Raccoon Removal From an Ohio Attic or Chimney

Where do raccoons den in an Ohio house?

Two northeast Ohio city pages describe the same pattern. The City of Brecksville’s animal control page says raccoons often take shelter in chimneys, in attics and beneath decks. The City of Hudson’s raccoon page says a chimney with no cap attracts raccoons that want a den.

An Ohio State University Extension fact sheet from 2008 adds the background: the raccoon population in Ohio and most of the Midwest has increased dramatically since the 1940s, and raccoons can thrive in suburban and urban areas.

From the ground, look at two things: the chimney top, and the roof edge near where you hear the noise. The chimney page covers raccoons in the flue. If you cannot tell what is up there, start by working out whether it is a raccoon or another animal.

Why do raccoons look for a chimney den in spring?

The City of Brecksville’s animal control page says spring is when raccoons have their young, and that this is why they go looking for an uncapped chimney. That is one city’s page. It gives no months, and it ties the spring search to chimneys, not to attics.

If you hear young, say so. It is one of the things an operator asks about.

No source this site relies on gives a figure for how long a raccoon stays in an attic. This page gives none.

What does raccoon removal involve?

An operator inspects the house and explains the plan on the call. This site has no saved source that describes the method, so this page does not describe one.

Questions worth asking the operator who takes the job:

• Where the raccoon is getting in.
• Whether a one-way door is part of the plan.
• What happens if there is a litter.
• What the opening will be closed with, and when.

Droppings are a separate piece of work, covered under raccoon latrine cleanup. The operator chooses the method and prices the job. This page gives no trapping instructions.

Is raccoon rabies a concern everywhere in Ohio?

A 2018 CDC report said the raccoon rabies variant had been found in only several northeast Ohio counties that border Pennsylvania. The same report said vaccine bait for raccoons is put out each year along the Ohio-Pennsylvania border to keep the variant from spreading west. That is a 2018 statement. This page does not list counties or say where the variant is found in 2026.

An Ohio State University Extension fact sheet dated January 3, 2022 reports 225 confirmed animal rabies cases in Ohio from 2016 to 2021. It says those cases included 194 bats and 29 raccoons, plus one cat and one fox.

Do not handle a raccoon. The locations page lists who takes raccoon bite reports in the cities and counties it covers.

Is a raccoon latrine in the attic a health problem?

It can be. A CDC journal article describes raccoon roundworm as “increasingly recognized as a cause of serious or fatal larva migrans disease in humans and animals.” The 2008 Ohio State University Extension fact sheet says that if raccoons are infected, roundworm eggs can accumulate at their latrines in large numbers.

Tell the operator if you have seen a pile of droppings in one spot. What the cleanup involves is on the cleanup page linked above.

Can I trap a raccoon myself?

State rules apply to trapping a raccoon and to what happens to it afterward. This page does not restate them. The operator who takes the job answers for the rules that apply to the work.

Some Ohio cities also publish trapping rules of their own for residents. Ask your city before you set a trap.

What should I tell the operator about the raccoon?

Ohio Attic Animal Removal is a referral service run by Local Core Group. It has no field staff and does no removal work. A call to the number on this page is passed to an independent operator when one works at your address, and whether one does is settled on the call. The operator sets the price and answers for its own license and insurance.

Have these ready:

• Where the noise is: above a ceiling, in a wall, or in the chimney.
• Whether you hear young.
• How long you have heard it.
• Whether the chimney has a cap, and how the chimney top can be reached.
• Whether you have seen droppings piled in one place.

No prices appear on this site. An operator explains the plan and the cost on the call.