Step 1: Map the building and plan access
Start with a simple diagram of the building or buildings: unit numbers, roof sections, gable ends, vents, chimneys, attic hatch locations, and the trash enclosure. If you have architectural drawings, use them; if not, a sketch from a walk-around is enough. Mark firewalls or attic divisions if you know them. Plot the complaints. For each, write the unit, the date, the time of day, and what the tenant heard or saw. Clusters along a single roofline or near one gable end usually point to the entry area. A ceiling stain or odor complaint marks a likely latrine. Now plan access. List every unit with an attic hatch and every exterior attic access. For each, note whether you have a key, whether the tenant must be present, and whether the lease or state law requires a specific notice period. Draft one notice that covers the date, a time window, the purpose, the names of the provider and staff entering, and a request that closets under hatches be cleared. Send it in the manner the lease requires and keep proof. Schedule the inspection so the roof and shared attic come first, with unit entries in a sensible walking order. Plan a fallback for units that refuse or are unavailable; those get rescheduled, not skipped.
Step 2: Run the inspection in the right order
Begin on the roof. The provider should walk every section and check each vent, soffit run, fascia joint, and chimney, photographing damage and rub marks and noting which points show fresh use. Ask them to mark findings on your diagram as they go, since matching roof findings to attic findings later is much harder from memory. Next, the shared attic. Working from one end, the provider inspects each section for daylight, nests, latrines, insulation trails, and torn ducts, and notes where divisions stop or where a raccoon could pass between sections. Each finding gets a photo and a location relative to the unit below. Maintenance staff should not do this part; the provider should have protective equipment and a plan for encountering animals. Then the units. In each complaining unit, look at ceilings for stains and sag, check the hatch area for disturbed insulation or prints, and ask the tenant when and where the noise happens. Add that to the record. Finish with grounds: the trash enclosure latch, tree contact with the roof, decks and stairwells with droppings, and any ground-level gaps into crawlspaces. Before the provider leaves, review the diagram together and confirm that every section was inspected or explicitly noted as not accessed.
Step 3: Turn findings into one scope and one set of repairs
Ask the provider for a written report with the diagram, photos, and a table of findings. Compare it to your own record. If a section, unit, or roof area is missing, ask about it. Then ask for a building-level quote: removal method and visits; every entry point with material and price; cleanup by attic section with area and method; deodorizing; warranty covering the entire structure; exclusions; and a schedule. Ask: If you seal the end gable, how do you make sure the animal is not sealed inside above unit three? A good answer describes a one-way door at the active entry, checks for young, and a retrieval visit before the final seal. Ask: How will you handle a unit whose hatch we could not access? A good answer schedules a return visit rather than assuming the section is clear. When the work is scheduled, send tenants a second notice with dates for exclusion and cleanup, and let them know what noise or activity to expect. After completion, walk the diagram with the report and photograph each repaired point and cleaned section. Update the record with dates, materials, and the warranty end date. Finally, brief staff on the prevention items: vent guards, enclosure latches, tree trimming, and a simple noise-reporting form. The building-level record you built is what makes the next inspection quick.
What the data says before you hire raccoon control
No agency publishes a single national raccoon infestation rate, and this page does not invent one. What exists is survey data and published pricing benchmarks, summarized below with their limits stated plainly. HomeAdvisor's June 2026 U.S. cost guide lists post-removal cleaning at $250 to $500, a publisher estimate and not a verified transaction price; the work matters because raccoon droppings can carry roundworm eggs. For a single raccoon that can be reached by hand, a homeowner might budget $150 to $250 based on HomeAdvisor's June 2026 publisher estimate, but that figure is not a local quote and assumes no nest or young to deal with. HomeAdvisor's June 2026 U.S. cost guide lists a raccoon inspection at $80 to $150; as a publisher estimate, not a verified transaction price, it should be checked against local quotes. About half, 51%, of the 1,006 residents of a southeastern U.S. metro area surveyed by Puri and colleagues in 2022 (published 2024) said raccoons were present in their neighborhood, which counts sightings, not raccoons denning in homes. For a property manager, the sobering number is that pests can end a tenancy: 7% of respondents in ConsumerAffairs' February 2024 survey of 2,000 U.S. respondents reported permanently leaving a home over pests, a self-reported finding from a mixed pest-and-mold survey, not an infestation rate. If one number should shape your next step, it is how often do-it-yourself attempts fall short. That is not an argument against trying, but it is a reason to set a deadline and call a professional if the problem persists past it.