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Products I Used To Get Rid Of Raccoons In My Attic

July 5, 2018 by Laura

Well, it has come to this. Another post about raccoons. It’s been a story of denial, pursuit of the beast(s), agonizing sleepless nights, newborn flashback reminders, and at the end of the journey…peace, gratitude for non-stomping animals, end of shrieking sounds, and no more raccoon hooligan nightly (and surprisingly daily) actions.

Honestly, I really thought my lack of a dishwasher for a month experience would do me in. Well…..let’s just say, things were put into a real perspective when Ms. Raccoon came around. At least, my non-working dishwasher didn’t affect my sleep….just my daily activities.

So, What Did You Use To Make The Raccoons Decide To Move On?

Well, as you know, I hired Rodent Man Person to remove the raccoons, which ultimately, didn’t end up happening due to the babies in the crawl space that no human can reach (of course). Roland might be the only Pest Control person whom I will ever come across who has the biggest heart for urban rodent creatures. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m with him on that, to a minimal degree. I wished no harm to these night varmint animals. I just wished and PRAYED and PRAYED and PRAYED for their little raccoon family to get tired of my “hospitality”.

Here Are The Products I Used To Attempt Their Departure:

1. Old Baby Monitor– I put this out on my deck (sorry for the dirtiness! One of these days, I’ll do some power washing) We faced it toward the hole to see if we could see any raccoons leave. Reminder, the main thing we were waiting on was the babies getting old enough to venture out of the hole. We couldn’t see very well in the night, but we would see little eyes glowing at times, so it was better than nothing. I really wanted to get a night vision webcam (and honestly, probably would have bought one if it had lasted another week).

2. Leg Up Coyote Urine– Wow. All I can say is “WOW”! Wow, to the fact that I even walked into a store and asked “Do you sell predator urine?” and Wow, to the fact that it smelled insanely terrible. I had my husband handle the little bottle of urine and put it in the attic. I was hopeful the smell would alert them that a coyote was up there, but I think they’re a little smarter than that. In fact, from what I gathered, they weren’t fazed one bit. Since then, I made (I mean “asked”) my husband to smear some of the urine on the chew marks where the squirrels are still trying to chew into my house. I really hope it sparks some fear into them!

3. Radio– I didn’t have an extra one around the house. I stopped by a Goodwill Store that was having a 50% off day. I purchased a cd radio clock for $1.50. HA! My intent was to disrupt the raccoons sleep during the day with talk radio blaring in the attic. Well, I think those raccoons liked it. The complete opposite of what I was going for! I noticed the nights where we kept the radio on, it made the babies extra rowdy. So, that ended pretty quick.

4. Toddler Soccer Balls– Here’s what actually did the trick! Someday, I might write a post about my one season of being a toddler soccer parent, but this is not that time. Spoiler Alert- it did not go well! Anyways, we at least got two very cute soccer balls out of the experience. I finally resorted to literally taking one of these balls and continuously hitting my master bathroom ceiling over and over and over again. Remember, the raccoons kindly made their nest right above my master bathtub. So, I just kept repeating and repeating throughout the day. Sure enough, that night, Mama Raccoon decided it was FINALLY time to teach her babies to get out of the hole. They actually didn’t succeed that night, but they did the next day.

For Your Viewing Pleasure….Finally, The Culprits Are Out!

TURN UP YOUR VOLUME! Listen To Why I Was Going Nuts….What Newborn Raccoons Sound Like In The Day And Night!

https://shortcutshopper.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Raccoons-1.m4a

So, What Now? 

I’m happy to report our household has been raccoon-free for six nights now. Rodent Man Person is coming tomorrow to patch up the hole. After my thorough research on this subject I never wish to encounter again, apparently, Ms. Raccoon will attempt to return to our house next year to birth another litter (in the same nest area). All I can say about that is “Over My Dead Body”! Ok, well, that may be a little extreme, but I may try to put a strobe light out on the roof next spring to scare away any repeat guests!

If you’re still reading this far, thank you for putting up with my raccoon rantings. If you can’t vent about your raccoon infestation on your blog, what’s the point of having one, right? 🙂

Until next time…Have a good week!

P.S.  That’s Rocco the Raccoon in the picture at the top. He’s been in our house for about a year now. I can’t look at him the same. I’m trying not to generalize because I’m sure not all raccoons are the same and each is individually unique in its own way, but Rocco is going to need to “hide” for a little bit, while I calm down over this whole ordeal!

SUMMARY

Products: Motorola Baby Monitor, Coyote Urine, Radio, and Toddler Soccer Balls

Purchase Location: Monitor at Amazon, Coyote Urine at local feed/nursery store (I didn’t think about looking on Amazon for urine. It is cheaper there!), Radio at Goodwill Store, Soccer balls at Amazon

Additional Product Links:

I can’t help but link to these additional styles of soccer balls….dinosaurs, butterflies, rockets! They’re adorable!

Dinosaur Soccer Ball

Butterfly Soccer Ball

Rocket Soccer Ball

Night Vision Web Cam– In case you need one…you never know! 🙂

If you’d like to read the entire “What Wildlife Is In My Attic? Series”, here are all the posts in order. (unfortunately, there are way too many!)

Squirrels, Rats, Possible Possum, and Being Talked To Like I Am Pregnant (I Am NOT)

An Open Letter To The Raccoon In My Attic…Part 1

My Mistake…You’re A Ms. Raccoon. Part 2

Ms. Raccoon Dared To Cross My Path…Part 3

This post contains affiliate links. You don’t pay any extra, and I earn a small commission.

My Mistake…You’re A Ms. Raccoon. Part 2

May 17, 2018 by Laura

Dear Ms. Raccoon,
 

Please accept my apologies for making the assumption that you were a male. Apparently, because you are very large, and the fact I heard baby raccoon cries above my master bathroom, you’re actually a female. I probably offended you with displaying this stereotype. Again, my apologies.

 
However, what I won’t apologize for is everything I mentioned in Post 1.  We’re both female mammals. Shouldn’t we stick together? Motherhood is hard. Very hard. Perhaps this isn’t even your first birthing rodeo? You should have known better.

 
At least I had the decency to pre-register at a HOSPITAL and not sneak into someone’s house corner and birth my mammals! Ugh. So now, because I care for you (kinda), I must allow you to extend your stay…or at least that’s what Rodent Man Person thinks. I’m not a cruel person. I don’t want to trap you and leave your babies to die. BUT, let’s be clear….you have a very finite amount of time to get those babies grown and get out of my personal space!

 
In the meantime, I think we should have some ground rules.

 
#1: While I’m putting on my make up and getting dressed in the morning, I’d really like your babies to keep it down. For the past couple of days, I thought all that noise was my neighbor’s pool pump….BUT, no….much to my disappointment, it’s your offspring!

 
#2: If you can be on guard and ensure any other animals don’t enter the massive hole you’ve created for these next few weeks, I’d really appreciate that. I mean, it’s the least you can do, right?

 

 
#3: This is the big one….PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don’t tear up anything else. I just don’t think my husband or I can handle one more thing going wrong with this situation. We just want to take a little beach trip this summer, but if you keep racking up the costs, I think we’re going to have to postpone it. You care about your little mammals, SO DO I! I just want them to see the ocean for the first time! Just like you probably want your mammals to see the dried up creek behind my house.

 
Again apologies for calling you a male…but not sorry I’m mad at you.

 
Laura

Squirrels, Rats, Possible Possum, and being talked to like I’m pregnant (I am NOT).

April 30, 2018 by Laura

Well…My People….the day has come for two things that are new in my life:

  1. I have rodents in my attic and from what I can conclude, it’s going to cost me a crazy amount of money to deal with.
  2. The man assisting me with my quote, said the woman no-no “you’re expecting, right?“…..Ugh..NO I am not pregnant..thank you very much!!!
So, I’m working through quite a few emotions this week. Creatures have invaded my safe place, my home, my dwelling. Don’t they understand that this is a human refuge? Keep your animal rodent pee, poop, and mating smells away from my house!!!!! It’s insane what these animals will gnaw through to get inside. The inner drive they have is out of this world insane to get inside. Prayers for a cheaper estimate would be much appreciated.

I understand the tactic this technician man was doing…trying to scare me into doing a complete attic restoration. Telling me all the health issues, etc, laying it out there…basically, how could you not do a complete restoration when you have an unborn child in your womb? When he uttered the words “You’re expecting, right?”, while I’m holding my heavy four-year old, which is causing my POT BELLY to stick out more than normal, I was like “No I am not” thinking this is highly uncomfortable and his shocking response of “OHHH“, did not help the very terrible situation I was in!

I wanted to say “Thank you very much for pointing out that most of the time I’m snacking on crap, eating crap, and not exercising. That my youthful metabolism is not what it used to be….at all. And, that, I am aware that I look thin other places, yet, all of my fat likes to go straight to my belly and my thighs!” Ugh, my people. I suffer a little today.

Think of me a little….

Hi, I'm Laura! I absolutely love sharing all the things I LOVE with anyone who can benefit from hearing. So, whether you're in the mood to learn about a product/service or just want a little randomness thrown into your life, you've come to the right place! Read More…

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