Raccoons are smart animals that help keep our environment healthy. However, they are often unwelcome guests that go through the trash, ruin building materials when they make nests, and spread diseases that can affect your family and pets.
When raccoons use your downspouts to get onto your roof, this could cause even more problems. Here are six things you can do to stop them from doing that and keep them off your property for good:
1. Trim tree limbs. You need to cut back tree branches that are touching your roof or gutters. Raccoons can get onto your roof from the branches. Also, if you do this, leaves, twigs and other debris won’t pile up on your roof or in your gutters and cause them to get clogged.
2. Grease your downspouts. If you want to leave a 24-inch section of your downspout bare but don’t want raccoons to climb it, you could put automotive grease on it. Raccoons have a hard time climbing because they can’t get a good grip on the downspouts.
3. Attach anti-raccoon baffles. Raccoons are often attracted to places where they can get water, especially downspouts. By climbing up your downspouts or breaking through your roof, they could get into your home, attic or soffits. A baffle is something that is put at the end of a downspout to keep raccoons from getting in. It could be made of metal, wood, concrete or plastic.
4. Use animal-safe scent repellents. Most animal-safe fragrance repellents are made with natural ingredients like black pepper, onion, peppermint and other scents that raccoons don’t like. You can make scents that are safe for animals at home or buy them in stores.
5. Use metal screens and pest guards. Pest guards and metal screens can be put on your soffit vents to keep animals and pests out. These screens are made from strong, reinforced screen material that can’t be broken without the right tools.
6. Install pest spikes. Raccoons use downspouts to hold on to as they climb. Pest spikes stuck on three sides of your downspouts will stop them from doing this from the start. The spikes are meant to keep birds from landing, but they also keep raccoons from climbing.
Our team at Hinkle Roofing has decades of experience working on gutters. We can spot the signs of trouble and make recommendations for gutter repair, gutter installation and even gutter guards. An efficient gutter system means your property is better protected from water damage, mold and other problems. Call us at (205) 324-8545, or fill out our contact form to get a free estimate.
