6 Most Effective Ways To Keep Raccoons Off Your Roof

Dealing with raccoons can be a nightmare for homeowners, especially regarding their roofs. These critters wreak havoc by ripping off shingles and gnawing on insulation, causing considerable property damage. They sneak into homes through open doors or windows, causing structural issues that can result in leaks, mold growth, and infestations of other pests.

Even if they don’t directly damage the property, raccoons can still be a nuisance, roaming around for food and water at night. So, knowing how to keep raccoons off your roof should be an important thing to know if you are suffering from raccoon invasion on your roof.

Why Do Raccoons Try To Get On My Roof?

If you spot a raccoon on your roof, it’s a major red flag – chances are, it has already made itself at home in your attic. And if it hasn’t yet, it’s likely just a matter of time. Raccoons are drawn to roofs because they offer a high point and a good view (which they might enjoy!) and depict their natural tree-dwelling habitat. To them, the attic, with its various hiding spots, resembles a tall tree with plenty of hollows to explore and live in.

When you spot a raccoon roaming and find habitat on your roof, they claim it as their balcony. When you see a raccoon perched on your roof, most times, it indicates that you may have a raccoon that wants to take up your roof as a residence, or maybe it is at least attempting to break into your roof with plans of making it their new home.

Female raccoons give birth to their young ones in late spring or early summer. So, if you see a raccoon on your roof during these seasons, there’s a strong feeling that there is a female raccoon up there with a litter of young and baby raccoons.

Why Is It Dangerous To Have Raccoons On Your Roof?

Before we delve into how to keep Raccoons off your roof, it is advisable to understand why addressing this issue is of utmost priority. If a raccoon gains access to your roof, it opens the door for potential entry into your attic.

Raccoons are notorious animals that cause extensive damage as they attempt to infiltrate attics. They have been known to tear off shingles, siding, and soffits, creating different spaces for water into your attic, leading to potential water damage. 

Once they find their way inside, the havoc they cause does not cease. Raccoons may gnaw through electrical wires, triggering power outages and increasing the risk of fire outbreaks. In addition, raccoons can dismantle insulation, which they can use to form beds for themselves, which can affect the expenses you will incur on your house.

Beyond damaging your properties, raccoons are known to cause different health challenges. They are carriers of various diseases, including rabies, which can be transmitted through bites, and their feces can be home for different bacteria like leptospirosis and parasites such as roundworms, posing health risks to humans and pets.

In addition, raccoons may carry distemper, a disease that can infect pets. Finding a means to address the invasion of raccoons on your roof is important not only for preserving your property but also for safeguarding the health and well-being of your household.

What Can Attract A Raccoon To Your Roof?

When thinking about what can attract raccoons to your roof, yard, or property, you need to know their primary needs, such as food sources, shelter, etc. Knowing what attracts them can give clues on keeping raccoons off your roof.

What exactly do raccoons like? The truth is that raccoons are not picky eaters. They have a diverse diet, including fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, eggs, grains, and almost anything humans consume. Additionally, they don’t hesitate to snack on small animals like birds, snakes, frogs, and squirrels. They will even scavenge for dead animals, pet food, and, of course, trash. Numerous accounts have been of raccoons scaling trees to steal food from bird feeders.

Also, keep your garbage and bins secure and stored away, preferably in a closed and locked location like your garage or an outdoor shed. Also, remember your pets’ food bowls – bring them inside at night, or feed them indoors and store their food inside, too.

And if you’re into gardening, be cautious. Raccoons will not hesitate to raid your compost or snack on your fruits and veggies. Even if you’re diligent about locking up your waste bins most nights, raccoons are clever.

They may wait until that one night a week when you roll the bins out for pickup to make their move. These animals can be surprisingly resourceful and are known to break into even the most secured trash bins.

Like any other pest animal, raccoons are looking for comfortable shelter. They often find their way into homes through various entry points like uncapped chimneys, broken vents, gaps in the roof, eaves, or attic. It is advisable to patch up any holes or openings in these areas and seal them off tight. Installing metal caps or mesh covers for chimneys is a great way to prevent raccoons and other animals from sneaking in.

Signs Of Raccoon On Roof

These nocturnal creatures, raccoons, know how to find their way to your rooftops, scale trees, climb up siding, or use drainage pipes. But these are some of the signs around you, and from there, you can start thinking about how you will get rid of them from your roof and surroundings

1. Smudges and hair left behind on downspouts
2. Claw marks etched onto tree trunks
3. Droppings measuring 3 to 5 inches scattered in a particular area on the roof
4. Sounds like purring, growling, chittering, or scratching
5. Damage to attic vents or roofing materials
6. Finding hair, smudges, or even spotting raccoons in your chimney.

How To Keep Raccoons Off Your Roof

Although calling on expertise in the field of pest control is one of the quickest and most reliable ways to keep these creatures away from your roof, there are a couple of do-it-yourself methods you can try out before reaching out for professional help:

1. Perfectly prune the trees near your house to remove any easy pathways from surrounding your roof.
2. Trim vines and other plants growing up on the exterior side of your home to prevent raccoons from using them as a makeshift ladder.
3. Remove any potential food sources around your yard or property that may attract raccoons and appeal to them to always stick around your properties.
4. Use metal sheets to wrap your roof and the bases of nearby trees, creating barriers that can make it challenging for raccoons to climb.
5. Consider installing an electric fence on top of fences near your roof to push raccoons further away.
6. Store garbage bins inside your garage and keep pet food containers inside to reduce the temptations raccoons get from food.

Conclusion

Why does getting rid of raccoons prove to be such a challenge? The reasons are that these creatures, with their distinctive facial markings resembling masked bandits, are not your average pests. They are incredibly smart, resourceful, and adaptable beings, capable of outsmarting many of the barriers we set up to keep them at bay. With their remarkable climbing skills, raccoons can quickly scale your roof or chimney from ground level.