Attic Cleanup Restoration After Raccoon Habitation

How to clean up after a racoon in my attic?

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How Should I Clean It? - If you do want to clean raccoon feces, wear proper protection. This includes a filter mask, like a HEPA mask, or a snug fitting N95-rated particle mask, either of which you can buy at Home Depot. You do not want to inhale airborne eggs. Also, wear disposable rubber gloves. Optional is dosposable rubber booties or an eight-dollar Tyvek disposable suit. Once outfitted, remove the feces by hand or shovel, and bag for disposal. Remove soiled insulation in the attic. Spray the area with an antimicrobial spray, or better yet, fog the attic space with an atomizer and a special enzyme cleaner.

STEP 1: PROTECTIVE GEAR - First, if you are going to clean an attic, a respirator mask is essential. A professional HEPA particulate mask that seals against your face is best. A snug fitting N95-rated particle mask, is okay, so long as there are no gaps. You can buy both of these at Home Depot. Next, you'll want to wear disposable rubber gloves. A full body suit, like a disposable Tyvek suit, is good. They usually cost around $10, and is a good investment. A good LED headlamp is extremly helpful and recommended.

STEP 2: REMOVE FECES - A professional attic restoration company will usually use a giant vacuum to suck out all soiled insulation and feces. But because the droppings are large, you can usually find most of them and remove them by hand and bag them in a closable plastic garbage bag. If you want to remove 100% of the feces, remove all insulation touching the feces. You also may want to pick up urine-stained insulation and nesting debris.

STEP 3: DECONTAMINATE - It's often a good idea to decontaminate the attic, especially the areas with feces. A good enzyme-based cleaner like BioShield or Bac-Azap will help kill mold, organic matter, etc. It can be sprayed liberally from spray bottles, or better yet a pressure pump (sold at Home Depot), or better yet, an electric powered fogger that can fog the whole attic.

Should I Clean It, Or Leave it Alone? - If you think there's a risk of a person or pet coming into contact with the feces, clean it. If you don't clean feces in the attic, it's likely to attract insects, perhaps future animals, and the roundworm eggs live a long time. But there's also a good chance nothing would ever happen, so long as you don't touch or disturb the feces up there. The would get moldy, and eventually dry out, and with a lot of time, crumble into dirt. Roundworm eggs can survive for years and become airborne and inhaled, so just be wary of that.

Is raccoon feces dangerous to touch? - Almost all animal waste carries risk of disease or infection if handled or ingested. Potential ailments from a variety of animal waste include the more common Leptospirosis or Salmonellosis (an infection from bacteria called Salmonella) or more common parasites like Giardia, to less common diseases, like Cryptosporidium. Transmission of these diseases is most common when people handle feces and then ingest them (much more common for children then adults), but open wounds can sometimes be a concern. In general, avoid touching feces of any kind. Read more about raccoon diseases here.

What is Raccoon Roundworm? - Roundworm is the most commonly cited disease specific to raccoon waste. The Latin name for these worms is Baylisascaris procyonis. It is a roundworm that is particular to raccoons. It is a roundworm that is particular to raccoons. The parasitic nature of B. procyonis is that it lives in the raccoons' intestinal tract. A raccoon can carry on the average a parasitic load of about fifty adult worms in its intestines. With every fecal movement the raccoon has, he also deposits many of the roundworm eggs onto the ground. The eggs can survive for years, and become airborne, inhaled, and infect a new host.

What Should I Do If I've Touched or Eaten Feces? - Clean your hands thoroughly with antibacterial soap, and monitor for symptoms of illness in the future. If you do develop symptoms, recollecting that you handled raccoon waste may help narrow down your exact ailment. Treatment of a roundworm or other infection should be handled by a doctor.

STEP 4: REPLACE INSULATION, PERFORM REPAIRS - If you wish, you can replace any removed insulation, or re-insulate areas in which raccoons have removed or trampled down insulation. You also want to perform any necessary repairs to the home and attic, as described below.

WHAT ABOUT PROFESSIONAL ATTIC RESTORATION COMPANIES AND HOMEOWNER'S INSURANCE? - There is a whole niche industry surrounding the cleaning of attics inhabited by raccoons, under the special loophole that cleanup is often covered by homeowner's insurance. Insurance bars against covering rodent damage, but raccoons are not rodents. Thus some companies exploit this, aggressively seek to clean attics, and bill the insurance, usually over $10,000. This cost is not to you, but be aware that some companies work solely to perform these cleanups, and will work to get them, regardless of necessity. Other companies will do more modest cleanup, including removal of all feces, contaminated insulation, and proper antimicrobial fogging, for as little as $400.

ENTRY POINT - It is important that the entry hole(s) and any potential entry points to the attic are sealed with professional repairs, to make sure that another raccoon does not get into the attic in the future. Use metal flashing or steel mesh and bolt the entry areas shut, or do professional grade repairs, from wood work to shingling. If you are handy, you can perform the repairs yourself. If you hire someone, most wildlife removal companies will include repairs as a part of the service, while others will be able to refer you to another company to carry out this work.

AIR DUCTS - Some raccoons rip open duct work. It may be for fun, it may be because they sense the air inside and are curious, or want a different temperature, or want to seek out a new route. Some raccoons will travel in air ducts. If your ducts are torn open and you want them to function for air flow, you will have to either replace or repair the ducts.

PIPES - Raccoons, on rare occasion, will break the joints of pvc piping, particularly if the house has been re-plumbed with attic water lines. This can cause water leaks. If you have pipes covered in insulation material, raccoons sometimes rip the material off. Obviously you will want to fix a leak, an probably want to re-insulate pipes.

INSULATION - Insulation is meant to be fluffy to work, and retain what is called its R-Value. Sometimes an active raccoon will trample down much of the insulation in an area. Sometimes they will clear an area of insulation, or gather it, for nesting purposes. These activities may lower the R-value of insulation, but not by an important amount. Replace missing or trampled insulation if you wish.

WIRES - Raccoons are not rodents. They don't need to chew to wear down their teeth, the way rodents do. So most of the time they leave wires alone. But we have seen cases in which they do chew on electrical wires for unknown reasons, or just tear wires up as part of their normal behavior. An electrician is usually recommended to repair wires.

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