Raccoons are interesting animals and exciting to watch in their natural habitat, if that habitat doesn’t include your property. Raccoons may not be known for being aggressive, but they can be vicious if they feel threatened or they are protecting their young. They can pose a danger to anyone in your household, as well as your pets.
The information below is a short guide to raccoons.
The Habits of a Raccoon
Raccoons are curious and extremely intelligent. Because of this, raccoons can destroy and do a lot of damage to your property. Considered to be nocturnal, raccoons can come out during the daytime to search for food and water. This is especially true of a mother raccoon who needs to eat and drink more to nurse her young.
Raccoons tend live in densely wooded areas where they have plenty of vegetation available and access to water. However, many things can cause them to seek refuge in populated areas. Raccoons can get chased from their homes by forest fires or when new building developments chase them out.
The Breeding Habits and Lifespan of a Raccoon
Raccoons have a pregnancy that lasts around two months before they give birth to a litter that generally contains 4 to 6 babies. The babies are called kits and nurse on their mother until they are at least 2 months. When they are weaning, they forage for food with their mother to learn necessary survival skills. The family stays together for safety reasons for months after the kits are self-sufficient.
Raccoons generally have a lifespan of 2 to 3 years in the wild, but can live up to 20 years when they are in captivity.
Raccoon Behaviors in the City
Raccoons who live near homes adapt to their environment. They depend more on foods from fruit trees, gardens, and trash cans. This is where they become problematic for homeowners. Raccoons have sharp fangs and extremely sharp and long claws that can cause serious injuries to people and pets.
Along with posing a safety threat to your household members and pets, raccoons can also lead to messes from ravaged trash cans, dead plants in your garden, and the spreading of diseases such as roundworm, rabies, and leptospirosis.
Signs of Raccoons on Your Property
When raccoons end up in a populated area, they can end up live on your property, including in your toolshed, your barn, your attic, and other areas that offer them shelter and aren’t often disturbed by people. Raccoons may make noises when they move around that will alert you to their presence. You may also hear kits whining, which sounds like puppies.
Signs of raccoons on your property include:
- Your trash cans dumped out
- Your trash gone through
- Your pet’s outside food bowl is always empty in the morning
- Your bird feeders are open with the bird feed gone
- Your fruit trees have half eaten pieces of fruit under them and strewn around the yard
- Your garden is destroyed
In addition to these signs, you may even see the raccoon with your own eyes.
Things to Do to Get Rid of Raccoons
If you know where raccoons have taken up residency on your property, you can often get them to relocate. Make noises near that area regularly, especially if you are dealing with a new mother who will want to relocate right away to protect her kits. You can also try things like motion activated lights and sprinklers near the areas the raccoons have been targeting, like trash cans and gardens.
If you can’t get rid of raccoons on your own, contact us at Craig & Sons Termite & Pest Control, Inc . We will come out and handle your raccoon issue for you.