Suburban Raccoons

It is hard to imagine raccoon gangs in your yard, but in Brooklyn and other places around the country that is exactly what is happening. They do not have any natural enemies other than cars hitting them on the road. They have lots of food sources in downtown areas as well as suburbia. This group of four are perched on someones deck railing checking out the house. They  trying to figure out how to get inside. Or perhaps get at the garbage pail that may be close by. Even though they look really cute, they can do a lot of damage to your home and your yard.

Raccoon Gangs in Your Yard

We recently read a story about a gang of raccoons, approximately 20 or 30 roaming the streets of Brooklyn, getting into garbage bins and generally tearing anything up that remotely looked like a food source.

The residents could do anything about them. City bylaws prevented trapping or killing them and they really had the run of the place. When you have a problem like this, the only way is to kill them and also remove all food sources so that they do not proliferate.

Many people think they are cute and should be protected. Wait until they have the problem and find out that these raccoons have done thousands of dollars in damage to landscaping, homes and even attacked humans and their pets. They might change their minds then.

The raccoon life span is limited to an average of 1.8 to 3.1 years in the wild, which includes those living in suburbia. The most common danger for raccoons in suburbia are vehicles. Many are killed this way every year. They are considered a scourge in developed areas. They can cause a great deal of damage to homes and other structures that they encounter. In the wild they may live a little longer and in captivity, they have been known to live up to 20 years. The raccoon life span in the wild is often controlled by hunting and farmers who are trying to get rid of these pests.

Raccoons have literally penetrated all areas of our environment, including downtown in major cities as well as in suburbia. If you have ever had to deal with these pests then you know just what a nuisance-they can be. If there is a source of food around you can be sure that the raccoons will find it and flourish. The best defense is to ensure that all of the food sources around the outside of your home are eliminated. This will discourage them from spending time in your area. Also make sure that all potential entrances to your home and structures are well blocked by heavy gauge chicken wire. They like to get into the attics of homes where it is protected from the environment and from enemies.

Raccoons Life Span – How to Get Rid of Them

Face the facts and reality. You cannot get rid of them. They will continue to exist in your neighborhood scavenging for food and dens to live in. They can be discouraged by making sure that there is no food source available for them around your home. Store your garbage either inside or in animal-proof containers. They will eat just about anything that is a food source including your pet’s food if they can get to it. If there is no food source, they will move on to other locations to find food. They scavenge at night and are seldom seen during the day, unless they are sick or have not been able to get to their den.

Raccoons Life Span – How to Keep them Out of Your Attic

Many homeowners have this problem every year. Raccoons find an entrance to the attic and then raise pups or kits as they are called to start the cycle over again. They climb trees close to your house. They climb bricks on your house and they are very smart when it comes to finding a way into your home. The best way to keep them out is to install heavy gauge chicken wire across all potential entrances. If they are already in your attic, install a one-way trap door across the entrance so they can get out but not back into your attic. You also must make sure that their kits can get out. Otherwise the adults will tear another opening into your attic to rescue their kits.

We recently found that raccoons had invaded our attic above our living room. This was particularly troubling to us in that they made a lot of noise, and they are making a mess of our attic. We tried various means to get rid of them but in the end, had to call a professional company to install a one-way trapdoor to remove them. Also, we had to wait until their babies were old enough to travel on their own. The Raccoon Gestation Period was another factor to take into account. We will discuss the one-way trapdoor in detail in a moment. Don’t waste your time and money on trying other solutions. Loud noise, mothballs, traps, etc just did not do the trick. They simply do not work and you actually can save some money by acting quickly to get rid of these raccoons in your attic doing it the right way and quickly as well.

Raccoon Gestation Period – Raccoon Pups

When we talked to the professionals, they informed us that raccoons have their babies in the January February, and March period after gestation of 65 days. They typically will have between two and five babies or kits as they are called. And most likely they had young babies in the attic above our living room. They also informed us that they needed to wait until the babies were old enough to travel before they could take any action.

The reason for this is that if they blocked the entrance to our attic and the babies were left inside the attic, the parent raccoons would practically tear our roof apart to rescue their young babies. Also, no one wants to see an animal die of starvation. It is a cruel way to go and is not something that anyone would recommend. We had no choice but to wait until they were old enough to come out of the den on their own. This is frustrating, but we need to rely on the experts in this case.

As we mentioned earlier that the gestation period is 65 days. They have 4 or 5 dens in our neighborhood all in homes and outbuildings. Unfortunately for us, they were not moving around because they had their young babies inside our attic. I was able to trap the two youngsters when they started coming out of the attic on their own. Unfortunately, I could not trap the parents. They were just too smart to go into the live animal trap.

Install a One Way Trap Door

This is where the one-way trapdoor comes in. The professionals will install a one-way trapdoor over the entrance to our attic, The raccoons can come out of our attic but cannot get back in.? They also installed heavy gauge wire mesh over all other potential spots they could be used by raccoons. This will also stop birds and other animals such as squirrels to get into our attic.

Although expensive, this was an effective long-term solution, This ensures that no animals, including raccoons, will ever be able to get into our attic again. For more information about one-way trap doors and solutions to the raccoons in your attic, please refer to other posts. Squirrels, birds as well as raccoons are looking for a home, If they can find their way in they will. Block all of the potential openings so that you do not have to deal with this problem ever again.

By the way, many cities and towns also have bylaws covering this issue. They say you cannot let a wild animal out of a trap more than a mile from its habitat or where it was caught. This is a ridiculous bylaw. Since they are just going to come back to your home in a day or two. Block the entrance to the den as previously mentioned.

For more posts about wild raccoons, click here.

One of the main reasons that you should never feed wild animals, is that they become dependent on receiving that food. They will not be able to continue to survive on their own. In this kind of situation the wild animal may in fact starve if you are not available to feed them. We have heard of people who are Feeding Wild Raccoons while they are on vacation for a month or two at a location that is not their regular home and then leave. By this time the animal may have stopped scrounging for food and has become dependent on humans for food. It also breeds familiarity meaning that they will become increasingly aggressive around humans when looking for food.

Feeding Wild Raccoons – Getting into Your Garbage

In addition wild animals may try to take advantage of food that is left outside in garbage, or a camping sites for example that is left outside your car or some unprotected area. Wild raccoons that Live in suburban areas are already familiar with being around humans and are not scared off by humans at all. If there are dogs in the neighborhood or on your property these will be the biggest deterrent to scaring away wild animals.

Many people feed wild raccoons unknowingly. The first major area is their garbage, which the raccoons will get into night after night or on garbage day if available. Gardens, Apple trees, grubs in your lawn and any other food source will attract urban raccoons. With the food source nearby they naturally look for places to live in your area.

Building a Den in Your Home

Urban raccoons which are wild, will look for homes where they can crawl into the attic. They want to set up a den. Once urban raccoons or wild raccoons have made a den in your home it is very difficult to get them out. It is also difficult to keep other raccoons away. You may be able to catch the raccoons and take them several miles away. Other raccoons living in the area will just simply move in within a few months.

The best way to keep wild raccoons from getting into your home is to place heavy gauge chicken wire across all potential openings where raccoons can get into your home. If they already have babies, you’re going to need to wait until the babies are old enough to travel on their own.

Use a One Way Trap Door

The best way to get the raccoons out of their den and out of your home is to place a one-way trapdoor across the entrance. Which will allow them to get out but not back in. This is why it is very important that the babies can travel on their own. If they are stuck inside your attic, the parent raccoon will do their best to rescue them. Including tearing your roof apart.

Call a reputable company to assess the situation. They can install a one-way trapdoor at the appropriate time. Use heavy gauge chicken wire across all potential openings to keep all wild animals including raccoons from ever being able to get into your home. If they tell you that they will be trapping the raccoons or trying to poison them, find another company. This solution is just not effective. They will not solve the problem over the long term.

We also have a number of pictures on the site that show the damage that raccoons can do to your roof. Also pictures of one-way trap doors. There are a number of articles that discuss the damage and the feces that can be left in your attic. Take special care to prevent any spread of disease from the species to humans. Review some of our posts about this topic.

We have been doing some research to try to find out what the signs are for a raccoon when they have rabies. We wanted to include on this website some of the rabid raccoon signs and symptoms. What we found was a little surprising. We will cover these in a few paragraphs. The signs and symptoms were somewhat confusing and varied a bit depending on which web site you looked at. The bottom line is that if you see an animal acting differently than what you would normally expect, treat them with care and keep them at a distance. Normally wild animals keep their distance. Raccoons are usually nocturnal so if you see them during the day, then something is not right with these animals.

We found one site which listed a few symptoms that may indicate that raccoons are exhibiting rabid raccoon signs, These symptoms are not just related to raccoons although this is the focus of this website. Also, rabies can take two weeks to many months to manifest the infection so you cannot always tell if a wild animal is infected or not. The same applies to your pet. If you feel that your pet has tangled with a wild animal, the safest approach is to visit a vet and take the appropriate precautions.

Rabid Raccoon Signs

Here are some of the things to watch for rabid raccoon signs:

• Unprovoked aggression (“furious” rabies which is a fast-acting rabies infection). Some animals may attack anything that moves, or even inanimate objects as well as humans and pets.
• Unusual friendliness (“dumb” rabies). Wild animals are never friendly, especially with humans. Avoid these animals and make sure that your children are also informed as to how to act when around these animals.
• A raccoon or any other animal may stumble, fall, appear disoriented or uncoordinated, or wander aimlessly even during the daytime which is very unusual for raccoons.

• Paralysis, often beginning in the hind legs or throat is a clear sign of infection, and people and pets should be kept clear of these infected animals. Paralysis of the throat muscles can cause the animal to bark, whine, drool, choke, or froth at the mouth.
• Infected animals may exhibit vocalizations ranging from chattering to shrill screams which is very unusual
• Some nocturnal animals may become unusually active during the day, walking down a road for example in suburbia or walking over to get a drink in a pool. The author has seen both of these conditions and felt that it was a good idea to stay well away from both of these situations (remember, some daytime activity is normal, especially when nocturnal animals are feeding their young).
• Raccoons walk as if they’re on the very hot pavement which was the example we saw of a raccoon walking down the middle of a suburban road in the middle of the day. Very unusual.

Watch Your Kids

Most people would recognize the above rabid raccoon signs, however, children and young adults may not be as cautious. Warn your children to avoid these situations. Pets are a little more difficult to deal with unless they are on a leash. Many cities now require that dogs for example must always be on a leash if they live in suburbia. They can be controlled in this manner. However, if they are running free, and you think that pets may be exposed to rabid raccoons or other animals you may want to put them on a leash. Or keep them inside where they can be protected.

The other thing we read about rabid raccoons and rabies is that as the population increases rabies become more prevalent. As the population declines through death from rabies the incidence of rabies also declines. There is less exposure to other animals and the disease appears to decline until the population increases again. This is true or raccoons, foxes, and many other wild animals that are subject to this disease.

Please feel free to leave your comments about your experiences with rabies or other rabid raccoon signs.

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