Raccoon Season in the GTA: What Homeowners Need to Know

Every March, the phone starts ringing off the hook. Raccoon season in the GTA runs from about mid-March through late May, and it is the busiest time of year for wildlife operators in Toronto, Mississauga, Vaughan, and every suburb in between. Female raccoons are looking for a warm, sheltered den to give birth, and your attic is the best option they have.

How You Know There Is a Raccoon in Your Attic

Raccoons are not subtle. They weigh 8 to 15 kilograms and they sound like it. Here is what homeowners typically report:

• Heavy thumping at night — this is not a mouse. If it sounds like someone walking around up there, it is probably a raccoon.
• Scratching and clawing at dawn and dusk — these are the active hours. Raccoons leave to forage at dusk and return at dawn.
• Chirping or crying — that is the babies. Once you hear baby sounds, the den is established and the mother is not leaving voluntarily.

How They Get In

Raccoons are strong and they have hands that work almost like ours. I have watched them peel aluminum soffits off a house like peeling a banana. Common entry points in GTA homes:

• Roof vents — the plastic mushroom vents on most homes are no match for a determined raccoon. They pop them right off.
• Soffit junctions — where two roof sections meet, there is almost always a gap behind the soffit. Older homes in the Annex, Leaside, and Etobicoke have original soffits that have loosened over decades.
• Fascia boards — rotted fascia is an open invitation. The raccoon does not even have to work hard.
• Uncapped chimneys — less common now, but older homes in Vaughan and Mississauga still have these.

What to Do (and What Not to Do)

The biggest mistake homeowners make is blocking the entry point. If there are babies inside — and in March through May there almost always are — you have just sealed a mother raccoon away from her young. She will tear a new hole through your roof to get back in, causing far more damage than the original entry point. And if the babies die inside, the smell is something you will never forget.

Here is what to do instead:

1. Leave the entry point alone. Do not stuff it with newspaper, do not nail a board over it, do not spray anything in it.
2. Call a licensed wildlife operator. They will install a one-way door over the entry point. The raccoon can leave to forage but cannot get back in. If there are babies, the operator waits for the mother to move them out, which takes 3 to 7 days.
3. Get a full roof inspection and seal. The operator should check every vent, soffit junction, and potential weak spot — not just the one the raccoon used. A proper exclusion job uses galvanized steel mesh over all vulnerable points.

In Ontario, raccoons are protected wildlife. Trapping and relocating them more than 1 kilometre is illegal under Ministry of Natural Resources guidelines. Any company that offers to trap and drive the raccoon to the countryside is breaking the law.

What It Costs

A straightforward raccoon removal in the GTA — one entry point, one-way door, full seal — runs $350 to $500. If the animal has created multiple entry points or the soffit damage is extensive, expect $500 to $750. These are real numbers from licensed operators, not bait-and-switch quotes.

Prevention

The best time to prevent a raccoon problem is fall, before denning season starts:

• Get your roof inspected annually. Have a roofer or pest control operator check vents, soffits, and fascia for damage.
• Trim tree branches that overhang the roof. Raccoons are excellent climbers, and a branch touching the roof is a highway.
• Secure garbage with bungee cords or raccoon-proof lids. The green bins Toronto issues are raccoon magnets.
• Do not leave pet food outside. Ever.

Hearing something in your attic? Get free quotes from licensed raccoon removal operators across the GTA.