Top 5 Reasons to Remove Raccoons from Your Property
Top 5 Reasons to Remove Raccoons from Your Property: While we’ve all seen cute videos of raccoons, whether they’re babies, accidentally dissolving cotton candy in water, or laughing at their antics, a raccoon is not something you want on your property or in your home. While they play an important part in the wild for pest control and seed distribution purposes, it’s best to avoid having them around. Below are the top five reasons to remove raccoons from your property and how Shumaker Animal Removal can help.
Raccoons Can Damage Your Home
When a raccoon finds its way into your home or shed, it doesn’t choose a cozy corner to sleep in until it goes outside. These 25 to 30-pound animals can damage your insulation, ventilation, and electrical systems. They destroy home insulation to make nests for themselves and their offspring, which impacts your energy efficiency and makes it harder to keep your home cool in summer and warmer in winter. Damage to your electrical wiring not only makes it difficult to track down the problem, but it can also start fires.
They Carry Diseases
While you may know that raccoons can carry rabies, you might not know that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have them at the top of their list as a carrier. While rabies is a preventable viral disease, especially if treated right after contact, bites and scratches aren’t the only ways to contract the diseases that raccoons transmit. Raccoons can also transmit roundworm, giardiasis, salmonellosis, and leptospirosis through direct contact with their feces.
Raccoons Are Unpredictable
While it’s unusual for a raccoon to be aggressive towards people, and even more uncommon for a healthy raccoon to be active during the day, raccoons will defend themselves and their young by arching their back, growling, grunting, huffing, or bluffing by running toward someone. A surprised raccoon will often bite or scratch in self-defense.
They Make Everything Messy
If you’ve never had to clean up after a raccoon encounter, consider yourself lucky. Raccoons will trip over trash cans, digging through the trash to find something to eat. While a raccoon searches for food, they spread trash everywhere, urinating and defecating on the trash and in your yard. In addition, they will use any material they can get their paws on, whether newspapers, clothing, or insulation, using it to make a nest.
They’re A Threat To Pets
While they’re not likely to attack first, a raccoon will absolutely defend itself against a cat or a dog if attacked, leaving behind bites and scratch marks. If hungry, raccoons will eat small cats and kittens. Unless the raccoon carries the rabies virus, they don’t actively seek out pets.
If you’ve encountered a raccoon on your property, leave it alone and call us. We will come to remove the animals before sealing up the opening where they entered. Located in Baltimore County, MD, we’re staffed with licensed cooperators and trained to assist in any and every situation regarding animal removal. You can contact us by filling out our online form or calling us at 443-854-8072.
