Raccoons are a common presence in urbanized areas. Properties that are located near bodies of water, forests, and woodlands also commonly experience nuisance problems with raccoons. Although raccoons are truly innocent and fascinating mammals, they present various dangers and must be controlled safely and humanely. If you still think raccoons are not a threat, read on to learn about the 3 biggest dangers raccoons pose to society.
1. People
The first and most significant risk posed by the presence of a wild raccoon on your property is the risk of harming people, especially children. Raccoons are known carriers of several viruses and infectious diseases, including serious ones like rabies, leptospirosis, distemper, and raccoon roundworm, as well as less serious ones like lice, fleas, ticks, and more. Although raccoons generally don’t bite or attack, they will if provoked. For example, young children who may stumble upon a baby raccoon in the garden that they think is abandoned, but in reality, the mother raccoon is nearby and ready to pounce if she feels her cub is in danger.
2. Pets
Pets are often victims of raccoon attacks because they unintentionally provoke them simply by being curious and sniffing at them. This is why pet vaccinations are so vital to the safety of your dogs and cats. This includes vaccines for rabies, leptospirosis, distemper, Lyme disease, and raccoon pinworms. It is also vital to give your pet a regular flea, tick, and heartworm medication.
3. Property
Raccoons are highly intelligent and have excellent memory and problem solving skills. This is one of the reasons they are common offenders of attic and driveway invasions. They can use their human-like legs to grab, tear, and pry. They tear down attic insulation, chew up electrical wiring, litter floorboards and ceilings with their droppings, and more. However, even if raccoons cannot access the internals of a home or building, they can still cause a great deal of structural damage to a property. They’ll tear up lawns for grubs, raze lawns, tear off siding, tear off roof tiles, rummage through trash cans, steal bird seed and pet food, and much more.
Dealing with a raccoon problem
If you have a problem with raccoons, you will need to take control by removing whatever attracts them to your property. For instance:
Only bring trash cans to the driveway on the morning of garbage collection day, do not leave pet food and other sources of food and water outside (bird baths, squirrel feeders, bird seed, food bowls for pets, stored pet food bags, etc.). etc.), installing motion lights or sound machines to scare off raccoons, putting up fences to protect your gardens, and eliminating shelter options like compost piles, log piles, pet houses and more. You will also need to contact a licensed raccoon control and removal company to inspect your property and make sure there are no entry points for raccoons to enter.