Raccoon, skunk and opossum removal from Long Beach crawlspaces, decks and attics

Many people expect a trapped raccoon or opossum to be driven to a park and let go. In California, the rules on moving and releasing wildlife are restrictive, and in general a trapped animal cannot simply be taken somewhere else and released. Relocated animals also tend to do poorly in unfamiliar territory, and moving them can spread disease between populations. For those reasons, the rules leave very few good options for an animal once it is trapped.

One-way exclusion avoids most of those problems. The animal leaves the den on its own at night, as it would anyway, and simply cannot get back in. It then moves to another den it already knows in the neighborhood. Raccoons, skunks and opossums are common across Long Beach, so the goal is not to remove them from the city, only to make your house unavailable to them. Trapping still has a place, for example when an animal is injured, when a skunk is in a spot where a door cannot be fitted, or when an animal is trapped inside a living space, and we follow the applicable rules for those situations.

Raccoons, skunks and opossums all raise young in spring and early summer, roughly March through July in Southern California. A mother that finds a quiet crawlspace or attic in February may have a litter there by April. If she is excluded while the young are still too small to follow her, they are left inside, which is cruel and leads to a much worse odor problem within days.

During baby season we look for signs of young before installing any one-way door. Sometimes the best plan is to wait a few weeks until the young are moving with the mother, then exclude the whole family at once. In other cases young can be removed by hand and placed in a warm box near the entry so the mother moves them herself overnight. Opossum young ride on the mother, so an opossum with a full pouch usually leaves with them. We tell you which approach fits your case and how long it is likely to take.

Raccoon latrines are the biggest concern. Raccoon droppings can carry raccoon roundworm eggs, which survive in soil and debris for a long time and can cause serious illness in people, especially young children who touch contaminated areas. Latrines should never be swept or handled with bare hands. We remove them wearing respirators, gloves and disposable coveralls, dampen the material first, bag it and treat the area.

Skunks are among the animals that can carry rabies in California, so a skunk that is active in daylight, acts unafraid or seems unsteady should be kept away from people and pets. Opossums rarely carry rabies but can carry fleas and parasites. Keep children and pets away from any den, never try to corner an animal and do not reach into crawlspaces or deck gaps by hand.

• Do not touch or sweep raccoon droppings
• Keep pets away from crawlspace doors and deck gaps
• Bring pet food and water bowls inside at night
• Call the city animal care service for an animal that appears sick or injured

Raised-foundation homes are the most common skunk and opossum dens in the city. The Craftsman bungalows and Spanish Revival houses of California Heights, Bixby Knolls, Los Cerritos, Belmont Heights and Bluff Park sit on perimeter foundations with many small vents and a wooden crawlspace door, and once one screen rusts through, the whole crawlspace becomes a den. Homes near the LA River in Wrigley and Los Cerritos and the edges of the San Gabriel River and El Dorado Park see more raccoons, which travel those corridors at night.

The 1950s slab ranch homes in Los Altos, Lakewood Village and El Dorado Park Estates rarely have crawlspaces, but skunks dig under concrete patios, back steps and raised wood decks added later. Raccoons climb palms and fruit trees onto the roofs of two-story homes in Naples and Belmont Shore, and they are fond of flat garage roofs and pool equipment areas in Park Estates. Fish ponds, compost, fallen fruit and pet food left outdoors draw all three animals in most neighborhoods.