Preventing Problems with Raccoons in Washington State
Raccoons to close for comfort?
If a raccoon you approaches too closely, make yourself appear larger, stand up if sitting, yell, and wave your arms. If necessary, send the raccoon off with a spraying of water from a hose or bucket.
If a raccoon continues to act aggressively or strangely (circling, staggering as if drunk or disoriented, or shows unnatural tameness) it may be sick or injured. In such a case, call a wildlife rehabilitation center or your local Animal Evictor office for advice
If aggressive raccoons are regularly seen in your area, prepare your children and others for a possible encounter. Explain the reasons why raccoons live there (habitat, food sources, species adaptability) and what they should do if one approaches them. By shouting a set phrase such as “Go away raccoon!” when they encounter one, instead of a general scream, that way the children will inform nearby adults of the raccoon’s presence. Demonstrate and rehearse encounter behavior with your children.
If a raccoon gets into your house, stay calm, close interior doors, leave the room, and let the animal find its way back out through the opening in which it came. If necessary, gently use a broom to corral the raccoon outside. If you do coax it out with a stick or broom be prepared for the animal to fight back this method should only be performed by a animal removal professional (Do not corner a raccoon, thereby forcing it to defend itself.)
Preventing Conflicts With Raccoons
A raccoon’s hunt for food may lead it to a vegetable garden, fish pond, garbage can, or chicken coop. Its search for a den site may lead it to an attic, chimney, or crawl space. The most efficient way to prevent conflicts is to modify the habitat around your home so as not to attract raccoons. Recommendations on how to do this are given below.
Don’t feed raccoons. Feeding raccoons may create undesirable and unsafe situations for you, your children, neighbors, pets, and the raccoons themselves. Raccoons that are fed by people often lose their fear of humans and may become aggressive when not fed as expected or if startled. Artificial feeding also tends to concentrate raccoons in a small area; overcrowding can spread diseases and parasites. Finally, these hungry visitors might approach a neighbor who doesn’t share your appreciation of the animals. The neighbor might choose to harm the raccoons, or have them removed and euthanized
Don’t give raccoons access to garbage. Keep your garbage can lid on tight by securing it with rope, chain, bungee cords, or weights. Better yet, consider buying garbage cans with clamps or other mechanisms that hold lids on. To prevent tipping, secure side handles to metal or wooden stakes driven into the ground. Or keep your cans in tight-fitting bins. Put garbage cans out for pickup in the morning instead of at night, after raccoons have returned to their resting areas.
Feed dogs and cats indoors and keep them in at night. If you must feed your pets outside, do so in late morning or at midday, and pick up food, water bowls, leftovers, and spilled food well before dark every day.
Keep pets indoors at night. If cornered, raccoons may attack dogs and cats. Bite and claw wounds from raccoons can result in fractures, disease transmission and death
Prevent raccoons from entering pet doors. Keep indoor pet food and any other food away from your pet door. Lock the pet door at night. If it is necessary to have it remain open, put an electronically activated opener on your pet’s collar, these are available from some pet stores and online. Note: Floodlights or motion detector lights placed above the pet door to scare raccoons are not long-term solutions.
Put food in secure compost containers and clean up barbecue areas. Don’t put food of any kind in open compost piles instead, use a securely covered compost structure or a commercially available raccoon proof composter to prevent attracting raccoons and getting exposed to their droppings. A covered worm box is another alternative. If burying food scraps, cover them with at least 8 inches of soil and don’t leave any garbage above ground in the area—including the stinky shovel. Placing a wire mesh barrier that is held in place with a heavy object over the in-ground compost will prevent problems.
Clean barbecue grills and grease traps thoroughly following each use.
Eliminate Raccoon access to denning sites. Raccoons commonly use chimneys, attics, and crawl spaces under houses, porches, and sheds as den sites. Close any potential entries if you require assistance in sealing up any structure contact Animal Evictor your full service wildlife control provider. Make all connections flush and secure to keep mice, rats, and other mammals out. Make sure you don’t trap an animal inside when you seal off a potential entry.Raccoon access to rooftops can be eliminated by installing sheets of aluminum flashing, at least 3 feet square, around the corners of buildings. Commercially available metal or plastic spikes can help keep raccoons off of buildings. Prevent raccoons from accessing rooftops by trimming tree limbs away from structures and by attaching sheets of metal flashing around corners of buildings. Commercial products that prevent climbing are available from farm supply centers and bird-control supply companies on the Internet. Remove vegetation on buildings, such as English ivy, which provide raccoons a way to climb structures and hide their access point inside.
Call today for your multipoint inspection with our Wildlife Experts! 1-877-405-7728
If a raccoon you approaches too closely, make yourself appear larger, stand up if sitting, yell, and wave your arms. If necessary, send the raccoon off with a spraying of water from a hose or bucket.
If a raccoon continues to act aggressively or strangely (circling, staggering as if drunk or disoriented, or shows unnatural tameness) it may be sick or injured. In such a case, call a wildlife rehabilitation center or your local Animal Evictor office for advice
If aggressive raccoons are regularly seen in your area, prepare your children and others for a possible encounter. Explain the reasons why raccoons live there (habitat, food sources, species adaptability) and what they should do if one approaches them. By shouting a set phrase such as “Go away raccoon!” when they encounter one, instead of a general scream, that way the children will inform nearby adults of the raccoon’s presence. Demonstrate and rehearse encounter behavior with your children.
If a raccoon gets into your house, stay calm, close interior doors, leave the room, and let the animal find its way back out through the opening in which it came. If necessary, gently use a broom to corral the raccoon outside. If you do coax it out with a stick or broom be prepared for the animal to fight back this method should only be performed by a animal removal professional (Do not corner a raccoon, thereby forcing it to defend itself.)
Preventing Conflicts With Raccoons
A raccoon’s hunt for food may lead it to a vegetable garden, fish pond, garbage can, or chicken coop. Its search for a den site may lead it to an attic, chimney, or crawl space. The most efficient way to prevent conflicts is to modify the habitat around your home so as not to attract raccoons. Recommendations on how to do this are given below.
Don’t feed raccoons. Feeding raccoons may create undesirable and unsafe situations for you, your children, neighbors, pets, and the raccoons themselves. Raccoons that are fed by people often lose their fear of humans and may become aggressive when not fed as expected or if startled. Artificial feeding also tends to concentrate raccoons in a small area; overcrowding can spread diseases and parasites. Finally, these hungry visitors might approach a neighbor who doesn’t share your appreciation of the animals. The neighbor might choose to harm the raccoons, or have them removed and euthanized
Don’t give raccoons access to garbage. Keep your garbage can lid on tight by securing it with rope, chain, bungee cords, or weights. Better yet, consider buying garbage cans with clamps or other mechanisms that hold lids on. To prevent tipping, secure side handles to metal or wooden stakes driven into the ground. Or keep your cans in tight-fitting bins. Put garbage cans out for pickup in the morning instead of at night, after raccoons have returned to their resting areas.
Feed dogs and cats indoors and keep them in at night. If you must feed your pets outside, do so in late morning or at midday, and pick up food, water bowls, leftovers, and spilled food well before dark every day.
Keep pets indoors at night. If cornered, raccoons may attack dogs and cats. Bite and claw wounds from raccoons can result in fractures, disease transmission and death
Prevent raccoons from entering pet doors. Keep indoor pet food and any other food away from your pet door. Lock the pet door at night. If it is necessary to have it remain open, put an electronically activated opener on your pet’s collar, these are available from some pet stores and online. Note: Floodlights or motion detector lights placed above the pet door to scare raccoons are not long-term solutions.
Put food in secure compost containers and clean up barbecue areas. Don’t put food of any kind in open compost piles instead, use a securely covered compost structure or a commercially available raccoon proof composter to prevent attracting raccoons and getting exposed to their droppings. A covered worm box is another alternative. If burying food scraps, cover them with at least 8 inches of soil and don’t leave any garbage above ground in the area—including the stinky shovel. Placing a wire mesh barrier that is held in place with a heavy object over the in-ground compost will prevent problems.
Clean barbecue grills and grease traps thoroughly following each use.
Eliminate Raccoon access to denning sites. Raccoons commonly use chimneys, attics, and crawl spaces under houses, porches, and sheds as den sites. Close any potential entries if you require assistance in sealing up any structure contact Animal Evictor your full service wildlife control provider. Make all connections flush and secure to keep mice, rats, and other mammals out. Make sure you don’t trap an animal inside when you seal off a potential entry.Raccoon access to rooftops can be eliminated by installing sheets of aluminum flashing, at least 3 feet square, around the corners of buildings. Commercially available metal or plastic spikes can help keep raccoons off of buildings. Prevent raccoons from accessing rooftops by trimming tree limbs away from structures and by attaching sheets of metal flashing around corners of buildings. Commercial products that prevent climbing are available from farm supply centers and bird-control supply companies on the Internet. Remove vegetation on buildings, such as English ivy, which provide raccoons a way to climb structures and hide their access point inside.
Call today for your multipoint inspection with our Wildlife Experts! 1-877-405-7728
Information provided by the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife and Russell Link
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