Raccoons & Squirrels Invading Your Westchester or Rockland Home? Here's What to Do

When Wildlife Moves In: Raccoons and Squirrels in Hudson Valley Homes

There's a moment that many Westchester and Rockland homeowners know well: you're lying in bed at night and you hear it — a scrabbling, scratching, thumping sound from somewhere above the ceiling. Or you wake up to find a torn-open garbage can, scattered trash across your yard, and muddy paw prints on your deck railing.

Raccoons and squirrels are charismatic, familiar animals of the Hudson Valley. They're also capable of causing thousands of dollars in structural damage and serious health risks when they decide your home is a better option than the surrounding woodland.

At BluesWay Pest Control, wildlife intrusion calls are among our most common — particularly from communities like Sleepy Hollow, Nyack, Stony Point, and the semi-wooded neighborhoods of Riverdale and Pelham Bay. Here's everything you need to know.

Why Your Home Is Attractive to Wildlife

Before we can prevent intrusion, it helps to understand what's drawing animals in:

For raccoons:

• Food sources — garbage cans, compost bins, outdoor pet food, bird feeders, and fallen fruit from trees

• Water — birdbaths, decorative ponds, pet water bowls

• Denning sites — warm, protected spaces for raising young, especially in late winter/early spring when females are pregnant

For squirrels:

• Warmth — attics maintain temperatures well above outdoors, ideal for winter nesting

• Shelter from predators — inside your walls, squirrels are safe from hawks, owls, and foxes

• Food caching — squirrels store food in attic insulation, creating damage and attracting other pests

The Damage They Do — And It's Serious

Neither raccoons nor squirrels are passive guests. Here's what they actually do to your home:

Raccoons:

• Tear open roof vents, soffits, and fascia — raccoons are surprisingly strong. They'll rip aluminum louver vents or damaged wood soffits apart with their hands.

• Damage insulation — raccoons use attic insulation for nesting, compressing and soiling it extensively

• Create raccoon latrines — raccoons defecate in the same location repeatedly, creating concentrated fecal deposits that can saturate insulation and drywall

• Contaminate the attic space — raccoon roundworm (*Baylisascaris procyonis*) in feces is a serious zoonotic disease. Cleanup requires full PPE and professional-grade decontamination.

Squirrels:

• Chew electrical wiring — this is the most serious squirrel hazard. Chewed wiring causes house fires. There are documented fire incidents throughout Westchester County attributable to squirrel activity in attics.

• Chew HVAC ductwork and structural wood

• Tear apart insulation for nesting — both batt and blown-in insulation are targeted

• Create water damage — entry holes made by squirrels allow water infiltration, which leads to rot and mold

How They're Getting In

Raccoons: Entry points include damaged or unsealed roof vents, loose soffits, deteriorated fascia boards, gaps at roof-wall junctions, and occasionally uncapped chimneys. Raccoon entry points are typically 4+ inches in diameter.

Squirrels: Entry points are smaller — as small as a golf ball (1.5 inches). Common entries include unsealed gaps at fascia/soffit junctions, ridge vent gaps, damaged drip edge, gaps around chimney flashing, and occasionally gnawed-through wood where they've detected a potential entry point.

In older Westchester homes — the Colonials and Craftsman bungalows common throughout Larchmont, Mamaroneck, and Tuckahoe — original wood soffits and fascia that have never been replaced or upgraded are the most common failure points.

Humane Exclusion: The Right Way to Handle Wildlife

Wildlife removal is regulated in New York State. Raccoons and squirrels are protected under state law, and specific rules govern how they can be captured and relocated. Working with a licensed exterminator or wildlife control operator is important both for legal compliance and for humane treatment of animals.

Our wildlife exclusion process:

1. Thorough Inspection

We inspect the full exterior of the home — roofline, foundation, soffits, vents, chimney — to identify every current and potential entry point. We also assess the interior (attic, wall voids) to determine the extent of occupancy.

2. Exclusion Without Trapping When Possible

The most effective long-term solution is one-way exclusion devices — funnels or flaps installed over entry points that allow animals to exit but not re-enter. Animals vacate on their own without trapping stress. This is our preferred method when young are not present.

3. Timing Considerations — Young Animals

If our inspection reveals the presence of juvenile raccoons or squirrels, exclusion must be timed carefully. Sealing the entry with young inside is both inhumane and creates a secondary problem (animals dying in the attic). We time exclusion after juveniles are mobile and able to leave on their own, typically by late spring/early summer for raccoons and summer for squirrels.

4. Permanent Sealing

Once animals have vacated, all entry points are permanently sealed using materials animals cannot re-breach: 16-gauge galvanized hardware cloth, metal flashing, heavy-gauge steel exclusion foam, or caulk and backer rod for smaller gaps. Wood-over-wood repairs are insufficient — squirrels will chew right back through.

5. Attic Assessment and Remediation

We assess insulation damage and contamination. In cases of raccoon denning or extensive squirrel nesting, insulation removal and replacement along with decontamination treatment may be necessary.

Prevention: What You Can Do Now

• Cap your chimney with a quality stainless steel chimney cap — a top priority for any Westchester or Rockland home with an uncapped masonry chimney

• Secure garbage cans with locking lids or store inside a garage overnight

• Remove bird feeders from areas near the house if raccoons are frequenting your yard

• Trim trees to maintain a 6–8 foot clearance between branches and your roofline — squirrels use tree branches as launching pads

• Repair damaged soffits and fascia before wildlife finds them

• Install heavy hardware cloth over attic gable vents and roof vents as a precautionary measure

Don't Wait — Wildlife Damage Escalates Quickly

A single squirrel in the attic doesn't stay a single squirrel for long. A pair will produce two litters per year, with 2–5 young each. Within a few months, what started as one animal can become a colony of 6–10. The electrical wiring risk alone warrants emergency pest control action.

BluesWay Pest Control provides comprehensive wildlife intrusion services — inspection, humane exclusion, attic assessment, and permanent sealing — across Westchester County, Rockland County, and the Bronx. If you're hearing noises in your attic or walls, or you've discovered an entry point in your roofline, call us at (914) 968-8404. We offer same day pest control consultations for urgent wildlife situations.

Pest control near me should include professional wildlife exclusion — because in the Hudson Valley, what's outside wants to come inside.