Hello All,

I got my first raccoon in a chimney call.

Would Rob Erickson's raccoon eviction liquid work for this?

Or would the home owner be bull with the smell?

Thanks

Chuck

Correct me if I am wrong but eviction fluid is male raccoon urine to make mothers with babies nervous and leave. Not sure it works this time of year and shouldn't work if it was a male down the chimney.

yes and its a $120. a gallon lol. seriously!

Could it work? Yes, it could just like the WCS eviction fluid or Proline Vanish.

Is it worth a try this time of year? Yes. All of these products are worth trying year round as they will either work or they won't. It's kind of like winning the lottery, it's a lot harder to win if you don't play.

Does it have an odor that will affect the client? In my experience no, but anything is possible.

For the fluids, success seems to be better when the raccoon's have not been disturbed by noise or light in the chimney. Rob recommends using a tennis ball attached to mason string or rope. You douse the tennis ball then toss it down the chimney. Make sure there is enough string to allow the ball to reach the smoke shelf. When done, remove the ball by pulling it out of the chimney or if it comes unattached, remove the damper like you are removing raccoon kits and then remove the ball.

For vanish, use a knife (or the applicator if purchased that way) to apply it top of all sides of the chimney tile. This allows any raccoon's to get it on their fur and keep the odor with them regardless of where they go.

I have had the best success earlier in the year with vanish. I would probably go ahead and trap with a positive set of various chimney traps from a cubby with a conibear to a commercial chimney trap. The safeguard universal or tomahawk multi purpose or some of the comstocks or advanced traps with nose cones make good positive sets when strapped on.
If you have a wildlife caller its worth a try to try calling with various raccoon sounds sometimes they or at least one will come right out. Or if your Ron Jones you can make the sounds with your mouth. Just remember its is a wildlife caller not sender. I told someone else this and his wife used it from the fireplace while he was on the roof and the raccoon made it thru the damper. He blames me.

Eviction fluid is to be used as a last resort, when trapping fails.
Your preferred solution is to take the raccoon with you (mount a trap directly over the flue or on the roof).
Eric, one of the wisest things I've ever heard is that the chances of winning the lottery are about the same, whether you buy a ticket or not. The chance of winning a big jackpot is about equal to your chance of being struck by lightning 175 times!
...and that's why I don't pay the "stupidity tax."

How about just lighting a fire in the stove.That should get anything out of the chimney and is cheap.

While you are lighting the fire, tell your customer how stupid he/she is for not thinking of that. Then demand $10 (cheap) for the professional expertise they called you for. If the raccoon is back in a few days, just chalk it up to bad luck.

Sorry for the sarcasm. We are supposed to have fun doing this work. Unless you are a pyro, what fun is there in lighting fires?

I would not recommend the fire solution.

Typically a raccoon will go up the chimney just far enough to escape the heat. Their body will then interfere with the draft and all the smoke will back up into the house. Once the draft is halted, the smoke and heat are no longer effective and you will have an upset client with a smoky house.

We have had several clients who tried this method prior to calling us (usually the wife says "I told him to just call you!")

The most horrifying stories we have ever listened to were those people that thought they could solve the problem themselves by

starting a fire ( out of season ) in their chimney to get rid of whatever was in there at the time. I have never mentioned this

before and I truly hope that I will never have to mention it again. The sights and sounds that these people heard should be reserved

for those of us that were raised on a farm and have come to understand animals in a much different setting. And to be perfectly

honest, hearing young raccoons being burned to death is not something that I would have taken lightly in my youth either!

Like George Bush said "smok'em out"lol.

Build yourself a 20' catch pole.

For crying out loud, put a No-See'UM or a Chim Trap over the tile or in the tile or drop a Comstock down it with a piece of rebar through it. Catch the stupid coon over night come back the next day and retrieve it. If there are kits, check to make sure no adults are still in there with your inspection camera and remove the kits. Treat for fleas with some Temprid or Talstar or whatever you like. Disenfect with some Steri-Fab or your product of choice. Install a professional grade HY-C stainless steel chimney cap (sell a Crown Cote job if they need it) and charge them 548.00 plus another 189.00 for the Crown Cote if you sell it and go to your next job...period. If you don't have all those tools buy them, you need them. I see no sense or need to talk about all the other snake oil type solutions, we are professionals and by God we need to act like it. The last thing I ever want to see on the news is a "smoke em out" scenario gone horrably wrong, just consider that not an option!! My 1.50, I feel like its worth way more than .02!

Smoke is humane,now if you touched off a cup of naphtha,you might see coons flying thru the air with their arse on fire.

Travis - Hero of the day.

Travis - Hero of the day. I second that!

But...I said it first!

I think that I might start every reply with "For crying out loud..."

Boys I haven't used the different eviction fluids a lot BUT they do have their place in early Spring.

Mike, I do not disagree that eviction paste/fluid has its place. But in a chimney? My gosh the coon is caught for you, if you want to smear some stuff on and roll instead of solving the problem your hired for you are one of two things, uneducated or just plain lazy. There are lots of applications for Vanish or the other products such as unacsessible attics or vaulted ceilings. Most of the time I have used it when the kits are inacessable or are not able to be located. We still catch mom and shake her up which in all likelyhood is plenty by its self but just to get her to move the kits I smear vanish on the hole. Never had one not leave yet. I've only had to use this a few times. Sure hate to turn one aloose but sometimes that's what it takes.