Raccoon Deany

It was a Sunny, 90 degree day in Salt Lake City, Utah. Chris and I went to a job site that had raccoons in their chimney. It is very common for female raccoons to get into attics and chimneys with their young because the male raccoons will attack and kill their babies. That is why it is important to make sure you have chimney caps and that your roof is not damaged or has any potential holes where wild animals could get in.

These types of jobs are my favorite, but they can also be very dangerous. The owner was sick of the raccoons and wanted them out immediately. In this case, we had to snare the raccoons, drag them up and out of the chimney and put them in cages.

Chris first snared two babies out and handed them to me. I had to hold them down with my weight on the roof because they were pretty strong. As I’m trying to hold them down and get them into the cage, Chris pulled out the mother. This mother raccoon was very vicious. It was hissing, shaking, and flopping around all over the place.

Chris had her snared pretty good, but she whipped around and somehow slipped out like Houdini and got loose. We both froze in terror hoping she wouldn’t attack us but luckily she fell off the roof, making a big crashing noise in the bushes, and then ran off to another neighbor’s house.

After that horrific moment, we got the rest of the babies out and sealed off the chimney so no more raccoons could get in. The owner was very pleased and happy that they were finally out.

105 Pound Raccoon Removal Queen

Chris and I did our weekly wildlife jobs together and had to go down to Provo to remove a dead raccoon out of a chimney. This is why you buy chimney caps to avoid this type of problem.

At the time, I had never been to a job where you had to remove a dead animal. I was curious how this job would turn out (I am currently studying to be a police officer and a Crime Scene Investigator).

We arrived at the house, and the owners lead us to the basement where we immediately were invited by a dead, decaying smell up our noses. We got all of our equipment and started the project. Of course, I had to do it because Chris is this big, tall man that wouldn’t have been able to reach up into the chimney to get the raccoon out.

I am a 19 year old girl that is 105 pounds so it was quite obvious who would be the lucky winner. I had to wear a full body jumpsuit with gloves, goggles, and a facemask to ensure I was fully protected from any diseases.

Then, the fun part started. I crawled into the chimney, reached up, and grabbed a nice chunk of a slimy, maggot filled raccoon leg. I looked at it like it was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. Chris was about to throw up and insisted I throw it in the garbage immediately and to stop playing with it.

I had absolutely no problem removing the fleshy body. I guess I have a sick, unique gift for that. I continued removing the body and we ended with a nice chimney sweep to ensure all hair, maggots, and feces were gone.

When we finished, we got up onto the roof to measure for chimney caps. When we got to the entrance of the chimney, there was a bodiless raccoon head staring at us. You could see its spine and brain from where it got decapitated.

More than likely it had gotten attacked by a male raccoon, leaving the owners with a nice welcoming stench. We took some pictures and then threw it to the ground to put in the garbage. When it hit the ground it made a splat noise. It was still a little fresh. I was very proud of myself after that job.