How do I clean my attic after a raccoon?

When raccoons have been living inside the attic, you need to have the whole area cleaned and disinfected as soon as the infestation has been handled successfully. Raccoons will leave lots of waste after they are gone and you will notice that the attic will be a total mess. At times, the raccoons will choose a specific location to serve as the latrine and you will notice that a lot of the poop will be piled around this area. Other times, the feces will be all over the attic. Raccoons are known as some of the most familiar and most destructive critters that are found in North America. They are mammals and they have realized that being near humans may yield better food scores, so they have started to make their homes in urban and rural environments.

When the raccoons are aware that you have food available, they will frequently pay a visit to you while searching for shelter or food. As is the case with the feces, the same is true for the urine. You may notice some areas have a concentration of the urine or you may have urine all over your attic space. It is easy to pick up the raccoon feces from the attic because they usually excrete rather large poop. Dealing with the urine is another thing altogether. This is because the urine usually soaks into your insulation and even the sheetrock or the attic wood. You will also notice that you may not be able to reach all areas so as to remove the urine and feces. This is one of the reasons as to why cleaning up in the proper way and then fogging is so important so as to handle the unsanitary conditions and take away the odor.

Regardless of what you do, don’t ever touch the feces as they can contain the raccoon roundworm. This is a round worm that can infect humans. Waste also carries different kinds of zoonotic diseases. There are around 42 diseases that the humans can get because of handling or ingesting water and food that has been contaminated by the feces of animals like the campylobacter infection that is present in the feces. These can cause gastrointestinal symptoms and they can very serious if not treated.

You will need to clean the attic by first taking the waste out by hand where possible. You need to have protective gear at all times. A mask and gloves is a must have in such a case. Special cleaners should be used at all times ad this should include the enzyme based cleaners which will eliminate the organic waste that was left by animals including urine and droppings.

Go back to the How To Get Rid of Raccoons home page to learn more about how to clean the attic after a raccoon.