How to Keep Raccoons out of Your Home this Winter

With the colder months approaching, critters living in urban areas like raccoons are looking for dry, warm spaces to curl up and settle down. Our heated homes are like an oasis to these animals during winter.

Before we get into how to deal with these creatures, let’s get acquainted with the raccoon itself. These animals are about the size of small dogs. They can weigh over 20 pounds and measure up to 95 centimeters long. Raccoons are extremely adaptable animals, and eat both vegetables and meat. They are agile, can run up to 24 kilometres per hour, and fall 11 to 12 meters without injury. In the wintertime, raccoons can lose up to 50% of their body weight. Female raccoons can give birth from between one and five babies, generally in April or May.

To keep raccoons out of your home this winter, here are a few useful tips from your local wildlife experts:

1.Secure all access points. Raccoons will scratch, claw, dig, and pry their way into your home. To prevent these fluffy, curious critters from getting into your house, be on the lookout for rotting siding or holes where through which your home can be accessed. Look for weakened structures in chimneys, decks, garages, attics, and basements.

2.Trim your trees. Raccoons are cunning, and will exploit any opportunity to reach your home. If a tree in your yard has branches long enough to reach your roof, you should consider cutting back the branches to prevent raccoons from accessing the top of your house. Fruit trees, especially, can encourage these pests to hang out around your home.

3.Rid your yard of food sources. You may not find frozen food appealing, but hungry raccoons will make a meal of it. To keep raccoons away, ensure your garbage containers are firmly shut or closed away in a lockable unit. Ensure that any pet food is kept inside.

4.Use light to your advantage. Raccoons are primarily nocturnal creatures. Keeping a well-lit backyard, or one with motion-sensor “predator” lights, might discourage raccoons from settling in on your property.

5.Contact a professional. If you feel like you’ve tried all possible options, but you’re still having raccoon trouble, contact a knowledgeable professional to help you deal with the problem. Raccoons can carry rabies, roundworm, and leptospirosis, all of which are transmittable to humans and pets.

Raccoons may look cute and relatively harmless, but they can do irreparable (not to mention expensive) damage to your home. To keep you and your family safe, scan the outside of your house for any openings, and ensure your yard contains no food.

If you have a raccoon problem that requires professional help, get in touch with the professionals at Raider Wildlife Control today.