Sometimes raccoons are blamed for damage they don’t do (it might be your neighbor’s dog who’s rummaging in the trash). The first step to take is to make sure it’s a raccoon you’re dealing with. Look at the clock: If you hear sounds in the house or the trash is knocked over during the day, it’s...
Raccoons sometimes get into scraps with cats and they may occasionally prey on small animals housed outside, such as chickens and rabbits. When no other food is available, raccoons might even prey upon kittens and small cats, but other times, they can be seen eating side-by-side when cats are fed...
One quick and easy solution to keep raccoons from eating seed intended for your backyard birds is to put out only as much seed as the birds will eat by nightfall. Raccoons forage at night, so they’ll miss the free lunch you’re providing. Another equally simple solution is to bring your bird feeders...
Smart and resourceful, raccoons often get into trouble when they take advantage of the enticing foods we offer in our yards and gardens. Yards Raccoons can damage lawns (especially recently sodded ones) by digging for earthworms and grubs. Often they simply reach under the strips and feel around for...
While chimneys and attics are common raccoon homes, a resourceful raccoon can make a den just about anywhere in your house. Ceiling or walls You may hear a raccoon above the ceiling tiles in your house or one may work their way down into wall voids from the attic or through an external entry hole...
Raccoons are more likely to visit in winter and spring, but they can and will get inside at any time of year. In spring, a mother may choose an attic or chimney as a safe spot for giving birth and raising her young. Raccoons in the attic As intelligent problem-solvers with great dexterity and...
From a raccoon’s point of view, humans make excellent neighbors. After all, raccoons don't know that our luscious vegetable gardens, uncapped chimneys and full birdfeeders aren't there just for them. And when these clever critters take advantage of the food and shelter we (usually unintentionally)...
Raccoons often leave their feces in communal sites called latrines. Because raccoons are the primary host of Baylisascaris procyanis, a roundworm that can harm people, and the roundworm eggs may be present in raccoon feces, their latrines should be removed and cleaned up whenever they might pose a...
If a raccoon enters a house through a pet door, they might have trouble finding their way back out. Skunks, opossums, stray cats and other unwelcome animals may also get in. You can easily prevent this by locking your pet door at night with your pet inside or installing a pet door that will open...
Before evicting raccoons from your house, you need to figure out how they're entering (that is, if you don't want them coming right back in). Give your house a thorough inspection to find areas where raccoons could get in by viewing your house from the perspective of an animal looking for a den. Is...
WARNING: This page contains graphic content. The video is hard to watch: A raccoon dog is clubbed and hung upside down, still conscious, as a seller in a Chinese market yanks off her skin. Then the peeled animal—alive, moving, blinking—is thrown on a pile to die. The subject of a 2005 investigation...
Thanks to widespread pet vaccinations, effective post-exposure treatment and the relative rarity of undetected bites by rabid animals, the number of human deaths from rabies in the United States caused has declined to an average of only one or two per year—far less than the number of human...
Wherever you are in the U.S., a coyote may be taking up residence less than a mile away. If you live in the city, you’re more likely than your rural cousins to encounter raccoons. And regardless of geography, you probably share your home with dozens of species of insects and spiders. These facts...
Decaying logs and miniature bogs, hollowed stalks and piled rocks, nutritious pollen and leaves fallen: They’re not the stuff of traditional nursery rhymes and baby showers. But if wild mothers-to-be had gift registries, these natural supplies would top the list. Though the basic elements for...
Many Marches ago, as I mindlessly contorted myself to pull a deep-rooted weed from the garden patch, my thoughts turned longingly to the smell of fresh basil that would eventually grace what I saw as a still-barren vegetable graveyard. This spot was not so lifeless as it appeared, I would soon learn...
