Spotting Roof Trouble Early

Managing Raccoon Food Clutter In Your Home's Gutters

5 December 2018 by William Gerard

The gutters of a home are important for managing excessive water and keeping a roof in great shape. However, gutters can become cluttered with a variety of debris, including food stored by clever raccoons. Understanding this problem – and how to manage it – will ensure that your gutters remain free and able to move water without issue.

Why Raccoons Love Storing Food

Raccoons are very intelligent pests that typically find food in a variety of ways, including stealing it from your garden or home. Once these critters have found food, they typically wash it and eat it or, if they aren't hungry, store it in places that are easiest for them to access. These storage places are typically in hard-to-reach areas that other animals cannot find.

For example, some raccoons will bury their food in spots that only they can find or hide it in high trees to keep it away from other animals. However, smart raccoons who live in an area near human settlements will often climb to the top of a roof and stuff their food into a home's gutters to keep it safe from invaders.

That's because home gutters are closed on all sides except for the top and are easy for smart raccoons to reach. Once inside, the coon may then cover up the food with other debris to hide it. All of this clutter will cause clogged gutters that can be very damaging to a home if you don't take steps to manage it.

Managing This Issue

The first step necessary in managing raccoon clutter in gutters is to find a control method to manage their presence in your yard. Typically, you'll need a professional to come and trap the raccoons and relocate them. Often, this process requires setting up live traps that are set on your roof or other areas of the yard to attract these wily critters.

After the raccoon infestation has been managed, it is time to clean the gutters to get rid of their food. Typically, homeowners may have to get up on the roof to remove the food with gloved hands. After removing clumps and clogs, they can then run water through the gutter to wash out any leftover debris or offal from the raccoon.

These steps may be tricky for some homeowners to do without professional help. Cleaning gutters can be particularly difficult, as homeowners may slip and fall if they aren't careful. As a result, cautious or nervous homeowners should contact a gutter cleaning and repair expert after getting rid of raccoons. For more information, contact a company like Hogan  Roofing today.

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