HELP! A Raccoon Fell Through My Ceiling!

When homeowners begin to hear wildlife moving about in the attic, they fear that the animal will come through the ceiling and into the house. While some wildlife removal companies will play-up this fear as a common occurrence to create added concern in the mind of the customer, it is actually a fairly uncommon situation.

The truth of the matter is that the animals have no idea that there are rooms below the attic and have zero intention of exploring that. However, holes in the ceiling can be created by snow and rain seeping through the animals entry hole and cause softening of the drywall to the point where it may collapse. Also, an animals' habitually chewing or clawing at the drywall from inside the attic may create a hole that is noticeable from inside the house. If a homeowner should discover a hole in the ceiling it should be covered over immediately. Animals are curious by nature and if the light from the room below is allowed to shine into the dark attic space it will attract them to the opening. This may result in the hole being enlarged to the point where they will want to jump into the room below.

During my 37 years in business I have witness about 20 situations where an animal either fell or climbed down from a hole in the ceiling into the room below. In all these cases the homeowners had prior knowledge of the ceiling being compromised by water or chewing and chose to ignore it. Over time the ceiling either collapsed or the animals made the hole bigger and ended up inside the house. 

Having said all this homeowners should not dismiss the fact that animals are capable of causing considerable damage to roofs, drywall, insulation and wiring. The longer the animals are allowed to live in the attic the more extensive the damage will be. Therefore, wildlife should be removed as soon as possible especially at this time of year because baby season is only a month away.