Removing raccoons, skunks and other wildlife from farm outbuildings and attics around Montpelier, under Indiana DNR rules on who may trap.
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Raccoon and wildlife removal takes animals out of barns, sheds, crawl spaces and attics, then closes the openings they used. Indiana DNR rules generally let a landowner or tenant take raccoons and skunks on their own property where they cause damage or a threat. Anyone who charges a fee for nuisance wildlife work needs a permit, and the technician explains which rules apply before the work starts.
Raccoons are the animal most people mean when they say wildlife in the attic. In farm country around Montpelier they are drawn to barns, machinery sheds, grain bins and the open space under a porch or a house, and they can get into an attic through a loose vent, a gap at the eave or a damaged soffit. Skunks, opossums, squirrels and groundhogs follow the same kind of route, and each leaves its own signs.
The first problem is usually noise and mess: rustling overhead at night, scattered garbage or feed, and droppings in a loft or under a porch. A female with young is a more difficult case, and the work is planned so that the young are not trapped inside. Removal is only half of the job. The opening the animal used has to be found and repaired, or the next animal will use the same route.
Indiana's rules on who may take a nuisance animal are specific, and that is one reason many homeowners call a company rather than trapping on their own. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources sets the rules. They differ depending on the animal, whether the property is owned or rented and whether anyone is paid for the work, so a plan that looks simple on paper often has a permit question inside it.
Do not corner, chase or approach an animal, and do not try to remove one by hand. Raccoons and skunks can bite or spray, and an injured animal is unpredictable. Do not seal an opening while an animal may be inside, and do not use poison or a fumigant in a building where people or animals live. Keep children and pets away from the den, the attic opening and any trap. Wear gloves and avoid handling droppings or nesting material with bare hands. Call a technician for any animal that is in a living area.
Raccoons are strong for their size and will tear at a vent or soffit to get in. They often use the same route each night, which is why the entry is usually easy to find once it is watched. Indiana rules generally let a landowner or tenant capture a raccoon on property they own or rent where it causes damage or a threat. A designated helper needs written permission carried while doing so, and must not be paid for it.
Skunks tend to dig under porches, sheds, barns and decks to make a den. The rules that apply to skunks are close to those for raccoons, and the work is done with care around the spray. Sealing the den area with a barrier is often the answer, and trapping alone rarely closes the problem.
Squirrels chew into attics and soffits, and groundhogs dig under outbuildings and sheds. Both are often handled by closing the entry and removing the animal where the rules allow. A technician will say which openings need hardware cloth and which need a different approach, and whether a young animal is present before any step is taken.
Most raccoon and wildlife removal calls are scheduled the same day when a technician is free, and you approve the price before any work starts.
Indiana DNR rules generally let a resident landowner or tenant capture a raccoon or skunk without a permit on property they own or rent, where the animal is causing damage or threatening people or domestic animals.
The rule is limited. It covers the property the person owns or rents, and it applies where the animal is causing damage or a threat. A homeowner may designate another person to do the capture, but only with written permission carried while the animal is taken, and with no compensation of any kind.
Trapping on land the homeowner does not own or rent needs a hunting or trapping license or a nuisance wild animal control permit. Anyone who charges a fee, or provides nuisance wildlife control to the public, must hold a permit. That is one reason a paid operator is in a different legal position from a neighbor helping out.
A trap left out without a plan for the animal creates a problem of its own, and the rules on what happens to a captured animal are specific.
A captured animal cannot simply be kept or moved as the homeowner sees fit. The rules set the requirements for handling and release, and they are more involved than most people expect. The technician knows the current requirements.
Relocating an animal is a restricted step. The rules and the local situation decide whether it can be moved at all, so the technician should explain the options before any animal is taken away.
The animal, the number of animals, the entry work and the cleanup shape the job. The technician confirms the price on site, and it is explained and approved before any work starts.
One raccoon that enters through a single vent is a shorter job than a family using several openings in a barn loft. Repair of soffits, vents, foundation gaps and hardware cloth adds to the work, and so does clearing an attic or stored feed that has been spoiled, which takes time and care.
Access also matters. A barn with an open loft is different from a crawl space or an attic with tight access. No figure appears on this page, and the technician explains the scope of the work first.
It can, if the entry is not repaired or if another animal finds the same route. Repair is the step that prevents a repeat.
Animals that have used a building before may return to it, and a vent or soffit left open is an invitation for the next one. A technician checks the repair and the building from the outside before leaving.
Keeping food and garbage out of reach, storing grain and feed in metal containers with tight-fitting lids, and clearing brush away from the building all help. These are the same kinds of steps used for rodent control.
Keep pets and children away from the animal's entry, and do not try to block or open it yourself. Note when the animal comes and goes, so the technician has useful information.
Watching at dusk from a safe distance, noting the time and the route, and photographing the entry from outside are useful steps. Those notes help the technician find the right entry on the first visit.
Do not corner or approach an animal, and do not seal the entry while the animal may be inside. Sealing an opening with an animal inside, or disturbing a female with young, can make the situation worse, so the technician plans the timing.
The technician identifies the animal from its signs and finds the entry it is using. Raccoons, skunks, opossums, squirrels and groundhogs use different routes and leave different marks. The entry is found by watching at dusk and by checking gaps, vents and the base of the foundation.
Before any trapping starts, the technician checks whether the animal is in a building the homeowner owns or rents, whether it is causing damage or a threat, and what permit or written permission applies. Indiana DNR rules are the reference, and the technician explains them plainly.
The animal is removed by a method suited to the species and the setting. Live capture is used only where the rules allow it, and the technician plans for any young that are not yet independent. Those cases are handled with extra care, because young animals can be left behind when an adult is taken.
Once the animal is out, the entry is repaired so no other animal can use it. That can mean replacing a vent screen, fixing a soffit, sealing the base of the foundation or closing a barn gap with hardware cloth or sheet metal. Repair is the step that stops the next visit.
Droppings, nesting material and spoiled feed are removed, and the attic or loft is checked for damage. The homeowner is told what to watch for in the weeks after, and the technician returns if an animal is still using the area.
Farmsteads outside Montpelier have barns, pole buildings and grain storage that give raccoons and squirrels shelter. Openings at the gable, the loft door and the base of the foundation are common routes. The work is planned around the building and its access, and the technician looks at all the outbuildings on the property rather than only the one with the visible damage.
The gas-boom houses in Montpelier, Hartford City and Dunkirk have stone and full basements, and their old foundations and soffits can have gaps. A raccoon or skunk can use a broken foundation vent or a gap under a porch. Repairs to those areas are part of the job, and the technician notes them during the visit.
The woodlots and river corridors around Montpelier, including the country along the Salamonie, are where many of these animals live before they move toward buildings. A farmyard close to the woods has more visits than one in the open field. Clearing brush against the building helps. For the seasonal picture, the Montpelier pest calendar shows when young animals are likely to be in barns and attics.
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Anyone who charges a fee or provides nuisance wildlife control to the public must obtain a permit from Indiana DNR. Ask any company for its wildlife permit as well as its general business license, and ask the technician to show the permit before work begins. A helper who does the work unpaid still follows the rules on written permission and on the property.
They are handled under similar rules, but the work differs. Raccoons tend to enter through roof and attic gaps, while skunks more often dig a den under a porch, shed or deck. The approach is chosen to fit the animal and the entry it uses.
Squirrels chew into vents, soffits and attic spaces, and they often work through the same gap year after year. Closing the entry with hardware cloth is usually the lasting fix, and the technician explains which openings need it. Squirrels with young need careful timing.
A trap left out without a plan for the animal can cause problems. The rules on capture, handling and release still apply, and a trapped animal should not be left without a plan. Ask the technician before setting any trap.
Phones are answered 24/7 at (855) 974-4733, and a visit the same day is possible when a technician is free. Describe the animal, the entry if you know it, and whether the animal is in a living area or only in a barn or shed.
A homeowner can clear brush, replace a vent screen or fix a loose board. Structural repairs, foundation gaps and openings in a barn loft are better left to a technician, who can check that the animal is out and that the repair will hold.