Can I trap the raccoon and drive it out of the city?

No, it is illegal under Ontario law to relocate wildlife more than 1 kilometre. Our one-way door system is the legal and effective solution.

What happens if babies are left in the attic?

The mother will destroy your roof trying to get back in. If she fails, the babies die, causing severe odour and fly infestations. We physically extract babies by hand.

Raccoon Removal in Toronto

Toronto is the raccoon capital of the world. The city’s mature tree canopy, dense housing, and abundant food sources have created a raccoon population that is smarter, bolder, and more destructive than raccoons in almost any other North American city.

When a Toronto raccoon decides your attic is the perfect place to raise her babies, she doesn’t politely look for an open window. She rips off roof vents, tears through aluminum soffits, and chews through asphalt shingles. Once inside, she compresses your insulation, chews electrical wires, and creates a latrine that can pose serious health risks.

Pestisect provides humane, permanent raccoon removal across Toronto. We don’t just trap the animal — we extract babies by hand, install one-way exit doors, and repair the damage with heavy-gauge steel so they can never get back in.

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raccoon Problem

Why Toronto Raccoons Are a Unique Problem

The housing stock. Toronto’s Victorian and Edwardian homes in neighbourhoods like the Annex, Cabbagetown, and Riverdale have complex rooflines, multiple gables, and aging woodwork. Raccoons use overlapping roof sections as launch pads to tear into soffits.

The “green bin” effect. Toronto’s municipal green bin program, while great for the environment, provides a constant, high-calorie food source. The city even had to redesign the bins specifically to thwart raccoons but a well-fed urban raccoon population means higher reproductive rates and more pressure on residential attics for den sites.

Lack of natural predators. Aside from vehicles, adult raccoons in Toronto have no natural predators. The population density of raccoons in Toronto is estimated to be up to 100 times higher than in rural areas.

Signs You Have a Raccoon in Your Toronto Attic

Heavy, thumping noises at night

Raccoons are nocturnal and heavy (10–25 lbs). If it sounds like a person walking in your attic around 11 PM or 4 AM, it's a raccoon. Mice and squirrels sound like light, rapid scratching.

Vocalizations

Raccoon babies (kits) make a distinct "chittering" or crying sound that sounds like a cross between a bird chirping and a kitten crying. You'll hear this mostly in April and May.

Visible roof damage

Torn shingles, bent aluminum soffits, or roof vents that have been completely ripped off and tossed onto the lawn.

Smudge marks

Dark, greasy marks on downspouts, brickwork, or deck posts where the raccoon shimmies up to the roof every night.

Latrines

The Danger of Raccoon Latrines

Raccoons designate a specific area in your attic to use as a toilet. Over a few months, this “latrine” can accumulate pounds of feces and urine, destroying the insulation beneath it. More importantly, raccoon feces often contain the eggs of Baylisascaris procyonis, a roundworm that can be fatal to humans and pets if ingested or inhaled. Dried feces turn to dust, and those microscopic eggs can become airborne. If a raccoon has been in your attic, professional attic restoration and sanitization may be required. We provide full cleanup, insulation removal, sanitization, and re-insulation services.

Raccoon Removal

Our Humane Raccoon Removal Process

In Ontario, wildlife removal is regulated by the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act. It is illegal to kill raccoons or to trap and relocate them more than 1 kilometre from where they were caught. Our process is 100% legal, humane, and focused on exclusion.

Step 1: Roof and Attic Inspection

We inspect the exterior to find the entry point (there is usually a main entry and a secondary entry). If it's baby season (March through June), we must inspect the attic interior to locate the babies.

Step 2: Baby Retrieval (March–June)

If babies are present, they must be removed by hand. Raccoon babies cannot walk for the first several weeks of life. If we only lock the mother out, the babies will die in your attic, causing a severe odour and fly problem. We physically enter the attic, safely remove the babies, and place them in a heated reunion box on the roof near the entry point.

Step 3: One-Way Door Installation

We install a heavy-duty, one-way steel door over the main entry point. The mother raccoon can push her way out to get food, but the door locks behind her. She cannot get back in. If babies are in the reunion box, she will collect them one by one and relocate them to a secondary den site.

Step 4: Prevention and Reinforcement

Raccoons have excellent memories. When the mother realizes she can't get through the one-way door, she will try to tear a new hole nearby. We reinforce vulnerable areas around the entry point with 16-gauge PVC-coated galvanized steel mesh.

Step 5: Door Removal and Final Seal

After 3–5 days, once we confirm the raccoon is gone and has not returned, we remove the one-way door and permanently seal the entry point with steel mesh and weather-appropriate roofing materials.

Raccoon Patterns

Toronto Neighbourhood Raccoon Patterns

The Annex, Cabbagetown, High Park

Mature trees touching rooflines and older homes with complex roofs. Raccoons easily access roofs and tear through aging wood and soffits. Tree trimming is essential here.

East York, Scarborough

Bungalows and split-levels. Raccoons often enter through roof vents (the square plastic or metal vents on top of the roof). We offer preventative roof vent screening using steel mesh covers.

Downtown Core, Trinity Bellwoods

Flat roofs and commercial buildings. Raccoons enter through HVAC units, deteriorated flashing, and skylights.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Toronto Animal Services remove the raccoon from my attic?

No. Toronto Animal Services (TAS) responds to sick, injured, or distressed wildlife on public property. They do not remove healthy wildlife from private property, attics, or chimneys. For structural wildlife removal, you must hire a licensed private wildlife control company like Pestisect.

Can I just trap the raccoon and drive it out of the city?

No, that is illegal under Ontario’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act. You cannot relocate wildlife more than 1 kilometre from the capture site. Relocating animals further often results in their death due to territory disputes, and it spreads disease. Our one-way door system is the legal, humane, and effective solution.

What happens if you trap a mother raccoon but leave the babies?

The mother will literally tear your roof apart trying to get back to her babies. If she can’t get in, the babies will die in your attic, creating an unbearable smell and a maggot infestation that will seep through your ceiling. During baby season (March–June), we always perform a physical attic inspection to ensure no babies are left behind.

Will home insurance cover raccoon damage in Toronto?

It depends on your policy. Many standard Ontario home insurance policies exclude damage caused by rodents and vermin, but some cover raccoons because they are classified as wildlife, not rodents. Damage to the roof is often not covered, but secondary damage (like water entering through the hole the raccoon made) might be. Check with your broker.

How much does raccoon removal cost in Toronto?

Pricing depends on the location of the entry point, roof steepness, and whether babies are present. Typical humane removal (inspection, one-way door, baby extraction if needed, and final seal of one entry point) ranges from $350 to $550. Preventative screening of other vulnerable roof vents is quoted separately.

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