Roasted raccoon is not good. Your first instinct for a critter in the chimney might be to light a fire. Not the best or humane idea. You could end up burning entire animal families alive.
No matter what do not remove raccoons yourself. A lot of the time they are searching for a safe place to have babies. Since a chimney is similar to a hollow tree, they are prime sites for raccoons to nest. Although starting a fire sounds like the smartest way to flush raccoons out you could really harm or kill them and cause smoke to back into your house. Also, out of fear they might jump out your fireplace. Then you will have an angry critter running through your home. It’s important to call a professional.
Raccoons give birth in the spring. So, during the fall and winter they are searching for somewhere to have a family. It’s crucial that the babies stay secure and safe until they grow-up enough to become mobile. So, the bottom of a chimney is a safe and protected place. Raccoons are excellent climbers and easily shimmy up and down the brick. Building a one-way exit contraption at the top of the chimney comes to a lot of homeowner’s minds. They develop something that the raccoon can only open leaving the chimney. Once it closes behind the mother it’s difficult to get back to her nest. Separating the family is dangerous to the baby’s growth and survival. Not to mention the damage the mother might do to get back in.
Ancaster’s Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control respectfully forces the mother out the top of the chimney. Then they return to the nest, gather the babies and safely bring them outside. They’re stored in a heated reunion box until their mother returns to relocate them. The mother will move the babies one-by-one to another den site she knows of nearby. After the family is safely reunited Skedaddle caps your chimney preventing re-entry.
