Raccoons love nesting in our attics, attics are warm, isolated, and safe places where raccoon families can grow. Unfortunately, these animals can be dangerous not only to your health and well-being but to the health and wellbeing of your family as well.

So, can you smoke out a raccoon in the attic? This article looks into it 

You cannot smoke out a raccoon in the attic, smoke bombs that work to kill raccoons are hazardous to your family and can kill you too. Smoking raccoons only works outside the house 

Can you smoke out a raccoon in the attic?

As much as attics make the perfect home and nursery for raccoon families, this setup is likely not ideal for you. 

The killing of raccoons is not permitted in some counties, and there are a variety of reasons why killing raccoons in your home can be a bad idea, smoking them out can be one of the worst ways to kill these animals 

Smoking these animals out is very effective but can be very dangerous to not only these animals but to humans as well. 

So no, you cannot smoke a raccoon out of the attic

What do smoke bombs do? 

Smoke bombs are used to get into the nooks and crannies that you may not be able to. The gas produced by smoke bombs will either drive raccoons out or kill raccoons. 

Unfortunately, because raccoons can only really be killed by hazardous chemicals, these can affect you too. These chemicals can be dangerous or even fatal to humans and pets in the house. 

Smoke bombs are only recommended for use outside of the house in burrows where humans don’t frequent. 

Types of smoke bombs: 

Rodent bombs: 

Smoke bombs made for rodents can help to get rid of your raccoon problem. Smoke bombs made for animals like rats, moles, skunks, squirrels, and gophers can be used for raccoons too. These products can use chemicals like sulfur gas to kill animals. 

When used, this smoke bomb quickly fills an area with sulfur gas, this asphyxiates raccoons and kills them. This smoke is lethal and will kill off any raccoons you may have.

This product cannot be used in buildings because of the poison gas produced. 

Carbon dioxide smoke bomb:

This smoke bomb uses carbon dioxide to kill these animals. This method works by reducing the oxygen levels in the animal’s body and replacing it with carbon dioxide. This causes difficulty breathing, and eventually the death of the raccoon. 

This type of smoke bomb is recommended for outside use as it can be dangerous to humans 

It is recommended for use outside the home and away from humans as it can cause dizziness, headaches, sweating, difficulty breathing, asphyxia, and convulsions in humans.

Are smoke bombs the best way to get raccoons out?

No, smoke bombs are not the best way to get rid of raccoons in the attic. They are definitely helpful in reducing the number of raccoons you have but this smoke can waft through openings into rooms other than attics.

If the smoke reaches rooms other than your attic then your domestic pets and other members of the family can inhale it and this can cause some serious health issues.  

The only place where smoke bombs should be used is outdoors like golf courses, yards, gardens, and other landscaped areas.

 

How to get rid of raccoons in the attic: 

Predator urine: 

If you don’t know exactly where your raccoon is hiding or how many raccoons there are in your attic, you’ll need to use raccoon deterrents to get the animals out.

Deterrents will repel raccoons, even the ones that you don’t know about. Predator urine is a great way to get raccoons out of your attic. These products signal that there are predators in the area, raccoons will leave your attic in fear of being attacked. 

Raccoon eviction fluid: 

This is another humane way to get raccoons out of your attic, this method is recommended if you have a mother raccoon with babies or a pregnant mother raccoon in your attic. It works in a similar way to predator urine.

The fluid mimics the scent of a boar male raccoon. Raccoons know that boar male raccoons kill raccoon babies, the mother will flee the area in order to keep away from these males and protect her young family. 

Read more about raccoon males killing babies here.

Contact pest control: 

Pest control professionals are usually the best option when it comes to raccoon removal and removal of any pest for that matter. These people are well equipped to get rid of raccoons. They also have the knowledge to do so safely and effectively. 

Note: Using pest control will likely mean that the raccoon will be killed after being caught. 

After raccoon removal:

Cleaning up your attic after getting rid of these animals is a must. Getting rid of these animals only solves half of the problem.

These animals will use your attic as a latrine while living up there.

If you don’t clean up their feces and urine not only will your attic, and eventually, your house, smell horrible, but this urine and feces can negatively affect your health and the health of the rest of your family 

Will raccoons leave attics on their own? 

No, unfortunately, raccoons will not leave attics on their own. These animals will set up shop in your attic and stay there as long as they have access to food, shelter, and water.

They will only move when these basic needs are removed 

Conclusion 

In conclusion, no you cannot smoke raccoons out of your attic. Raccoons are pretty resilient animals, the smoke bombs required to kill raccoons are hazardous to humans as well. Using these bombs in the house is not recommended. 

Safe and effective ways to remove raccoons include using predator urine in your attic, using raccoon eviction fluid in your attic, or contacting pest control to remove the animals. Clean up after raccoon removal is a must 

If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other raccoon related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Why Do Raccoons Climb Trees At Night?, What are raccoons good for