Raccoon Trapping & Control

The raccoon is one of the most common animals encountered in homes and often requires professional raccoon removal services to eradicate an infestation. Due to the wild animal’s wide range of habitats and adaptability, the modern raccoon can be seen in both rural and urban environments.

Raccoons become a problem when they get into attics, garages, and crawlspaces. Once inside, the critters will tear apart insulation, chew on wires, and even spread diseases such as rabies. In order to protect the integrity of your home and the health of your family, raccoon control must begin at the first sign of a raccoon problem. If you believe raccoons are inside your home, call us at 833-633-1120 to prevent any further damage.

What Does A Raccoon Look Like?

With a bushy tail with interchanging black and gray rings, a black face mask outlined in white, and a distinct humped posture, the raccoon, is categorized as a medium-sized mammal. Raccoons can weigh anywhere between 12 and 36 pounds, with some weighing up to 50 pounds. They have a 7–16 inch tail and can grow to be 23 to 38 inches long. Raccoon footprints and handprints are easy to recognize because they have five toes and a similar shape to human handprints and footprints. The dexterity of raccoons is well known. They can open containers and turn knobs. ¹Go To Source mass.gov -“learn about raccoons”

Lifespan Of Raccoons

The average lifespan of a raccoon is about five years, but they can live for ten or more years with a constant food source and shelter. On the other hand, Raccoons often die a few months after birth due to disease, starvation, predators, or human intervention. Young raccoons are the most vulnerable to starvation because they have few fat reserves to draw on during food shortages in late winter and early spring.

Common Raccoon Predators:

• Domestic Dogs
• Bobcats
• Cougars
• Eagles
• Coyotes
• Large Owls ²Go To Source wdfw.wa.gov -“Raccoons (Procyon lotor)”

Where Will Raccoons Create Dens?

Raccoons can be found almost anywhere where there is water. They are most commonly seen along streams, in open forests, or in wetlands, but they also live in cities, suburbs, and farming areas. Hollow trees, ground dens, brush or rubbish piles, lumberyards, haylofts, garages, attics, and chimneys are all places where raccoons can be found. They use a variety of locations for both rearing their young and wintering dens. ³Go To Source maine.gov -“Raccoon”

Distributions Of Raccoons In North America

Raccoons were once restricted to the tropics, where they could be found foraging along riverbanks. They moved north up the continent over time, successfully adapting to new environments and diversifying their diet. They lived in tree cavities or burrows, emerging at dusk to hunt frogs and crustaceans while avoiding predators like coyotes and foxes. Raccoons have been spotted as far north as Alaska, thanks to the construction of man-made buildings that have aided their northern migration by providing shelter from the cold northern winters.

The animal’s impressive ability to adapt has allowed it to move into a wide range of habitats, from mountainous terrains to large cities. During the 1920s, the first urban sighting occurred in Cincinnati. Because of hunting and trapping restrictions, a general lack of predators, and an abundance of available human food, raccoon populations thrive in urban areas. A raccoon’s home range varies in size depending on habitat and food availability. Its home range in urban areas is usually about one square mile. ⁴Go To Source pbs.org “raccoon facts”

Raccoon Diet

Raccoons eat a variety of wild foods, including wild berries, fruit from trees, acorns, walnuts, cherry and plum trees, corn from local gardens, grapes, and peaches. Mice, birds and bird eggs, frogs, and fish are also on their menu. Raccoons are lazy in the sense that they do not enjoy hunting or catching their food. They prefer food that is easy to come by. Raccoons have learned to adapt to find food that appears to be just waiting for them to come and take it as their habitats have shrunk or vanished in most urban areas.

Raccoons have figured out how to open cooler and garbage can latches. They will eat discarded dinner items such as poultry, crabs, shrimp, donuts, bread, watermelon, and leftover peanut butter and jelly sandwich from garbage cans. Raccoons aren’t picky eaters. It makes no difference to them whether the food is fresh or rotten. They’ve also been observed eating fresh roadkill.

In addition, a raccoon’s diet would be incomplete without pet food. When pet owners bring their animals in for the night, especially in warmer climates, the food dish is frequently left behind. By morning, it will almost certainly be empty. Raccoons also have a good memory, so they’ll remember where the food dish was or where the garbage can was, and they’ll come back night after night.

Dangers Of Raccoons In The Attic

Raccoons may appear to be friendly and cuddly, but they are the most dangerous and destructive animals that can enter and live in your home. Raccoons will destroy attics by tearing apart electrical wiring, insulation, and roof shingles. They also harbor diseases that are spreadable to the inhabitants of the home. If you see signs of raccoons in your home and suspect they are living there, please get in touch with Animals Happen right away because they can cause severe damage.

Raccoon Attic Damage

With an average weight of 25 lbs, a raccoon can easily trample and compress attic insulation just by walking around. Female raccoons that are pregnant will compact and clear large attic areas to rest and nurse their young. All of this activity degrades and reduces the effectiveness of your insulation. To keep your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer, you need a properly insulated attic. Damage from raccoons can result in thousands of dollars in higher heating and cooling bills.

Raccoons frequently damage ventilation and electrical systems that run through attics, in addition to insulation. If not repaired, raccoon attic damage can result in fire, water damage, and even mold.

Disease Carried By Raccoons

Raccoons can be a serious human safety hazard because of their close proximity to humans, sometimes even sharing the same roof. Raccoons carry a variety of diseases and parasites that humans and other animals can contract. Fleas, lice, distemper, mange, roundworm, and rabies can all be spread to humans from raccoons. Rabies and the raccoon roundworm (Baylisascaris procyonis) pose the largest threats to humans.

Baylisascariasis is a parasite caused by the raccoon roundworm B. procyonis. The roundworm is found in raccoon populations, but it poses no threat to the animals. The roundworm’s eggs are shed in the feces of raccoons. Humans have been known to ingest these eggs and become infected with the roundworm. Children playing in the dirt around their home, getting the eggs under their fingernails (for example), and then putting their hands in their mouths are at risk. The roundworm larvae begin to burrow through muscle tissue and organs as they travel through the body. Loss of muscle coordination, nausea, and neurological problems are among the symptoms, which vary depending on which part of the body is affected. The larvae can also get into the eyes and cause blindness.

Rabies is a virus that attacks the central nervous system and is spread through the saliva of various mammals, including raccoons. Humans are frequently infected with the virus after being bitten by a pet that has contracted rabies. Rabies symptoms in humans begin with a headache or general tiredness. Anxiety, insomnia, and confusion are common symptoms as the disease progresses. Contracting the virus without treatment will result in death. If you suspect you’ve been exposed to rabies, call your local health services center (hospital) right away. ⁵Go to source extension.usu.edu -“Raccoons”

Raccoon Exclusion & Prevention

Exclusion devices and strategies are used to keep raccoons out of a structure. Numerous areas of a home would benefit from the use of preventative exclusion devices. Wildlife-proof steel covers can be used to protect gable vents, soffit vents, and ridge vents. Caulk can be used to repair dormers, corners, roof junctions, siding, roof sheathing, and soffits. Raccoons can also be deterred by burying wire beneath a deck, porch, or shed. Most raccoon proofing services come with long-term warranties that ensure raccoons won’t gain access for years to come.

Raccoon Removal Services

If you have a raccoon or a family of raccoons causing problems on your property or in your attic, wildlife control technicians get rid of them and keep them away for good. No raccoon problem is too big for them to handle. Through the use of humane live traps and exclusion work, an experienced raccoon removal company can remove any nuisance raccoons from your home.

The raccoon control process begins with a thorough raccoon inspection. This is the most crucial aspect of any wildlife removal job. Raccoon experts need to figure out how the raccoons got into the house. They also determine the extent of the raccoons’ damage.

After the wildlife inspection, the raccoon removal procedure can commence. This step involves strategically placing live traps in conjunction with the information gathered during the inspection.

Once trapped, the raccoons are removed from the home and relocated far away from the property. The infested space is then inspected for any damage or leftover raccoon droppings. Raccoon control companies provide a complete attic restoration service that includes removing any soiled insulation, raccoon droppings, or raccoon urine that may be present.

Raccoon removal professionals have developed specialized tactics for dealing with raccoons based on years of experience. Because each situation is unique, nuisance animal technicians thoroughly inspect the property before developing custom raccoon removal solutions to meet your requirements.

Have Raccoons Infested Your Home?

In most cases, raccoons are protected by state law and are classified as furbearers, which means trapping or hunting them requires a license or permit. As a result, the legality of killing a raccoon varies from state to state, and it’s a job best left to the pros. The best way to get rid of raccoons, like many other nuisance animals and pests, is to contact wildlife control professionals. Raccoon removal technicians come with the required equipment and experience needed to curb a raccoon infestation. If raccoons have found their way into your attic, please give Animals Happen a call at 833-633-1120.

Sources:

1. “Learn about Raccoons.” Mass.Gov, www.mass.gov/service-details/learn-about-raccoons. Accessed 15 July 2021.
2. “Raccoons.” Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/species/procyon-lotor#living. Accessed 15 July 2021.
3. Fultonk. “Raccoon Nation ~ Raccoon Facts | Nature | PBS.” Nature, 1 Apr. 2021, www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/raccoon-nation-raccoon-fact-sheet/7553.
4. Usu.Edu, extension.usu.edu/wildlife-interactions/featured-animals/raccoons. Accessed 15 July 2021.
5. Riddell, Jill (Summer 2002). “The City Raccoon and the Country Raccoon”. Chicago Wilderness Magazine. Archived from the original on December 24, 2008. Retrieved July 28, 2008.
6. Saunders, Andrew D. (March 1989). “Raccoon”. Adirondack Mammals. Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press. p. 256.
7. “Raccoon”. Nebraska Wildlife Species Guide. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Archived from the original on October 23, 2008. Retrieved December 7, 2008.
8. Davis, H. B. (October 1907). “The Raccoon: A Study in Animal Intelligence”. The American Journal of Psychology. 18 (4): 447–489.
9. Gehrt, Stanley D. (1994). Raccoon social organization in South Texas (Dissertation). University of Missouri-Columbia.
10. “Raccoons rampaging Olympia”. seattlepi.com. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. August 23, 2006. Retrieved December 7, 2008.