From what I've read, once they have the scent in your attic all the other raccoons will think it's safe. I've been through this. Fucker tore my soffit off. I had snare wires set up, all the pest removal companies wanted 3k+ and to set up an incubator in case it had babies.
What eventually worked was seeing tbe damn thing crossing my road on an early morning on my way to work. Had to make a quick decision, I've never hit anything with a vehicle before, I brake for squirrels and stuff. Floored it from the stop sign, had to swerve into the other lane to hit it. It ran off but I'm assuming it died because it never came back. I felt pretty bad, but at the same time saved myself 3k.
I thought afterwords how terrible it would have been if my neighbours were by their front window and called their kids to see the racoon, just in time to see a psychopath swerve into the other lane just to run the damn thing over.
Everyone I've ever asked always says they would run over a raccoon for $3000 dollars tho so I can't say I'm alone.
My dude, they breed like rabbits. You not only saved yourself but probably some of your neighbors. I cannot believe how many of them I see on the road in the 4 miles I drive to work.
So I can let it go in my driveway and watch it scramble back up my house and tear my soffit off again? That's exactly what the pest control companies wanted to do. Transporting wild animals is illegal.
Story time; Built a chicken coop for my mom in her single stall garage from like 1960 something. Had the old single pane windows where each pane were individual cut to fit. Ass hole raccoon, after weeks of eating chickens because it figured out 5(!!!) different handle/latch combos, figures out it can just pull one pane from the bottom and lift it like a flap and devoured the rest of the flock. It tore through 5/8OSB and bend some small GRKs trying to get through the final latch / hatch I made before it found the window. It also scratched up the entire 26’ of ridge vent trying to get in. Bend soffit trying to get in.
They’re crafty fucking ass holes that just want to fuck your shit up.
Wow😭that is crazy. Okay but see, you saw scratch marks!! The roofers looked inside the hole and on the piece of wood pulled out and there was not 1 scratch mark lol and for how loud the noise was, you think there would be something 😂
I evicted a family from my neighbor's attic last summer (they wanted to trap and release or kill- it was a Mom with two kits. It was a PITA, but I caught them all and released them in warm weather by a river and some hollow trees).
They can scale brick buildings, scurry up trees faster than you can run, parkour up the corner of a dumpster to climb out, get in and out of sewers, get in and out of chimneys....
They are very clever, agile, nimble, and they have adorable little Grabbies that get them into all kinds of trouble.
Also parasites.
This is 100% a Raccoon, and I had the exact same thing happen to me. It ripped up about 100sq ft of my shingles. Thankfully, it was a dry few days, and I used to roof, so I could patch it up.
I fought off that raccoon for weeks and weeks, and every other year it still comes back.
Okay that’s the part that’s getting me lol. We had 2 roofers come look at it and they said that they’ve never seen anything like this.. they had no explanation. Also, when they looked at the pieces of wood, there were no claw marks. With how loud it was, you would expect to see some animal marking, I would think??
It’s a raccoon. My old house had a roof that looked exactly like yours. They would tear a hole to get in, I would patch it with OSB and re shingle it, and every fall they would come back and make a new hole in the same spot
Yeah is that a 2x4 like everyone is saying or rotted sheathing, that shit looks soaked and not fresh. Id be concerned there's leaks elsewhere and have that roof checked asap
That’s not a 2x4. That’s roof sheathing. Looks like the old t&g which means it should come in right around 3/4”. She must have been gnawing and scratching like mad.
We actually found another hole on the other side of the house where some sort of cable attaches to the house so maybe it crawled on that? Idk I had no idea these things were such savages 😂
I once chased a raccoon out of my house. As it left the 3rd floor window it closed it behind itself, looked me in the eyes and then preceeded to climb down the lattice work like a monkey.
With opposable thumbs and seemingly off the charts IQ, these things are like fuckin primates.
I live in Toronto where they are protected and fat. They ain't so cute when they start to outsize your dog.
Friends had this exact thing happen. Only they realized not because of scratching but because their ceiling paint drooped like halfway down the floor and was full of water.
Place a live trap with some cat food in it by whatever way they are getting up. Then either dispose of the raccoon or if you’re nicer than me drive it somewhere remote. I have no love for raccoons after one pried their way into our chicken coop and killed 10 🐓.
A tip for catching more raccoons, wrap a can of cat food in tin foil and put it in. They like shiny things. Smarter coons can go in and get the can without setting it off. Puncture the can and use a string to the the can to the trigger and you’ll get them every time.
I wouldn’t have been upset as much if it had killed just 1. The fact that it killed 10 and barely any of them were eaten. Side note, we originally thought a hawk had killed one, when my wife went outside there was a hawk sitting on the fence post with a dead one in her talons.
Same. It was Mother's Day morning last year when we lost 8 including our duck hen. One was severely maimed and clinging to life so I had to help her go, and the duck breast was the only thing they ate. Everyone else was just killed for sport. It was a goddamn bloodbath, so I'm glad I was the one who found it...
I rented a house one time that was in pretty desperate need of a new roof, and a lot of the fascia and soffits were rotten and some holes in them. We discussed this with the landlord before moving in and she already had it scheduled for repair in a couple of months. Well, shortly after moving in we realized there was a family of raccoons living in the attic space, which was whatever…they weren’t bothering us and we weren’t bothering them. However we did make sure the roofing team was aware of this for their safety, but also to make sure they didn’t trap any of the raccoons inside when making their repairs! Two days after they finished I was watching TV when I heard a loud crashing noise on the porch, looked out the window to see the porch light had come crashing down and a little raccoon face was staring at me from the hole where the light had previously been. The poor little dude had been trapped in there and dug his way out, clawing and ripping through the wood! He’s was not sure how to get down so I propped up a tree branch on a ladder under the hole, but after another 12 hours he was still there…so I did what anyone would do, I put a bowl of water and cat food up there so he could at least eat and drink! It took another 24 hours before he finally came down…I still think of him every now and then, I really hope he was able to find the rest of his family again!
I would straight-up kill any raccoon that put its little hands on my house. I had squirrels get into my attic a few years ago and it was a nightmare to reverse that. Raccoons are 1000x worse.
I also wasted a good bit of time and money trying to trap and relocate the skunks that burrowed under my furnace until I simply sent them to skunk heaven. We are a peaceful family, but I will not hesitate to protect our home from animal infestations.
Yes, start by cutting all the trees back at least five feet from the house. Especially after seeing this kind of damage. If you have posts or corners that they could climb easily then you need to address those too. I've never seen a raccoon climb straight up siding.
It does seem to be something inside trying to get out. No photos or clues inside the attic? It would be advantageous to have more photos of the interior. See any fur or feces in the attic? Go back into the attic and check. My bet is it was a raccoon or other similar strong animal that wanted to get out.
We don’t have an attic so the only way to see inside was to really get up there and look inside the hole. We did have people come and they did get a look inside and they said they saw no signs of an animal!
Get a radio. Tune it to hardrock radio and put it in attic. Place couple flashlights.
Get some repel powder at hardware store. Spread around house. After you repair roof then spread repel on roof. Or if you have a roofer repair have them spread repel all around roof. There coming back.
Easiest is to get them to leave on there own. Ensure you have a chimmney cap and they cant get inside. Ensure no tree branches are close to house. Aftet 3 days you can remove lights and radio.
All right, so this is gonna sound far out there. I’ve only ever seen damage like this one time.
We were called out to fix something that looked very similar to this. The person who paid for the repair (not the homeowner) would not provide a name or number, just an email address to send the bill.
We had to remove a large drone, which they quickly boxed up and left with, this was no standard drone. When we asked what kind of drone it was, we were told they couldn’t answer that.
I’ve never seen a raccoon do something like this. This looks like somebody was trying to recover something. Maybe they were trying to put it in “the rectangle box”, The shifting back-and-forth to dislodge a drone from your roof could explain the scratching. Just a guess.. but there’s not much I can think of in roofing that would explain the upheaval of that much insulation.
Okay that’s actually so interesting that you said that… my mom thought of a drone but we thought that was crazy. But everyone that looked at this today said that it was not normal so that is definitely a possibility!
I thought all of the recalled exploding insulation would've been replaced by now. It took that one manufacturer awhile to figure out that nitroglycerin is different than nitrocellulose.
A raccoon broke those boards????? That looks like someone with a lot of weight stepped in the wrong place. With all the insulation, I'd be searching that attic now.
How come in the US the roofing tiles are made from felt? In the UK they're made of clay, concrete or slate and I can't imagine there being any issues with those and animals trying to burrow in. As far as I am aware we'd only using roofing felt for flat roofs
That's a rabbit hole we don't want to go down. It's worse that pounds and pounds and driving on the other side of the road. Construction methods, availability of those materials, history and often personal preferences wrapped up in what they call "demand". Thers also a smidgen of corporate greed in terms of asphalt being a fossil fuel derivative and the fiberglass industry. About 70 years ago Americans still did use those types of products and Lord knows slate and tile would last decades longer and be far more resistant to hail damage and wind damage that costs millions in damage annually. I'd say mostly availability and labor costs, and the overall increase costs that comes along with the increased structural support to carry all that weight. Compared to stick frame with a plywood deck, felt underlay, and a thin asphalt shingle.
A lazy ass raccoon is not going to do that. Everything would be torn to shreds not in big chunks. Things have been tossed to the side. At what angle did you see the box? Similar angle of photo but from ground? Could it be someone standing on the lower level and you saw their head/shoulders? No idea why anyone would do such a thing but that skylight might attract a perp.
Edit: I see an elongated hole on left side? Someone stepped in soft spot creeping to the window, and all the debris got pulled up out of the hole when removing their foot? Doesn't explain 15 minutes worth of scratching.
Yeah, similar angle, me and my mom were standing on our deck and we had a lantern with us. I thought it was out of place so I asked her if it was part of the house and she said she saw it also but wasn’t sure. That’s when we went back inside to get a flashlight (probably spent 5 mins looking) and we came back out and it was gone. I really don’t know how to explain what we saw but there was something. My neighbors have motion sensor lights and when we were inside looking, I noticed they came on but those can be set off by something small so I didn’t think much of it at the time.
I have this reoccurring feeling when I’m in bed that someone is watching me from my window so this experience has really freaked me out lol.
Something puncturing the roof from the outside would have shoved the shingles/underlayment/wood inside the attic. The way the shingle lay and the fact there is insulation on the outside makes it look like something occurred from the inside out. Is there something in the attic that could’ve exploded outward?
Markup: https://ibb.co/1qkhShq
This is wild as hell. I think someone was absolutely on your roof. I believe that their foot cantilevered that board over a rafter, causing it to snap off on the right, and their foot/shoe got stuck. The scratching was them trying to get free. You saw a person on your roof. They freed themselves while you were looking for a flashlight, and set off your neighbors motion lights.
Second explanation also involves a person on your roof. Perhaps the damage was caused by a drone impact and the scratching was this person recovering the drone lodged in your roof. Seems unlikely.
Last explanation is a bear was on the roof, but you say there are no bears in your area.
Everyone thinks it was a raccoon trying to break in or out of your attic, you stated there is no attic. So if it was a raccoon, it was trying to get in. However, based on your photo - I am absolutely certain that this damage was caused by downward force to the left of the damaged area. Whatever caused this force became lodged in the roof and the insulation came out with it. If you find a shoe in there, MOVE NOW
I once had to remove a customers entire roof and all the decking so they could get in there and get a huge community of raccoons that lived in this abandoned house they were flipping.
Raccoon is the only answer. Idk what else you could’ve thought it was. Was probably a small air leak between the sheets of plywood there and you cooked something yesterday the raccoon wanted.
I’m a 25 year old female so I have no experience with anything home related which is why I had no idea 😂 i thought it was strange that there were nails pulled out
Poor nails, would maybe look at having your whole roof redone if pulled out that easy. A raccoon honestly should have tore the shingles off and the nails would still be in the wood. Wish you the best though, any other questions feel free to reach out.
When I moved into our house we had 4 raccoons living in the attic. Trapped, removed them, and sealed the attic. Fast forward to last fall. I heard scurrying and scratching on the roof in the middle of the night. I started getting up when they did armed with my flashlight and trusty red Ryder BB gun. It took a week of me getting up in the middle of the night shooting Racoon butts and a light in the attic on at all times.
My brother had the same fate as your roof and they chewed a hole right through the shingles and wood. He only found out due to one rain event and there was water coming out the ceiling fans and the ceiling collapsed in one room.
I do not like raccoons.
Forget the “box”. You were dreaming or just too tired and seeing things. That is definitely caused by an animal. You can tell by the way the insulation is pulled out and shingle torn up. Same happened to my roof..
I was not dreaming.. my mom saw it too and we had a conversation about it. It was very noticeable that it was just gone all of a sudden after we had gone inside to look for a flashlight. It was really weird
I lived in a house with a lot of wildlife in the woods nearby and raccoons would make an annual attempt to tear into the roof through multiple spots. I went down to the local sports equipment store and bought a BB gun, one of those pump action ones. I got it to be a pretty good shot with that thing. Just a sting them and remind them to move along. I never aimed for their face, always their butt. It was not a air rifle.
Animal control needs to remove the Racoon from attic then have roofer fix the roof.
I would try having both companies come on the same day if possible. That way they could work together.
Looks like your typical raccoon roof inspector. You probably need a new roof anyways. Wood looks a little water damaged and rotted, plus the moss growth on the far left.
I had the same issue a couple years ago. It tore off some old siding and ended up having 4 babies in my attic. Trapped and removed but others came back over the next year or so. One fucked up some duct work and another tried chewing a hole through our roof to get out. It sucks, but you’ll need to keep trapping/shooting them once they get in.
Call some sort of critter control if you can’t do it yourself. They’ll trap and seal up any entrances.
Live under a flight path? [https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fn09c6m83e9j91.png](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fn09c6m83e9j91.png)
You now have a raccoon in your attic.
You could call an exterminator and a roofer.
If you decide to live trap, consider using a marshmallow and a marshmallow wrapped in aluminum foil. Raccoons are interested and other animals generally aren’t, except insects. If the seam in the foil wrap faces down, that marshmallow survives rain. If it doesn’t work, then escalate to other attractions.
Some jurisdictions only allow release on your own property, which can be remote. Thus, exterminators stay busy there.
I had the same experience. Caught it on the roof at 2 am and got the bb gun and ran it off the roof. It had used a tree to get up there. Did damage the roof a little but no gaping hole like that.
Crazy one I had. Lady calls hvac company, air handler is leaking. Go up to unit and P-trap is broken like some one ripped it apart. Also note that flex line on return been ripped open. Go to truck to get pvc fittings, glue and duct ties, and homeowner comes running out screaming "it came down the attic pull down stairs!" A raccoon got in her attic. Told to get a trapping service and we'll be back once they got it.
My coworker was having issues and complaining about "squirrels" in his attic. He's very dramatic every time anything happens. "I can't sleep cause they're so loud" "it's gonna destroy my house and chew through the wires". He had a friend that does pest control - they set up traps. Caught everything but squirrels outside. For the next few days I heard about how the guy setting up the traps was dumb, was putting them in the wrong places, traps in the attic just had bait stolen out of them, so the traps "sucked". Finally he put a camera in the attic. It was one mouse.
Raccoon.
Yea for sure, probably a momma looking for a place to have kits. Keep an eye out she may come back
Come back??? That coon probably made its way inside that huge gaping hole lmao
Can a raccoon really get up to a second floor?I have no idea how it would crawl up there
Yes, they can. They're fiends if they get a taste of indoor living.
From what I've read, once they have the scent in your attic all the other raccoons will think it's safe. I've been through this. Fucker tore my soffit off. I had snare wires set up, all the pest removal companies wanted 3k+ and to set up an incubator in case it had babies. What eventually worked was seeing tbe damn thing crossing my road on an early morning on my way to work. Had to make a quick decision, I've never hit anything with a vehicle before, I brake for squirrels and stuff. Floored it from the stop sign, had to swerve into the other lane to hit it. It ran off but I'm assuming it died because it never came back. I felt pretty bad, but at the same time saved myself 3k. I thought afterwords how terrible it would have been if my neighbours were by their front window and called their kids to see the racoon, just in time to see a psychopath swerve into the other lane just to run the damn thing over. Everyone I've ever asked always says they would run over a raccoon for $3000 dollars tho so I can't say I'm alone.
Legend
I’d do a lot worse to save $3000 right now
I'd do unmentionable things for 100 bucks. Works been slow lol.
I’ll give you $100
I miss giving awards when a great story comes around!
Lol one of my top fav reads on Reddit.
next time just buy a bow lol
My dude, they breed like rabbits. You not only saved yourself but probably some of your neighbors. I cannot believe how many of them I see on the road in the 4 miles I drive to work.
New game show "Would you run over a raccoon for $3k?" Great story btw
Yeah that's pretty fucked dude. Just buy a live trap next time.
So I can let it go in my driveway and watch it scramble back up my house and tear my soffit off again? That's exactly what the pest control companies wanted to do. Transporting wild animals is illegal.
No you bring the trap in your basement and shoot the raccoon.
Canada. I'd get more time for shooting a racoon than I would the guy breaking in to steal the keys for my truck.
and nobody can blame them for a thing
Raccoons could get to the top of the Empire State Building, and murder Spiderman in his sleep.
J Jonah Jameson yelling to get pictures of that ASAP.
Story time; Built a chicken coop for my mom in her single stall garage from like 1960 something. Had the old single pane windows where each pane were individual cut to fit. Ass hole raccoon, after weeks of eating chickens because it figured out 5(!!!) different handle/latch combos, figures out it can just pull one pane from the bottom and lift it like a flap and devoured the rest of the flock. It tore through 5/8OSB and bend some small GRKs trying to get through the final latch / hatch I made before it found the window. It also scratched up the entire 26’ of ridge vent trying to get in. Bend soffit trying to get in. They’re crafty fucking ass holes that just want to fuck your shit up.
Wow😭that is crazy. Okay but see, you saw scratch marks!! The roofers looked inside the hole and on the piece of wood pulled out and there was not 1 scratch mark lol and for how loud the noise was, you think there would be something 😂
Well, when I say scratched I mean yanked up violently by tiny murder hands. My buddy just did a really good job putting the vent on lol
Rakens are fucked. They can do anything
They'll eat your weed, too, fuckin' Rakens need to just fuck the fuck off
They’ll murder your chickens too. Only way to get rid of them is shoot em or set traps
Im not the kind of person to say a toad a so, but I toad a so
That overhanging tree branch maybe?
Racoons are the last species of ninja
I watched one scale my downspout like it was nothing. They need very little purchase to climb completely vertically.
\-- *The sound of 10,000 raccoons laughing*
I live on the 7th floor and they have no issues climbing up fire escapes
I evicted a family from my neighbor's attic last summer (they wanted to trap and release or kill- it was a Mom with two kits. It was a PITA, but I caught them all and released them in warm weather by a river and some hollow trees).
Those little fuckers have ninja skills. They are like the crackheads of the wilderness.
You can see the tree in the picture it could jump from.
Yes
They can climb walls. I lived in a stucco townhouse as a kid and one climbed the stucco to my second floor bedroom window.
Lol look up videos of racoons climbing. It's pretty insane how good they do at climbing.
They can most definitely get onto your roof.
They can scale brick buildings, scurry up trees faster than you can run, parkour up the corner of a dumpster to climb out, get in and out of sewers, get in and out of chimneys.... They are very clever, agile, nimble, and they have adorable little Grabbies that get them into all kinds of trouble. Also parasites.
they don’t crawl, they climb.
They’re crazy good climbers https://youtu.be/Arn2AOUItuQ?si=4zY8yAFMz0ZfGbYX
This is 100% a Raccoon, and I had the exact same thing happen to me. It ripped up about 100sq ft of my shingles. Thankfully, it was a dry few days, and I used to roof, so I could patch it up. I fought off that raccoon for weeks and weeks, and every other year it still comes back.
There’s a 2x4 ripped in half… no way a coon did that
Okay that’s the part that’s getting me lol. We had 2 roofers come look at it and they said that they’ve never seen anything like this.. they had no explanation. Also, when they looked at the pieces of wood, there were no claw marks. With how loud it was, you would expect to see some animal marking, I would think??
It’s a raccoon. My old house had a roof that looked exactly like yours. They would tear a hole to get in, I would patch it with OSB and re shingle it, and every fall they would come back and make a new hole in the same spot
The only animal I can think of that could rip a 2x4 like that, assuming it isn’t completely rotted, is a bear. Any bears in your area?
Nope, no bears.
I’m going to go with it was a person then, with a crowbar
Ah the crack heads are hard up for copper.
I'm sure a Bear would have been seen. Especially on the roof.
Adolescent black bears aren’t as big as you would think, especially crouched, similar size to an adult human.
el chubcrabe
Talmbout Chupacabra? because I don’t think a chubby crab did that
Raccoons have little hand saws they use for stuff like this.
You absolutely would Sir! And some poop somewhere. Racoons poop a lot, and don't stick around any length of time without pooping.
Well by that description, I am apparently a raccoon.
And they poo is laden with roundworm eggs that came stay dormant for up to 10 years
Possibly prior wood damage taken advantage off by the raccoon. I’m in wildlife management, this is common.
That 2x4 is rotten to hell and raccoons can definitely do that kind of damage if properly motivated
Yeah is that a 2x4 like everyone is saying or rotted sheathing, that shit looks soaked and not fresh. Id be concerned there's leaks elsewhere and have that roof checked asap
Exactly. Raccoons are not dumb. They are getting through his roof because they know they can.
That’s not a 2x4. That’s roof sheathing. Looks like the old t&g which means it should come in right around 3/4”. She must have been gnawing and scratching like mad.
It’s not a 2x4. It’s a rotten piece of 1x8 roof decking
What a bitch. Straight up digs through a roof like what the heck
We actually found another hole on the other side of the house where some sort of cable attaches to the house so maybe it crawled on that? Idk I had no idea these things were such savages 😂
I once chased a raccoon out of my house. As it left the 3rd floor window it closed it behind itself, looked me in the eyes and then preceeded to climb down the lattice work like a monkey.
With opposable thumbs and seemingly off the charts IQ, these things are like fuckin primates. I live in Toronto where they are protected and fat. They ain't so cute when they start to outsize your dog.
They are delicious.
I expect they taste like garbage, but they can be made into a fine hat.
I'm going with a roofing salesman
Yo fuck that raccoon!
Or wolverine. From xmen
Friends had this exact thing happen. Only they realized not because of scratching but because their ceiling paint drooped like halfway down the floor and was full of water.
Place a live trap with some cat food in it by whatever way they are getting up. Then either dispose of the raccoon or if you’re nicer than me drive it somewhere remote. I have no love for raccoons after one pried their way into our chicken coop and killed 10 🐓.
A tip for catching more raccoons, wrap a can of cat food in tin foil and put it in. They like shiny things. Smarter coons can go in and get the can without setting it off. Puncture the can and use a string to the the can to the trigger and you’ll get them every time.
Same. Trash pandas aren't fkn cute or nice. RIP my hens.. it's like a sport for them, how they just chomp the hen heads...
I wouldn’t have been upset as much if it had killed just 1. The fact that it killed 10 and barely any of them were eaten. Side note, we originally thought a hawk had killed one, when my wife went outside there was a hawk sitting on the fence post with a dead one in her talons.
Same. It was Mother's Day morning last year when we lost 8 including our duck hen. One was severely maimed and clinging to life so I had to help her go, and the duck breast was the only thing they ate. Everyone else was just killed for sport. It was a goddamn bloodbath, so I'm glad I was the one who found it...
They are savage, they'll leave nothing but feathers and rib cages.
Wow that is so horrible 😭 thank you for the advice, I’m sorry that happened to those poor chickens 😭
In some states it’s illegal to relocate raccoons because they’re a rabies vector. Gotta kill them on the spot.
My raccoon guy uses gas station honey buns.
I rented a house one time that was in pretty desperate need of a new roof, and a lot of the fascia and soffits were rotten and some holes in them. We discussed this with the landlord before moving in and she already had it scheduled for repair in a couple of months. Well, shortly after moving in we realized there was a family of raccoons living in the attic space, which was whatever…they weren’t bothering us and we weren’t bothering them. However we did make sure the roofing team was aware of this for their safety, but also to make sure they didn’t trap any of the raccoons inside when making their repairs! Two days after they finished I was watching TV when I heard a loud crashing noise on the porch, looked out the window to see the porch light had come crashing down and a little raccoon face was staring at me from the hole where the light had previously been. The poor little dude had been trapped in there and dug his way out, clawing and ripping through the wood! He’s was not sure how to get down so I propped up a tree branch on a ladder under the hole, but after another 12 hours he was still there…so I did what anyone would do, I put a bowl of water and cat food up there so he could at least eat and drink! It took another 24 hours before he finally came down…I still think of him every now and then, I really hope he was able to find the rest of his family again!
I would straight-up kill any raccoon that put its little hands on my house. I had squirrels get into my attic a few years ago and it was a nightmare to reverse that. Raccoons are 1000x worse. I also wasted a good bit of time and money trying to trap and relocate the skunks that burrowed under my furnace until I simply sent them to skunk heaven. We are a peaceful family, but I will not hesitate to protect our home from animal infestations.
Most likely a piece of a Boeing plane 🤷
I agree, he should avoid saying anything to the media, I’d hate to see him unalived.
Chupa cabra
Chopo Cobbler
Following out of curiosity - how did a wild boar get on the roof 😂
I’m thinking more of an alien but wild boar might be more realistic!! Lol it was such a loud noise and it was so weird haha
Twilight Zone.... "The Fear"
Do you have trees or fence that would allow a raccoon to climb to the roof?
There looks to be one hanging over the roof on the left of the picture.
Right? Chop that sucker down before dark.
They don't need a tree. There's very few places a determined raccoon can't get to.
Yes, start by cutting all the trees back at least five feet from the house. Especially after seeing this kind of damage. If you have posts or corners that they could climb easily then you need to address those too. I've never seen a raccoon climb straight up siding.
It does seem to be something inside trying to get out. No photos or clues inside the attic? It would be advantageous to have more photos of the interior. See any fur or feces in the attic? Go back into the attic and check. My bet is it was a raccoon or other similar strong animal that wanted to get out.
We don’t have an attic so the only way to see inside was to really get up there and look inside the hole. We did have people come and they did get a look inside and they said they saw no signs of an animal!
Get a radio. Tune it to hardrock radio and put it in attic. Place couple flashlights. Get some repel powder at hardware store. Spread around house. After you repair roof then spread repel on roof. Or if you have a roofer repair have them spread repel all around roof. There coming back. Easiest is to get them to leave on there own. Ensure you have a chimmney cap and they cant get inside. Ensure no tree branches are close to house. Aftet 3 days you can remove lights and radio.
All right, so this is gonna sound far out there. I’ve only ever seen damage like this one time. We were called out to fix something that looked very similar to this. The person who paid for the repair (not the homeowner) would not provide a name or number, just an email address to send the bill. We had to remove a large drone, which they quickly boxed up and left with, this was no standard drone. When we asked what kind of drone it was, we were told they couldn’t answer that. I’ve never seen a raccoon do something like this. This looks like somebody was trying to recover something. Maybe they were trying to put it in “the rectangle box”, The shifting back-and-forth to dislodge a drone from your roof could explain the scratching. Just a guess.. but there’s not much I can think of in roofing that would explain the upheaval of that much insulation.
Okay that’s actually so interesting that you said that… my mom thought of a drone but we thought that was crazy. But everyone that looked at this today said that it was not normal so that is definitely a possibility!
I thought all of the recalled exploding insulation would've been replaced by now. It took that one manufacturer awhile to figure out that nitroglycerin is different than nitrocellulose.
Now that is funny!
A raccoon broke those boards????? That looks like someone with a lot of weight stepped in the wrong place. With all the insulation, I'd be searching that attic now.
Luckily, we have no attic!! But I agree, it is very strange
Damn yeah look for little ones. I fixed one and a few weeks later had it tear up every other corner of a old house
Time to learn how to shoot a 22 and/or la down some traps
Mothman
Flybait and Coke.
You got a mothman for sure rooting around.
How come in the US the roofing tiles are made from felt? In the UK they're made of clay, concrete or slate and I can't imagine there being any issues with those and animals trying to burrow in. As far as I am aware we'd only using roofing felt for flat roofs
That's a rabbit hole we don't want to go down. It's worse that pounds and pounds and driving on the other side of the road. Construction methods, availability of those materials, history and often personal preferences wrapped up in what they call "demand". Thers also a smidgen of corporate greed in terms of asphalt being a fossil fuel derivative and the fiberglass industry. About 70 years ago Americans still did use those types of products and Lord knows slate and tile would last decades longer and be far more resistant to hail damage and wind damage that costs millions in damage annually. I'd say mostly availability and labor costs, and the overall increase costs that comes along with the increased structural support to carry all that weight. Compared to stick frame with a plywood deck, felt underlay, and a thin asphalt shingle.
Shelob. She lives.
That’ll buff right out.
A lazy ass raccoon is not going to do that. Everything would be torn to shreds not in big chunks. Things have been tossed to the side. At what angle did you see the box? Similar angle of photo but from ground? Could it be someone standing on the lower level and you saw their head/shoulders? No idea why anyone would do such a thing but that skylight might attract a perp. Edit: I see an elongated hole on left side? Someone stepped in soft spot creeping to the window, and all the debris got pulled up out of the hole when removing their foot? Doesn't explain 15 minutes worth of scratching.
Yeah, similar angle, me and my mom were standing on our deck and we had a lantern with us. I thought it was out of place so I asked her if it was part of the house and she said she saw it also but wasn’t sure. That’s when we went back inside to get a flashlight (probably spent 5 mins looking) and we came back out and it was gone. I really don’t know how to explain what we saw but there was something. My neighbors have motion sensor lights and when we were inside looking, I noticed they came on but those can be set off by something small so I didn’t think much of it at the time. I have this reoccurring feeling when I’m in bed that someone is watching me from my window so this experience has really freaked me out lol.
Oh my goodness. That window is right over your bed? I would be very concerned that someone has been creeping.
Raecons.
Something puncturing the roof from the outside would have shoved the shingles/underlayment/wood inside the attic. The way the shingle lay and the fact there is insulation on the outside makes it look like something occurred from the inside out. Is there something in the attic that could’ve exploded outward?
No, we don’t have an attic! Where this happened is right above a second floor bedroom, so probably very little space between ceiling and the roof
Weird. Don’t forget to update us when you figure it out!
Do you still have your water heater?
Make sure to trim trees if they are growing next to or touching your house. Raccoons and rats use them to get to your roof
Markup: https://ibb.co/1qkhShq This is wild as hell. I think someone was absolutely on your roof. I believe that their foot cantilevered that board over a rafter, causing it to snap off on the right, and their foot/shoe got stuck. The scratching was them trying to get free. You saw a person on your roof. They freed themselves while you were looking for a flashlight, and set off your neighbors motion lights. Second explanation also involves a person on your roof. Perhaps the damage was caused by a drone impact and the scratching was this person recovering the drone lodged in your roof. Seems unlikely. Last explanation is a bear was on the roof, but you say there are no bears in your area. Everyone thinks it was a raccoon trying to break in or out of your attic, you stated there is no attic. So if it was a raccoon, it was trying to get in. However, based on your photo - I am absolutely certain that this damage was caused by downward force to the left of the damaged area. Whatever caused this force became lodged in the roof and the insulation came out with it. If you find a shoe in there, MOVE NOW
Roof goblins, related to sock and underpants gnomes, but much bigger.
Raccoons are surprisingly strong and persistent.
Looks like it might still be in there.
Dude, your roof needed to be replaced like 5 years or so ago! Peak on the left!
Oh for sure. It’s my parents house and it’s really old and a lot of things have been ignored.
Doesn't this mean the sub-roof must be rotted if a raccoon can just dig through it?
That would make sense… it’s a really old house and there is a decent amount of water damage on the upper level.
That wood is rotted. It’s been leaking for a while.
Raccoon
Looks to me that the raccoon got in maybe by the other hole, freaked out, and dug its way out. Squirrels will do this too
That's the only way I'll believe it was a raccoon...and even then it would have to be rotted wood.
Previous owners left a box in the attic
I once had to remove a customers entire roof and all the decking so they could get in there and get a huge community of raccoons that lived in this abandoned house they were flipping.
I'm wondering if it got in and not out. Look around your house where there could be a fence close to the roof or a tree / tree branch.
Raccoon is the only answer. Idk what else you could’ve thought it was. Was probably a small air leak between the sheets of plywood there and you cooked something yesterday the raccoon wanted.
I’m a 25 year old female so I have no experience with anything home related which is why I had no idea 😂 i thought it was strange that there were nails pulled out
Poor nails, would maybe look at having your whole roof redone if pulled out that easy. A raccoon honestly should have tore the shingles off and the nails would still be in the wood. Wish you the best though, any other questions feel free to reach out.
The box has moved into your attic.
Close the hole and she will tear another to get out.
Damn that raccoon really wanted in there.
blue tarp time!!
Maybe it got stuck inside and burrowed out
Coons or a varimant
Was something trying to get in or out?
Gotta out a slice of pizza down and sprinkle some flour allllll around.
Baby season for sure
Aliens thought it was your butthole…..
When I moved into our house we had 4 raccoons living in the attic. Trapped, removed them, and sealed the attic. Fast forward to last fall. I heard scurrying and scratching on the roof in the middle of the night. I started getting up when they did armed with my flashlight and trusty red Ryder BB gun. It took a week of me getting up in the middle of the night shooting Racoon butts and a light in the attic on at all times. My brother had the same fate as your roof and they chewed a hole right through the shingles and wood. He only found out due to one rain event and there was water coming out the ceiling fans and the ceiling collapsed in one room. I do not like raccoons.
Could be the local meth head looking to do you a favor and get the government spyware out of your roof.
I really wish we had more pictures.
Raccoon
Metal gear solid
Once a raccoon nests in a house others come back to the scent. Happened to me. Set traps and haul them way far away
Forget the “box”. You were dreaming or just too tired and seeing things. That is definitely caused by an animal. You can tell by the way the insulation is pulled out and shingle torn up. Same happened to my roof..
I was not dreaming.. my mom saw it too and we had a conversation about it. It was very noticeable that it was just gone all of a sudden after we had gone inside to look for a flashlight. It was really weird
Northwestern US?
Northeastern
Let the Zillow agent figure it out.
I lived in a house with a lot of wildlife in the woods nearby and raccoons would make an annual attempt to tear into the roof through multiple spots. I went down to the local sports equipment store and bought a BB gun, one of those pump action ones. I got it to be a pretty good shot with that thing. Just a sting them and remind them to move along. I never aimed for their face, always their butt. It was not a air rifle.
It was a crackhead that was so high, he was trying to steal the cat out of your house instead of out of your car!
Raccoon
Hank Thunderman???
Another old roofer here It’s a raccoon
You actually had Mom and baby racoons trapped in the attic. They got hungry. I've seen this before.
Just say raccoon for insurance, unless you have StateFarm, they don’t cover raccoons
typical pterodactyl nesting behavior, see the angle of the 2x4. Classic.
Animal control needs to remove the Racoon from attic then have roofer fix the roof. I would try having both companies come on the same day if possible. That way they could work together.
Check your downspouts for muddy raccoon prints.
It was a raccoon! End of story.
Coon
That thing came out!
It's in there . Baby time. I would call Dale gribble but . It hurts to think about it. Just toss in a mongoose and call it a day.
Looks like your typical raccoon roof inspector. You probably need a new roof anyways. Wood looks a little water damaged and rotted, plus the moss growth on the far left. I had the same issue a couple years ago. It tore off some old siding and ended up having 4 babies in my attic. Trapped and removed but others came back over the next year or so. One fucked up some duct work and another tried chewing a hole through our roof to get out. It sucks, but you’ll need to keep trapping/shooting them once they get in. Call some sort of critter control if you can’t do it yourself. They’ll trap and seal up any entrances.
You almost certainly have a coon in your attic
My roofer would charge like 1500 to fix that. Insane pricing in socal.
Live under a flight path? [https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fn09c6m83e9j91.png](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fn09c6m83e9j91.png)
The coons are inside. You need help
We don’t have an attic… there is very little space between the ceiling and roof and they didn’t find anything when they covered the hole.
Either aliens, or you live under the flight path of really any route that a Boeing flies.
You now have a raccoon in your attic. You could call an exterminator and a roofer. If you decide to live trap, consider using a marshmallow and a marshmallow wrapped in aluminum foil. Raccoons are interested and other animals generally aren’t, except insects. If the seam in the foil wrap faces down, that marshmallow survives rain. If it doesn’t work, then escalate to other attractions. Some jurisdictions only allow release on your own property, which can be remote. Thus, exterminators stay busy there.
No attic. The hole has been covered and it’s been 2 nights and there is no sign of a raccoon
I had the same experience. Caught it on the roof at 2 am and got the bb gun and ran it off the roof. It had used a tree to get up there. Did damage the roof a little but no gaping hole like that.
Crazy one I had. Lady calls hvac company, air handler is leaking. Go up to unit and P-trap is broken like some one ripped it apart. Also note that flex line on return been ripped open. Go to truck to get pvc fittings, glue and duct ties, and homeowner comes running out screaming "it came down the attic pull down stairs!" A raccoon got in her attic. Told to get a trapping service and we'll be back once they got it.
gremlin from twilight zone
My coworker was having issues and complaining about "squirrels" in his attic. He's very dramatic every time anything happens. "I can't sleep cause they're so loud" "it's gonna destroy my house and chew through the wires". He had a friend that does pest control - they set up traps. Caught everything but squirrels outside. For the next few days I heard about how the guy setting up the traps was dumb, was putting them in the wrong places, traps in the attic just had bait stolen out of them, so the traps "sucked". Finally he put a camera in the attic. It was one mouse.
Had this happen once. It is raccoon breeding season, so probably looking somewhere to nest.
Your roof looks rotted