't infiltrate the attic and there are no health issues. I understand that they will move out after the babies can fly and the moms will be back again next year. If necessary I can make the screen removable to allow for clean-up after they move out.

It's really nice when people want to work with nature, but having critters relieving themselves in your attic could be problematic. Plus they tend to keep finding places to come in. And they can carry rabies. I would definitely spread a plastic dropcloth under them. We had a house that we rented out and we had roofers out numerous times to try to figure out where the heck they were coming in, to no avail. The tenants had small kids and really were not pleased that bats were flopping around. Animal control charged us hundreds of dollars to take one of them away and test it for rabies.

Do you have a wildlife expert nearby you can talk to? Wildlife centers where they rehab injured critters? It might not be a bad idea to talk to a naturalist about the best way to handle it. If you could convince them to use a bat house next year, that would be ideal for everyone.

Good luck!

AdrianaG · July 23, 2015

I will be going into the attic tomorrow when my husband can come with me. Trust me, if there are signs of runoff into the attic we will take steps to eliminate it.

I have read mixed reports on whether one can successfully relocate bats to a bat house but it's certainly worth a try.

Right now there are no animals loose in the attic. Their cubby is however inset 4" so there is a possibility that the guano and urine will begin to spill over.

July 22, 2015	#18
MissS Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin Posts: 3,149	Yes they are very loud and annoying at this point in their lives. They are up there playing pretty rough and tumbling around. They are big enough to begin to venture out at night. While they are gone you can cover their entrance. Or they will be leaving shortly all on their own. If it were April and you told me this I would tell you how to remove them, but interfering now would be detrimental to their lives. A smoke bomb could well be lethal and then you would have to deal with the smell in your chimney. Patience is a virtue... __________________ ~ Patti ~

July 22, 2015	#16
Bipetual Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Illinois, zone 5a Posts: 579	I really think it would be best to wait until they leave and have a screen installed. It won't be too long now.

July 22, 2015	#17
recruiterg Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Edina, MN (Zone 4) Posts: 945	I've thought about throwing a smoke bomb (firework) down there and trying to smoke them out. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

July 22, 2015	#19
rhines81 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Zone 5A, Poconos Posts: 959	You also (for future reference) need to consider how raccoons accessed your chimney to begin with .... limbs over your roof, etc... It's not an easy feat for an animal to climb up siding an upside-down under an eave to get to your roof. Cut back suspect trees to limit pathways. A squirrel would even have a very difficult time accessing my roof from any nearby tree. Raccoons are much less acrobatic.

July 23, 2015	#22
beefsteak Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: NW PA zone 5 Posts: 121	You will get more bats in your attic each year and that will be a mess. Get them out of there and put up bat houses outside.

July 23, 2015	#24
AdrianaG Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Georgia Posts: 153	I will be going into the attic tomorrow when my husband can come with me. Trust me, if there are signs of runoff into the attic we will take steps to eliminate it. I have read mixed reports on whether one can successfully relocate bats to a bat house but it's certainly worth a try. Right now there are no animals loose in the attic. Their cubby is however inset 4" so there is a possibility that the guano and urine will begin to spill over.