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Humane · Baby-season safe · Warrantied exclusion

Raccoon Removal in South Jersey

Raccoons are the number two attic call we get across Camden, Burlington, Gloucester, and Mercer counties, and the number one source of real damage. This page covers how we confirm it's a raccoon, how humane removal actually works under New Jersey law, what it costs, and how we keep them out for good.

Short answer: We remove raccoons humanely with one-way doors and live traps, never separating mothers from kits, then seal every entry point with warrantied repairs. Most Camden, Burlington, Gloucester, and Mercer county removals are complete within 3 to 7 days of inspection.

Raccoon Removal in South Jersey

How Do I Know It's a Raccoon?

Short answer: Raccoons announce themselves: slow, heavy thumping after dusk, a torn soffit or bent gable vent, tubular droppings concentrated in one attic corner, and dark rub marks on the downspouts they climb. If the noise sounds like a person walking overhead, think raccoon, not squirrel.

A raccoon working through household trash
Owner Brandon Stein with a baby raccoon removed from an attic

Sounds

Slow, heavy thumping and dragging after dusk and before dawn. Chittering or crying in spring usually means kits, which changes the whole removal plan.

Droppings

Tubular, 2–3 inches, often in one latrine corner of the attic or on the roof. Our ID guide has photos. Most homeowners guess wrong.

Entry Damage

Torn soffit returns, ripped shingles at the roofline, bent gable-vent louvers. Raccoons make holes; squirrels chew them.

Tracks and Smears

Five-fingered prints and dark rub marks on downspouts and corner boards they climb nightly.

Not sure it's a raccoon? Start with our attic noise guide or try the Noise ID Tool on our homepage. It asks the same three questions Brandon asks on every call.

How Acorn Removes Raccoons Humanely

Method depends on one question we answer during inspection: is there a litter? From roughly March through June, most attic raccoons in South Jersey are mothers with kits.

One-Way Doors (No Litter)

Mounted over the main entry after every other gap is sealed. The raccoon leaves for its nightly forage and can't get back in. No trap, no stress, no relocation questions.

Family Removal (Baby Season)

Kits are removed by hand and staged in a heated reunion box so the mother relocates them herself to a backup den. It takes longer and we'll tell you so. A one-way door used on a nursing mother strands the litter in your insulation, and that's a far worse outcome for everyone. This is the part of the job where cheap and fast goes wrong.

What New Jersey Law Allows

New Jersey tightly restricts relocating raccoons because they are a rabies-vector species. We're straight with you about what the law requires. It's also why hiring a licensed operator (NJDEP #92411B) matters more for raccoons than for any other animal.

Raccoon peering over a dumpster edge in South Jersey, the classic nuisance raccoon a homeowner meets first

Bold around food sources, and bolder still about your attic. The average adult fits through a gap the size of a softball.

Sealing Raccoons Out for Good

A raccoon that's lived in your attic leaves scent that advertises the den to every raccoon that passes through your yard for years. Removal without exclusion is a short-term rental turnover. Our exclusion repairs (steel, hardware cloth, proper flashing at the roofline, soffits, and vents) carry the Acorn Seal-Tight Warranty: if animals get back in through a repair we made, we come back at no charge.

Roofline & fascia

Roofline & Fascia

The number one raccoon entry. We rebuild and flash the gap, not just stuff it.

Acorn technicians rebuilding a torn soffit return with steel backing

Soffit Returns

Torn returns get hardware cloth backing plus new material, painted to match.

The Acorn truck and ladder set up for a rooftop chimney job

Chimneys

A proper cap ends the den site permanently. Never smoke a raccoon out; in spring that's a mother and kits.

See exactly how we seal each entry point: rooflines, soffits, chimney caps, and vents. After removal, attic cleanup and sanitization handles the latrine and any insulation damage.

Raccoon Removal Near You

Raccoon FAQs

Will a raccoon leave on its own?
An adult male might move between dens; a mother with kits will not. She's committed to your attic until the kits can travel, which takes 8 to 10 weeks. Waiting usually means more damage and a bigger latrine, not an empty attic.
Can I just trap it myself?
New Jersey restricts trapping and relocating rabies-vector species, and an unlicensed relocation can be illegal. There's also the practical problem: trap the mother and the kits starve in your insulation. Our DIY vs. professional guide covers when doing it yourself makes sense, and raccoons aren't it.
Do raccoons really carry rabies?
Raccoons are New Jersey's most common rabies-vector wildlife, but actual transmission to humans is rare. The bigger day-to-day risks are raccoon roundworm in the latrine and structural damage. We handle droppings with respirators and full sanitization for a reason.
How fast can you get a raccoon out?
Outside baby season: typically 2 to 4 nights once the one-way door is set. Baby-season family removals usually take under a week including reunion staging. Either way, the inspection happens this week. Call or Text (856) 398-1028.
What happens to the raccoon?
We tell you honestly rather than what sounds nice: New Jersey law decides the options, and we walk you through them during the inspection. What we never do is strand a litter or dump an animal somewhere it can't survive.

Ready to Be Raccoon-Free?

Same-week inspection, photo-documented entry map, written quote. Humane, always.