Suburban Raccoons

Raccoon in attic – We have written many posts on this website about raccoons in the attic, and decided to summarize the steps you need to take to do the best job of removing these raccoons from your attic. This is based on personal experience with raccoons in the attic. After having tried a number of approaches, none of which worked except for the one we recommend in this post.

Dealing with Raccoon In Attic

• Forget about poison, forget about traps, forget about trying to discourage them with a loud noise, music, and even mothballs. These things just do not work over the long-term and some not at all. If you are lucky enough to trap a raccoon, you have to get rid of a snarling very unhappy animal. Where do you release it and what about other raccoons living in your area? They will just move into the vacated den in a month or two. this approach clearly does not work in the short-term and definitely not in the long-term.
• Install a one-way trapdoor so that raccoons and their babies as long as they’re old enough to travel on their own, can get out the trap door but not back into your attic. You may have to wait until they are old enough to travel on their own. If they are left in the attic and the parents cannot get back in you risk dead raccoons in your attic or a wrecked roof from the raccoons trying to get back in or both. The damage could be extensive so make sure the babies can get out on their own.
• Cover all other potential entrances with heavy gauge wire mesh so that no animals including raccoons can get into your attic. If you only focus on the entrance they have created into your attic, you could just force them to create or find another one. Try to cover all potential areas so that there are no more problems.

Avoid Potential Water Leaks

• Be careful to seal all nail holes and screw nail holes in the roof with waterproof caulking to avoid water damage to the inside. Every time a nail or a screw goes through the shingles there is a possibility of water leakage when it rains. Sealing these nails etc with waterproof caulking will ensure that no water gets into your home and causes more damage.
• If you take these steps, you will never have any problems with animals of any kind inside your home or attic.

Raccoon in attic – Safety and Health Issues

If you decide that you must go in the attic, make sure you wear a breathing mask and avoid breathing any feces that have turned into dry powder in the hot attic. This can cause all kinds of unhealthy conditions in humans which you do not want to even think about. We have reviewed these health issues on other posts on this blog.

Raccoon feces are full of worms and bacteria that are not very nice. They are so small that they float as particles in the air when disturbed and can be ingested into your lungs which can cause irreparable damage to your lungs and even result in death if not treated properly. Take the precautions and avoid any future problems with raccoon feces. Depending on how badly the insulation is contaminated, you may need to remove all of the old insulation and have new insulation installed. Take appropriate precautions to avoid any health issues.

No one wants a dead raccoon on the property, let alone in their attic and that is exactly what might happen if you take the wrong steps in your attempts to get rid of raccoons that have set up residence in your homes attic or another building on your property. There is a right way to remove raccoons and a wrong way. Read on for more details.

Avoid using poison on raccoons to make sure that you do not endanger pets and other animals that might stumble upon your bait. Just imagine if your kid’s favorite pet or the neighbors should eat some of the poison bait and suffer as a result. You might just be a very unpopular person for a while. In addition, if the raccoon should crawl back into your attic into an area that is difficult to reach, then you may be causing larger problems than what you wanted. You have to get that body out otherwise the smell will be very bad and your home unlivable!

Dead raccoon vs One Way Trap Door

If you have raccoons in the attic, there is a proper way to remove raccoons and keep them out forever. Not only do you want to get rid of the current family of raccoons, you also want to keep any others in the area that are looking for a home from moving in. There are many raccoons living in suburbia as well as in the country and they can smell a vacant den that is comfortable to move into.

Use a one-way trapdoor to let the raccoons get out of the attic but not back in. This is the best way to really get rid of them. If they can get out and not back in, your problem is solved. Once you are sure they are out, replace the one way trap door with permanent heavy gauge wire mesh so they cannot get in and no other raccoons in the future can get in. Your problems are solved for now and into the future.

Baby Raccoons

If they have babies, you’re going to need to wait until they’re old enough to travel. Baby raccoons are another problem. If you keep the parents from getting too their babies, they may tear the roof apart to find a way to get back to them. You also do not want the babies to die inside your attic. The best approach is to wait until they can travel on their own and get out of the den through the trap door on their own.  While it may mean more of a mess in the attic, the alternative is not great either.

Make sure you install wire mesh over all potential entrances for birds, squirrels, and of course raccoons. while you cover the main entrance, make sure that all other possible entrances are covered with wire mesh as well to keep everything out. It may cost more to have this done, however, you will not regret keeping animals out of your home and there will be no dead raccoons inside your attic.

Hire a professional company to do this installation work for you if you’re uncomfortable with the work or getting up on the roof. There is no sense in endangering yourself by getting on a roof especially if you are uncomfortable with heights. Hire a professional to do the work for you.

While many people feel that this installation work is expensive, it is far cheaper than having to have the insulation removed from your home and new insulation along with repairs completed if the raccoons remain in your home for any length of time.

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.

Whenever raccoons find their way into a homeowner’s attic, most homeowners will grasp at just about any solution to get rid of these pesky animals. If a raccoon catcher comes to your doorstep and suggests that they’re going to catch the raccoon’s and remove them, you better ask for another solution. This just does not work. Many people spend a lot of money wastefully. Consequently only to have a problem recur several weeks later or months.

Raccoon Catcher – Why Raccoon Traps do not Work

The problem is that raccoon’s in the wild and in suburbia can smell a den that is not in use. There are many raccoon’s living in a square-mile even in suburban areas . They will reoccupy a den that has been left empty even if it is in your attic. So trapping a raccoon is about the worst thing that you can do from a purely practical perspective. In addition the trapper will release the raccoon within a mile of your home. As a result making it very possible that the next set of raccoon’s in your attic could be in fact the same ones that were trapped. They also charge a lot of money for this service. The raccoons or at least another family is just going to move in. Don’t waste your money on a Raccoon Catcher!

Why Poisoning Raccoon’s Does not Work

Poisoning raccoon’s just does not work either. You risk poisoning the raccoon and having them die in your attic. As a result creating a very bad smell and ruining your house. You also risk poisoning family pets and pets of your neighbors.  The adults might be able to leave, however the young babies could die of starvation. Which is not a very nice thing and you still have the smell. You then may have to hire someone to go in and remove the carcass and the insulation. However this is expensive and hazardous to your health due to potential disease. The solution just does not work either for all of the above reasons.

Installing a One Way Trap Door Works

By far the best approach to remove  raccoon’s from your attic is to install a one-way trapdoor over the entrance that they are using to get into your attic. A Raccoon Catcher may not want to discuss this approach. Find someone else if they are not interested in installing a one way trap door. In addition you should install heavy gauge wire mesh over all other possible entrances. They will be able to get out but not back in.

Before you install the one-way trapdoor make sure that their babies are old enough to travel on their own and can get out of the attic. If they have Young babies in your attic they will literally tear the roof apart to save their young. Although it is frustrating you may just have to wait until the babies are old enough to come out of the attic through the one-way trapdoor on their own.

Once they are out you then can remove the trapdoor and install the heavy gauge wire mesh over the opening and make all repairs that are necessary. Most installers will leave the one way trap door in place for a few weeks and then replace it with a heavy gauge wire mesh over the opening and repair any damage that may have been done.

This is the best solution to keep the raccoon’s, squirrels and birds out of your house. Not only will you get the current set of raccoon’s out of your house, you also keep all other animals forever getting into your home and that is a good thing. Remember that if you have the shingles on your roof replaced you will likely have to have the wire mesh removed and then re-installed.

How big is the biggest raccoon? According to some of the research we did, the largest raccoon weighed in at 62 pounds. The one in this picture claims to be 75 pounds although it is a pet and obviously well fed. Most raccoons will weigh between 4 pounds to 30 pounds. They will weigh more in the fall and less in the spring. Obviously the area they live in, food sources, etc will determine how big they get. I am not sure I would want to contend with a 75-pound raccoon, pet, or no pet. This guy can still do a lot of damage in a home and to your belongings.  However, this guy is so big that maybe he can hardly get around.

Biggest Raccoon – How big do they get?

As we mentioned above 4 to 30 pounds seems to be about average. The largest wild raccoon was weighed in at 62 pounds. Depending on age the average seems to be between 8 and 20 pounds. The one that was recorded at 62 pounds was 55 inches in length. When you think about it that is the same size as a child or a small man, that is a pretty big raccoon. They can also be quite vicious, especially if they are cornered or they are defending their babies. Also, raccoons can contract various diseases including rabies, so if you see a raccoon that is exhibiting strange behavior, steer clear of it and call someone to trap and dispose of the animal properly.

Families of raccoons?

Raccoons will have between 2 to 5 babies and the gestation period is 65 days. Raccoons can live up to 20 years in the wild and can remember solutions to tasks for up to 3 years. This explains why they are so adept at getting into people’s houses. In the wild, their life span is much shorter and especially in suburban areas where they live around an average of 3 years due to hunting and being hit by vehicles as being the most common causes of death for raccoons. A family of raccoons can tell if a den is vacant or not and will move into a vacated den unless the homeowner does something to prevent them from being able to reenter a vacant den.

How many per square mile

The number per square mile can vary widely. The highest density is reported in Kassel in Europe which has the highest density of raccoons at 130 to 390 animals per square mile. In a city like Washington 15% of the animals sleep in the attics of occupied homes! Families of raccoons will range in as low as seven acres in urban areas with up to 4 or 5 dens per area that they will visit and/or spend the day in. They are primarily nocturnal in nature and are seldom seen during the day. They move from den to den depending on food sources and where they are at the end of the night.

While this is not an exhaustive discussion about raccoons, it is interesting to note that there are some big raccoons out there, and the largest will exist near excellent food sources with a low amount of hunting and vehicle traffic.

If you have them in your attic, get them out the right way as fast as you can to limit the damage. Read our posts about how to deal with raccoons that have got into your attic or some other part of your home. They can cause a great deal of damage and spread disease as well. Our posts discuss all of these aspects of dealing properly and humanely with raccoons.

They are so cute, how could raccoons be considered rodents? Most urban consumers view then as cute looking cuddly-looking animals that coexist in urban areas. Occasionally these raccoon rodent cause the odd problem around the neighborhood getting into someone’s garbage. They might see them the odd time around their yards or even walking down the street. That is about it.

Many people consider them cute until they make a mess of their garbage at night. They have to go out and clean it up or the garbage man will not pick up their garbage. Until they dig up their lawns looking for grubs. They can make a huge mess of their lawn. Or perhaps until they get in their attics and have babies up there. They leave feces all over the place. And they ruin the ventilation in the attic causing mildew and mold to begin to form. They can cause thousands of dollars in damage. When this occurs, they are no longer considered cute.

Raccoon Rodent are Pests

Rodents are pests and raccoons are clearly pests. Therefore in our minds they are rodents that should be kept out of urban areas all together. Unfortunately there are laws and regulations that prevent suburban people doing what they really want to do about raccoons. However I am sounding pretty anti raccoon here in this post. There is a right way to deal with the problem and a wrong way to deal with the problem.

Deal with them properly by finding the right solution to keeping them out of your garbage. Or stop them from digging up your lawn and getting into your attic. Be humane at what you do, otherwise someone will report you. You could end up in jail literally. There was a report of a man being jailed just last week in the news for not treating a raccoon humanely. Avoid jail by employing the right solution.

Raccoon Rodent Solutions

The garbage issue is really quite simple. Either buy garbage cans that cannot be opened by animals or just wait until the morning of garbage day to put your garbage out. Raccoons do not like to be out during the day, preferring to range for food at night.

Grubs in your lawn is a little more difficult. Basically you want to remove all food sources from around your home so you need to get rid of the grubs. There are some great products that can be purchased at Home Depot and Lowes that deal with grubs. Buy it and apply according to the instructions at least three times over the late summer and fall to kill all of the grubs. You may have to do this over two years to really get them all.

Finally the best way to keep them out of your attic is to install heavy gauge chicken wire across all potential openings into your attic. If they are already in your attic, you need to install a one way trap door so they can get out and not back in. Home owners really need to pay attention to whether there are baby raccoons in their attics. If there are and they cannot travel on their own, the parents are going to rip your roof apart to rescue them. Unfortunately you just need to wait until they are old enough to travel or go into the attic yourself and get them. They may be stuck in a corner where they are impossible to get at and you do not want to have them die in there either. The smell will be very bad.

Health Issues

There is another reason not to go into the attic. In the feces of raccoons there are micro worms which can live for a long time and you can actually ingest them into your lungs which will cause very serious problems to your health. The best idea is to let them get old enough to travel on their own and then install the one way trap door.

This is the best way we know of dealing with raccoon rodents in suburbia!

My neighbor found out one day that raccoons had pushed the soffit in at the roof line and made a hole to get inside his attic. They must have climbed up the fence and onto the roof and then into the attic via the soffits! This can be a major issue for many homeowners. First, there is the idea of animals in your home. Secondly, there is the mess they make. Then you need to spend some time and money getting rid of them. If you do not believe that they can climb up the brick of your home, think again. They are very adept at climbing and they have incredible dexterity in their claws to manipulate a variety of things. They are very smart, have good memories, and will get into many different homes with the same layout and design.

Raccoons in the Attic – What Did it Cost to Get Rid of Them?

Fortunately, they were only inside for a week and did not do much damage. He called an animal removal company who gave him a quote for $1250 which they eventually reduced to $1100! This is still a lot but what are you going to do? If you know what you are doing and are not afraid to get on the roof, anyone can do this work themselves. If you are afraid of heights or you are not very handy, then the best solution is to hire someone. It is important to have this work done as soon as possible after they get into the attic. You want to reduce the amount of damage that they do to your attic.

They installed a one-way trap door over the entrance area so the raccoons can get out but not back in. They also installed wire mesh over all other potential areas where the raccoons, birds, or squirrels could get in. All told there were nine potential entrances that now have wire mesh over them. The one-way trap door is very important. The raccoons can get out and not back in. it also has a flag that indicates that the raccoons have left the attic which is nice to know! Squirrels and birds are also blocked from getting in as well with all of these potential areas now blocked.

Removing the Trap Door

Once the raccoons are gone, the one-way trap door is removed and replaced with a permanent solution that will prevent them from getting into the attic ever again. Basically, it is heavy gauge wire mesh that is screw nailed to the roof. There is no way that they can get through that.

Good job but cost $1100! Some of the work he could have done himself and reduced the price but not all of it. Also, this is still way cheaper than removing all of the insulation and feces if they had been there a long time. Don’t wait, deal with this problem as soon as you notice it and go for a permanent solution. Even if you deal with the current residents, others will move in later if you do not seal off the attic.

If you need to have your roof replaced at some point the wire mesh will need to be removed so that the shingles underneath can be replaced. Once the new roof is on, replace the wire mesh to prevent any future raccoons from getting in. Whether you are aware of it or not they are always looking for a place to live and will be back if you do not prevent them from getting in. We had this same wire mesh installed and for two years we could see tracks on the roof of the raccoons trying to get in at the same location. Fortunately, they could not enter our attic, with this wire mesh installed.

We had Grubs in our lawn and we really found out the hard way just how much damage they can do as well as from animals that like to eat the grubs. The first sign was that the grass was not doing well. The grubs eat the roots which of course causes the grass to die and thin out, especially if you have hot weather and little rain. If you are not watering your lawn all of the time on hot days, your grass will die off quickly just from the grubs alone. Then there is the Raccoon Lawn Damage that occurs which can be catastrophic.

Raccoon Lawn Damage

The second problem is that skunks and raccoons started digging for the grubs and leaving holes all over the lawn. They come at night to search for their dinner! Since the roots are eaten by the grubs, there is nothing to hold the thatch down, so the raccoons or skunks can basically just roll the lawn back to expose the grubs and have their dinner.

Even in one night, they can make a huge mess of your lawn. This can be quite serious especially if your lawn is not in good shape, to begin with. Basically, your lawn will be ruined and you will have to first kill the grubs and then repair your lawn by reseeding or placing new sod.  While not expensive, this is really a major irritant.

What Scares the Raccoons Away

Nothing scares them away. We would go out at night and chase them away and they would be back as soon as we left. Even leaving the yard lights on did not bother them at all. They would hide in the bushes and wait for us to leave. Once we were gone, they would be right back to their snacking on the grubs on our lawn.

The Grass is short on roots because of the grubs. The raccoons pull it up digging for the grubs and even roll it back as if you were lifting sod. The grass of course dies and you’re left with a really bad-looking lawn. It is not level and is a total mess with the raccoons or skunks coming back night after night.

What is the Solution to the Grubs and Raccoons

Basically, you need to kill the grubs. We found that three treatments of pesticide for grubs really did the trick.  We missed a couple of small spots and will catch them next year to make sure there are no more grubs on the lawn. With nothing to eat, the raccoons went to someone else’s lawn for their meal.

We used a pesticide to deal with this problem and it was effective. You do need to be careful when applying it to make sure that it does not spread further than you planned. So if it is a windy day, wait for another day to apply the pesticide. There are other solutions, but they really are not as effective.

Reseed the Lawn after Raccoon Lawn Damage

Reseeding of the lawn was needed afterward. The old dead grass was removed with a rake and the new soil and grass seeded added. I chose the soil and grass seed route instead of applying new sod, however both work equally well. Although you do have to be more patient with grass seeds and soil. It does need time to grow.

That all happened last year. Now this year we have a great lawn with no grubs and no raccoons or skunks visiting us at night! Basically, if there is no food source for the raccoons, they will stay away. They will look for food in other areas in other people’s lawns and their garbage. By the way, store your garbage inside or in animal-proof containers, otherwise, your garbage will be strewn all over the place. It is just not fun picking all of that stuff up.

If the raccoons have nothing to eat around your property, they will not stay and will go elsewhere to find their food. this is by far the best way to keep animals of this sort away from your property and doing damage to your lawn and/or to your buildings.

For more information about dealing with damage from Raccoons, click here.

If you have raccoons living in your home or in one of your outbuildings, the best way of Removing Raccoons is to install a one-way trapdoor over the opening so that they can get out of wherever they are living and not back in. This is the best way to remove raccoons and there are a number of solid reasons for this approach.

Why Trap Doors for Removing Raccoons

Otherwise, if you try to trap them, or poison, or use loud noises they’re just going to come back again. Either the one you removed or a new family that will move in. They will move in within a few weeks of getting rid of the raccoons that you had in your home. Roving raccoons are always on the lookout for a safe, dry, and warm den to settle into. In fact, many raccoon families will have at least 4 or 5 dens they can go to. This depends where they end up at the end of a nights foraging. Installing the trapdoor prevents all raccoons from getting back into your house.

We also suggest that you place heavy gauge chicken wire over all other potential openings that the raccoons could enter. This will also prevent squirrels and birds from getting into your house or into any of your outbuildings in the same way. You do not want any of these animals to be in your home in your attic. Or in any of the buildings around your house. They leave feces in your attic. They routinely make a mess of everything they get into. Deal with your issue quickly before too much damage has been done.

Use Heavy Gauge Chicken Wire

The heavy gauge chicken wire is one of the most effective ways to keep raccoons from getting into your home. Or any other animal for that matter. It is easy to install this heavy gauge chicken wire over all potential openings. Do this before raccoons get into your home.

Screw nailing the wire into the roof or anywhere where there is a potential for rain water to penetrate can be an issue. We suggest using silicone caulking that is suitable for outdoors and will not be affected by cold or heat or damp conditions. Before you screw the nail into the roof, place a dab of silicone over the spot where you plan to insert the screw nail. Then cover the area after the screwnail has been inserted into your roof. This will avoid rain water leaking into your attic causing further damage.

What if there are Baby Raccoons?

Well, this is a major problem for some people. If you block the adults from getting into their den inside your home, one of two things is going to happen. The young pups are either going to die inside your attic and cause a bad smell or the adults are going to tear your roof a part trying to rescue them. This is why it is so important to deal with the issue immediately before babies are born. Once they are born you almost have to wait until they are old enough to travel on their own and can get out by themselves. Otherwise you risk a lot more damage to your attic.

This can be a major issue for many people. If there is a lot of damage, you may have to remove all of the insulation and place new insulation in your attic. In addition, special arrangements must be made for disposal to avoid contamination and disease spreading to the people who are removing the insulation and dried feces. Refer to one of our other posts about dealing with raccoon feces.

You do not want to deal with the mess the raccoons will create in your home. Install the chicken wire as a preventative measure before any raccoons or any other animals find their way into your home. Estimates of the cost to do this varies a great deal depending on the number of potential entrances and whether raccoons are already inside your home.

As far as the writer is concerned a raccoon infestation is more than one living in my attic or around my house somewhere. We have had a family live in our attic. We had a really difficult time getting them out and keeping them out. They would also climb trees breaking branches. They would go into our pool. The raccoons would dig up worms and wash them in the pool. Worst of all they would defecate in our pool. Feeding baby raccoons abandoned by their parents is not the solution. Although cute, they grow up to cause all kinds of problems for homeowners in suburbia. This was a huge problem as far as we were concerned and I employed a number of techniques to get rid of them.

Removing Raccoons From our Attic

We finally got rid of the raccoons from my house by installing a one-way trapdoor over the entrance to the raccoon den in our attic. They had to find another place to live and that meant they left to live in someone else’s home, which is too bad really, but that is all you can do when you live in suburbia. Remember urban raccoons are very intelligent and will have four or five dens that they move around to move into. This means four or five homes that they are making a mess of. Fortunately, we have eliminated our home as one of those places where they can live in.

Trapping does not work because they are smart enough to not enter the trap and besides what do you do with them once you have trapped them? Secondly, loud noises, mothballs, and many other types of things that you might try just do not work. They are used to all of this sort of thing and ignore them. The best way is to install a one-way trapdoor at the entrance to your attic which allows them to get out of the den but not back in. You must wait until the babies are old enough to travel on their own so that they can get out by themselves. If you don’t do this the mother and the father raccoon will try to break into your roof to rescue their babies.

Our Lawn Still at Risk from Raccoon Infestation

Even though we got them out of our attic, they were still in the area and still viewed our lawn and those of our neighbors as food sources. Turns out that they were digging for grubs on our lawn. These are grubs that are as big as your little finger and white looking. They eat the roots of the grass which in turn kills the grass. The raccoons did them up which makes even more of a mess to your lawn.

We tried two different approaches to dealing with this problem and it seems to have worked. First, we sprayed the lawn with a grub killer. This takes a few weeks but does the job and now except for one or two pockets, we have dealt with the grubs. We still need to get these pockets and will in our next treatment of the lawn. The raccoons will still dig for grubs in the short term so we had to find a short-term solution.

Electric Motion Sensor

The short-term solution was to buy an electric motion sensor scarecrow. This thing senses if there is any motion in front of it and then sprays a jet of water across the area that it is pointed at. Any bird or animal or human gets a surprise with this jet of water coming at it. It will not hurt them but does surprise them. Once it sprays water it resets, waits for 15 seconds, and then sprays again if it detects any motion. Since it is not predictable that seemed to be enough to keep the raccoons from digging up our lawn for the time being.

Now that I have blocked them from getting into our home and also eliminated the food source, hopefully, they will not be back for some time to visit our yard or area. I have advised all of the neighbors as well so they know what to do to get rid of them.

If you have raccoons in the attic there is only one way to get rid of them. Do not trap or poisoning them. Both solutions do work temporarily. But then new families of raccoons are just going to move in, in a short time. There are many families of raccoons in a square mile around your area regardless of where you live. If there is a vacant den, they will just move into it. They are able to tell if a den is vacant or not and will take over from the previous tenants. Relocating Raccoons just does not work.

The other surprising thing is that they will have 4 or 5 dens in the neighborhood. Just like your rich relatives, they have a number of homes that they can move into close to food sources. They may take up residence for a little while in one. Then move to the next one once the local food source becomes thinned out. You want to make sure that there are no sources of food around your home that they can get into. This includes your outdoor garbage cans, grubs in the lawn and so on. Make it unattractive for them to live in your area. Otherwise, they will hang around and there is no telling what mischief they will get into.

Not Relocating Raccoons

The best way to get rid of raccoons is to build a one-way trap door so they can get out and not back in. The trap door is installed over the entrance of the den. All other areas that could be potential entrances should also be closed off.  Once they are gone you can change the one-way trap door and replace it with a permanent heavy gauge wire mesh across the opening.

If they have babies make sure they are old enough to move on their own and get out. If they cannot get out, you risk the parents trying to rescue them and that means they will literally tear your roof apart trying to get to them. In addition, most people do not want the smell of a rotting carcass in their attic. It does not smell good and then there is the fact that these babies had to die in your attic. This is not something you would be proud of. If they have young babies in the attic, chances are you are just going to have to wait until they are old enough to get around by themselves.

Permanent Solution to Relocating Raccoons

Once they are gone, replace the trap door with a permanent heavy gauge wire mesh to keep them out on a permanent basis! Not only your raccoons but other raccoon families will be kept out, in addition to squirrels and birds. We did this and we could see tracks in the snow for months afterwords on the roof leading to the spot where the entrance was. They could not get in and had to move to another location.

While you are covering the entrance, make sure that you also install this wire mesh at all other potential locations. This protection will also keep out squirrels and birds as well from getting in where they are not supposed to be. There are companies available who have the equipment and knowledge to install these trap doors properly. If you are uncomfortable doing this work yourself or do not want to get up on the roof, don’t hesitate to call them immediately to avoid further damage to your attic and your roof.

If you need to screw nail the mesh into the roof, make sure that you fill the hole and cover the screw head with waterproof caulking. This will prevent water from damaging your roof and causing other problems.

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There is no such thing as free raccoon removal! First of all there is all of he damage they cause to your home or wherever they have their den. Depending on how quickly you notice the problem and how quickly you deal with the issue, they can leave a lot of feces in the attic on the insulation and make a real mess of the attic. There is also the issue of the damage they did getting into the attic which must also be repaired to prevent other animals from getting in and to prevent rain or snow as well from getting into your home. This picture shows a particularly bad mess and is not something that most homeowners would want to deal with. This is not going to be Free Raccoon Removal, in fact it will be very expensive.

Getting Rid of the Raccoons

2nd, you will either purchase a trap to get rid of them or hire someone to get rid of them for you. Buying a trap can cost anywhere from $50 to $100 for a humane animal trap and although you may be lucky enough to remove the raccoons, there is still the damage they did to repair as previously discussed. If you do not do the repairs properly another family is just going to move in and you get to do this all over again.

At least you still have the trap. The right way to get rid of raccoons is to install a one-way trap door so they can get out and not back in. Once you are sure they are out, then remove the trap door and install heavy gauge chicken wire over the opening so no others can get in either. Make sure that the babies are old enough to travel, because the parents will literally tear your roof apart to rescue them if they are left inside.

If you do not hire the right person to get rid of them in the right manner they of other raccoons are coming back to cause more damage and more removal cost as well.

Install One Way Trap Doors

Make sure they use a one way trap door so they can get out of the den and not back in. You want a permanent solution and this is the one to use no matter what you read on the internet or anyone tries to tell you. We have seen people try to trap them and find that they end up just having to pay someone to come over again and repeat the process. With the damage and the removal costs, it can get expensive. If you plan to trap them yourself, imagine a mad spitting adult raccoon weight 20 pounds or more in a trap. I certainly do not want to come anywhere near a trap that has one of these raccoons in it.

With the wire mesh approach, you can cover all possible areas with the heavy gauge wire mesh so that raccoons, birds and squirrels will not get into any of the usual areas. Birds like to make nests in air vents from the bathroom for example or the kitchen fan exhaust vent. Don’t bother waiting to go and cover these right now with a wire mesh to prevent them from making a nest inside the vent. You can do the same thing with toilet vents to the roof. But the main thing is to cover any possible area where the raccoons can get into your attic, since they are the ones that will cause the most damage. Use screw nails to hold the wire mesh in place and seal the area around the screws with outdoor waterproof caulking.

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We saw this news item about a Raccoon beaten to death. Man Faces Charges on the CBC radio. It was carried later on the TV regarding a raccoon that have been allegedly stabbed by a man. One of the babies was killed as well. The man is facing charges for killing the raccoon and treating the raccoon inhumanely. It does not matter how mad you might be at the fact that these animals have invaded your home.

People who support animal rights just do not understand the level of frustration. Or the amount of damage they can do. They would rather have a family man put in jail than have an animal killed in a manner that is not considered humane.

They should visit a slaughterhouse sometime and then decide what is humane and not humane. Maybe they will not drool over that steak they love in the future. We decided to show this article in its entirety for our readers to warn them of what not to do.

This is an excerpt from the news item that we saw in the paper on Aug 26, 2013.

Raccoon Beaten to Death Man Faces Charges

“An Ottawa man is facing two criminal charges after an adult raccoon and a baby raccoon were found stabbed and bludgeoned to death this summer, according to the Ottawa Humane Society.

The 49-year-old man faces two counts of causing unnecessary pain, suffering, or injury to an animal.”

A further update a few days later indicates that the man is being charged with two counts of causing unnecessary pain to an animal. He could face up to five years in jail for this act. The Humane Society is recommending that he receive the maximum sentence.

He was obviously very frustrated with these animals and they were causing him and his family some distress. They were probably in his home in his attic and he wanted them out to avoid further damage to his home. He took the direct way to get rid of them and did so in a manner that is considered inhumane. His mistake, really he made two mistakes.

First, he chose this method of getting rid of them which is inhumane. It is not a long-term solution since other raccoon families will just move into the vacated den. More on that later. His second mistake was that he did not get rid of the evidence. Apparently, a neighbor saw it and reported it to the police. Now he is facing charges, potential jail time, and loss of income, and his life is potentially ruined. All because in a fit of rage, he chose to kill these animals in a most inhumane way. We will not go into the details.

Bottom Line

The bottom line is you cannot treat any animal inhumanely. The best way to get rid of her raccoons that have gained access to your attic or your home is to build a one-way trapdoor. It allows the raccoons to get out of your house, but not back in. Once you’re sure they are out of the house you can install a permanent wire heavy gauge wire mesh across the opening. This will keep out all future raccoons, birds, and squirrels. In fact, you should cover any potential opening or potential area where an animal can get in your house with this heavy gauge wire mesh.

When you’re installing the heavy gauge wire mesh and screw nailing it into the roof make sure that you use lots of caulking around the screw nails to ensure that there are no water leaks. This is by far the best solution. It is a long-term solution to the problem. It is effective and you stay out of jail if you get caught dealing with these animals in an inhumane way. You get to keep your job, look after your family and live a happy life into retirement. The writers just cannot imagine having to face something like this over a raccoon that was causing you problems with your home.

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Relocating raccoons that have found their way into the attic is probably not at the top of your mind. Just look at the damage that this raccoon in the picture has already caused and we do not know what it is like in the inside the attic or even how many there are in there. Your emotions are running high and you just want to get rid of them in any way possible. There is a right answer to this question of how to relocate raccoons and many wrong answers. We will explore the right answer and some of the wrong answers.

The best way for raccoon relocation and stop them and any others in the neighborhood from taking up residence in a vacated den inside your attic is to install a one way trap door across the opening to the entrance into your attic. This way they are able to get out of your attic on their nocturnal hunt for food, but will not be able to get back inside when they return. This is by far the best way to deal with raccoons since it stops the current residents from getting back in and any others that might come along in the future. By the way you should also place heavy gauge wire mesh across any other potential openings as well to stop them as well as birds and squirrels from also gaining entrance.

Other Means of Relocating Raccoons that Do Not Work

Loud noises, mothballs, poison, shooting them, and trapping raccoons really does not work at all and you may cause other problems if you try to shoot them or poison them. You might be able to get rid of the current family of raccoons and if you are lucky they will not die inside your attic which causes a whole bunch of other problems. The primary reason these do not work is that once the den inside your attic is vacant an entirely new bunch are going to move in a few months later.

Turns out that there are many families of raccoons living in a square mile and they are all looking for a place to live. If they smell a vacant den, they can just move right in and they really do not have to do anything. It is as if they found a furnished apartment to move into. So if you get rid of the current family, another is just going to move in right away and you have all of your problems all over again.

Raccoon Relocation – More Information about Installing a One Way Trap Door

There are companies that specialize in removing raccoons. The only way to have a permanent solution is to install a one-way trap door across the entrance. Once they are gone you remove the trap door and install heavy gauge wire mesh across the opening after first completing any repairs that need to be completed.

Install wire mesh across other possible entrances as well to ensure that they cannot gain entrance from another location.

Screw nail the wire mesh to the roof or to the siding, taking care to use silicon waterproof caulking around the screws to prevent water damage.

Use heavy gauge wire mesh for all potential entrances, the main entrance, and even the one way trap door so they cannot break the wire mesh and gain entrance once again to your attic.

Raccoon Relocation – Check for Baby Raccoons

Make sure the babies, if there are any, are old enough to get out on their own. If they cannot get out and you install this one way trap door, the parents may tear your roof apart trying to rescue them. Unfortunately, you just have to wait until they are old enough and then you can install the trap door.

You may have to replace insulation or at least make repairs in your attic otherwise you leave a large mess in the attic and your home may not be insulated very well.

Be very careful going into the attic and always wear a mask across your mouth and nose to prevent any particles from being ingested through airways. These can contain a worm that once inside you can cause all kinds of health issues including death. You may want to hire professionals with the right kind of safety equipment to remove the insulation and place new insulation in your attic.

If you have raccoons in your attic, this is really the best way to deal with them: One way trap doors!

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Raccoon Damage from raccoons can be quite dramatic. This picture shows one example of just how bad it can be. We are only looking at the outside of the home. Raccoons have obviously climbed up the brick wall (yes they can do that). They found their way into the attic probably from somewhere on the roof. If the damage outside looks bad, image what the attic looks like inside.  In this case the raccoons have actually fallen through the flashing. They probably ended on the ground and then climbed back up again.

Insulation is hanging down and the flashing is ruined. If this is winter time moisture and snow is going to be blown in through this hole causing even more damage to the home. The homeowner obviously allowed this situation to go on for too long before being forced to do something about the situation. He or she should have made repairs. He should have taken steps to block the raccoons from entering his attic the moment they heard or observed something going on in their attic. Now it is far too late. They are looking at major repairs that will cost a great deal of money.

Raccoon Damage – What Repairs Need to be Made

Well the obvious is that the insulation must be replaced and the flashing replaced. But the real damage is inside. Most likely the damage includes insulation that has been moved around. As a result the home is not receiving the same insulating value all over. This cause moisture to form in the attic and anytime you have moisture you have the potential for mold and for water damage. But this is not the worst problem.

Urine from the raccoons and feces will saturate your insulation. It will smell bad and there is a potential health risk as well. All of the insulation must be replaced and disposed of in an environmentally responsible manner. There are microscopic worms in the feces which can kill humans if breathed in to your lungs. Make no mistake there is a right way to remove insulation and there is a wrong way. Hire experts who know how to remove the insulation safely. For more information on this subject refer to some our health related posts on this site.

Raccoon Damage – Permanent Solution to Raccoons in Your Attic

Once all of the repairs are completed, your insulation replaced and the flashing repaired or replaced, the raccoons are going to come right back unless you stop them. Trapping them is not the answer and poisoning them does not work either. There are lots of raccoons in your area and another family will just come a long and move in sometime.

The right way to stop raccoons from entering your attic is to install a heavy gauge wire mesh across the opening that prevents them from creating another opening into your attic. This is mandatory if you are going to prevent future damage. In addition if you suspect that the raccoons have babies inside your attic, you will need to wait until they are old enough to travel. Then install a one way trap door so they can get out but not back inside. If you do not follow this approach, the parents are going to make an even larger hole in your roof when they try to rescue the baby raccoons.

Once you are sure that all of the raccoons are out, replace the one way trap door with a permanent cover over the opening so that there is no way they can reenter. You will want to complete all of your repairs at the same time. Taking this approach will also keep birds and squirrels out as well.

The damage that raccoons can cause is in the thousands of dollars, not to mention the mess and the frustration that we all feel if our home is invaded. Don’t procrastinate, do something about your problem immediately of you want to manage and contain the damage to your home.

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A wild raccoon is just as smart and nosy as urban raccoons. The one major difference is that urban raccoons have fewer enemies than wild raccoons do and urban raccoons are pretty tolerant of all of the urban noises and even are not really that afraid of humans. Wild raccoons will quickly run in the other direction when they see humans while urban raccoons can be seen walking down the middle of the street from time to time during the day or night. Either way they are animals that will take your food and break into your home to find food or build a den.

Wild Raccoon – Den in Your Attic

Given a suitable looking den, wild raccoons will take up residence in any location where there is food, water and protection from the elements. This can be the hollow of a tree or it can be your attic if they wander into suburbia or if suburbia encroaches on their regular hunting grounds. If there are a lot of green areas or forests close by to new homes being built, you can be sure that these wild raccoons will be curious and will take up residence in your home if there is shelter to be found.

Dealing with raccoons that have entered your attic can be a troubling for many people. They cause a mess, they damage your home, they may even tear a hole in the wall getting into the attic. This can cost thousands in repairs, but first you have to get rid of the wild raccoons and keep them out on a permanent basis. There is a right way to get rid of these raccoons and there is a wrong way to go about getting rid of them, which we will discuss in the following paragraphs. Note that they can gain access to your roof, by climbing the bricks up the side of your home or perhaps crawl along a branch of a tree that overhangs your roof. Either way it does not really matter too much how they get there, the trick is to stop them getting inside your attic.

Getting Rid of Raccoons

The best way to stop them is to install a one way trap door which allows them to get out of your attic, but not back into your attic. You need to also make sure that if they have babies, they can get out as well. If the young cannot travel on their own and cannot get out through the trap door, the wild raccoon parents are very protective and will want to rescue them if they can. This could include ripping another hole in your roof or your sidewall to your home which can be quite damaging and cost thousands of dollars to repair after you get rid of them finally.

Loud noises do not work, mothballs do not work, even trapping them with a humane trap does not work. We tried them all and found that the only sure way to get rid of them is to use the one-way trap door as explained above. The loud noise did not bother them at all, and the mothballs also did not work other than to smell up our attic. they just totally ignored them. I guess I do not have any moths in the attic now. We are not sure if I did have any in the first place, but they sure did not work on the raccoons.

Trapping does not Work

Even trapping did not work. They are just too smart to go inside to get the food in the trap. They actually reached though the wire mesh from the outside to get at the food. I was feeding them more than just trapping them. The younger less experienced raccoons were easy to catch, but the adults who had obviously been caught before were not going into that trap regardless of how much food was available. Anyway hope this all helps.

Wild raccoons are very resourceful, so take them seriously and ignore the self-help articles about using loud noises, spraying various odors etc. They just do not work. They are a waste of time and money. Use the one way trap door approach.

Raccoon Pest, there is just no doubt about it, yet many people cannot stand the idea of killing them even though they may cause all kinds of damage to your home. There are really two sides of the issue here. Once you are really confronted with raccoons that have moved into your home’s attic or some other area you may change your opinion. Most people just view them as cuddly looking animals that should not be harmed. In fact, animal rights people will always take the position that these animals are part of nature. They should be treated in a humane way at all times.

However, once they move into your attic and start defecating in your attic you might reconsider. They also make noise during the day and night and generally making a mess. We wonder if these same people would be as understanding. Would they revert to wanting them out in whatever manner you can use? When it becomes personal many people tend to think on more practical terms.

They just really want them gone as fast as possible and in any way possible. We really think that the animal rights people will revert. They will agree with the rest of us when they are directly affected. These raccoons can cost homeowners thousands of dollars in repairs. They can even decrease the value of the home as well. If you care about your home at all, you will want these pests out as fast as possible.

How to Get Rid of Raccoon Pest Properly

Fortunately, there is an answer to this question of how to get rid of raccoons. It will please both sides of the argument and provide a long term solution as well. Basically the entrance to the den in your house is where the raccoons are living. It should be blocked by a one-way trap door. This trap door allows the raccoons to get out of your attic or den. But not back in. Raccoons usually rest during the day inside your home and come out at night.

The trap door works well since they will come out at night and not be able to return the next morning. They will have to find another location to spend their days. Which unfortunately might be your neighbors home or somewhere else nearby. But at least they are out of your home and now you can focus on repairing the damage they have caused.

Once you are sure they are out for good, the one-way trap door can be replaced with a permanent cover over the entrance. Which is usually heavy gauge chicken wire that they cannot get through. The only caution is that the babies who are born in the spring must be able to travel on their own. They need to get out through the trap door. If they cannot, there is a chance they could die in your attic. Worse than that, the parents may try to take your roof apart to rescue their babies. Which is something you definitely do not want? If there are raccoon pups in your attic, you are just going to have to wait until they are old enough to travel on their own.

Install a One Way Trap Door

Once they are out, install that one-way trap door so they all can get out of the attic. You are going to have more damage inside and mess, but this is preferable to them dieing inside your attic and the smell that would be in the attic and even into your home. Once they are all out install a permanent cover over the opening and repair all of the damage inside. You may be faced with replacing the insulation if they have really made a mess of it. While this is expensive, the loss of heat and the increased cost to heat your house is not something anyone wants to consider either.

This solution meets both the animal rights activists as well as the homeowners objectives and limits the damage that these raccoon pests can do inside your home.

Raccoon removal can be a very frustrating activity unless you really know what you are doing. The owner of this trap was lucky enough to capture this raccoon in a live humane animal trap. He will probably take the raccoon out into the country somewhere to let it go. We hope that he does not get scratched or bitten in the process of moving the trap. Or letting the raccoon go. When they are mad they can be quite vicious. A snarling biting raccoon is not something you want to fool with unless you are well prepared. He also appears to have caught one of the pups as well in this trap.

It is usually very difficult to capture any raccoon in a trap. Let alone the parent and one of the pups. They are very intelligent and will avoid these traps like the plague. But the sad part of this story is that the owner of this trap has not really solved his raccoon problem. He will just have to continue trapping and dealing with raccoons getting into his attic.

Raccoon Removal

The problem with raccoon removal in this manner is that consumers are just dealing with one raccoon. There probably is another adult raccoon since they live in pairs. There may also be cubs that are hiding away somewhere as well that should be dealt with. Good luck trapping the rest after they have seen what happens when you go inside one of these traps. Raccoons are very smart and learn quickly.

In addition even if you are lucky enough to get rid of these raccoons, there are many other families of raccoons in your area. They are just waiting to move into a vacated den. They like to have 4 or 5 dens to travel around to. Raccoons can somehow tell when a den is not being used. They will be more raccoons in your attic within a few months. Unless you do something about the entrance to the den it self.

Then there is the damage they caused. If they have been in there for any length of time, they may have left feces or raccoon scat in the attic The insulation will also be compressed and generally made a mess. Most consumers may not even be aware of this issue. It is a good idea to check on the status of your attic after you have removed them from your home.

the Best Approach

Really the best way to deal with raccoon removal is to install a one way trap door over the entrance to the den. This will allow the raccoons to exit through the one way door, but not get back in. Once you are confident that all of the raccoons are out, then you can remove the one way trap door. Install a permanent heavy gauge wire mesh over the opening after you have properly repaired the entrance. Make sure that the young pups if there are any are old enough to travel. They need to get out on their own. If not they will either die inside your home or the adults will make another hole into your home to rescue their youngsters.

This is by far the best way to deal with raccoon removal. They will be permanently kept out of your home and although you might even see them investigating to see why they cannot get back in, that is about all they will do. Pretty soon they will give up and head off to one of your neighbors to see if they can get into their homes attic. You may want to warn your neighbors as well if they have homes that appear to be good candidates for raccoons to get into. On our street, almost every home has had a problem with raccoons and most have had to resort to the heavy gauge chicken wire solution.

While you are installing this heavy gauge wire mesh over the opening, also take the time to cover any other potential areas that they might be able to get into. This will protect against birds and squirrels as well.

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Raccoons are considered pests for sure by many consumers, especially when they have been in your home or your attic or have just taken your garbage can all apart and scattered the garbage all over the street. When you live in the country, you expect to have to deal with these things from time to time. But when you live in suburbia, raccoon pests are not really at the top of your mind. So when raccoon pests invade they suddenly go from cute little animals to being pests. You want them out of your house as fast as you can.

These guys in the picture are resting comfortably in the eaves trough. They are not afraid of humans at all. Although it does not show it in the picture, they probably have found their way into this persons attic. The parents are setting up home to raise their young. You must either get them out before they have babies or after the raccoon pups are old enough to travel on their own. In the process they are going to do a lot of damage to your home. It is also not easy to get someone to come and clean out your attic for you.

Raccoon Pests and Animal Rights Activists

There are lots of people who do not have to deal with these pests, but under no circumstances can you harm one of these cute little animals. They do not care about the damage that raccoon pests are doing to your home, they just do not want you to harm them. They feel that a live animal is much more important than your home and that you should not use poison or use non humane traps to get rid of them.

In fact they should not be harmed in any way! In some locations you cannot trap them and let them out a long ways from your home. You must let them out within 2 or 3 blocks of your home where they were trapped. This is according to local bylaws. this is a total waste of time, since they are going to find their way back to your home that very night.

Avoid Using Posion

Well it turns out that they are right, but for the wrong reasons. Poison and non humane trapping is not the right long-term solution. The reason is that once a den which is inside your home is vacated, other raccoons will just move in. There are many families of raccoons in a neighborhood and they are all looking for vacated dens that they can move into. So doing away with one family or removing one family is just going to make room for another family of raccoon pests to move in.

The right way to get rid of these raccoon pests is to install a one way trap door over the entrance to the den. This allows the raccoons to get out of the den, but not back in to the den. Before you do this make sure that the baby raccoons, if they are any, are old enough to get out on their own. Otherwise they could die inside your home and the parents might do a lot of damage to the home trying to rescue the baby raccoons. Raccoons are very maternal about their young and you do not want to risk even more damage to your home.

Install Heavy Gauge Wire Mesh

Once the raccoons are out, you can then install a permanent wire mesh over the opening. You will probably want to also repair the entrance and any damage done on the inside as well. Make sure that the wire mesh is heavy gauge wire and that it is securely secured to your home. If you are doing this installation yourself, take care to use heavy gauge wire mesh. Screw nail it into the roof. Use silicone caulking that is water proof to plug the holes where the screw nails enter to prevent water damage. If in doubt, hire an expert to install a one way trap door.

For more details on this solution and also health related issues, refer to other posts on this site that discuss these items in more detail.

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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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