Who to Call if There are Raccoons in Your Backyard?

Raccoons are round, fuzzy, and some of the most adorable animals you could ever meet. Their independent personalities and cuddly statures mean they've gained lots of admirers and have even earned the nickname of "trash panda." Unfortunately, though, raccoons can also be quite destructive to your property. If you see a raccoon in your yard or suspect one has made its way into your home, it is important to avoid approaching or touching it and to find a professional for raccoon removal instead.

Why Raccoons Are Attracted to Your Property

Like many wild animals, raccoons forage for the things they need to survive. Most of the time, someone's home, garage, and yard are the perfect places for raccoons to find the things they need. Most commonly, garbage and food waste in your outside cans will attract raccoons. It isn't just your leftover dinner that attracts them, though. If you have a garden or fruit trees, a tree that drops nuts, or pet food that you leave outside, you're more likely to find raccoons on your property. A range of other items can attract raccoons to your yard as well. Piles of wood make perfect homes for raccoons, who are quite crafty and will move the piles around to turn them into private wild animal condos. Unsecured garages or sheds are good for finding warmth, and even just having a large, open space that doesn't get light at night can attract raccoons to your property.

Why Raccoons Are Problematic for Your Land

Raccoons are cute, yes, but they can also cause quite a lot of damage to your yard, your home, and even you. Their opportunistic personalities mean they'll often leave half-eaten fruits and vegetables, broken trash bags and cans, and other dirty remnants around your property, many of which attract even more pests. They can also damage your outbuildings or even kill smaller livestock, such as chickens. Finally, raccoons are carriers of disease, including roundworms and rabies, both of which can be dangerous and even deadly. For this reason, keeping your property free of these creatures is essential.

What To Do if You Find Raccoons in Your Yard

If you find raccoons on your property, removal is essential. It is dangerous to attempt to remove them on your own, though. Instead, you'll need to contact a pest control company that is knowledgeable about raccoon removal. In fact, many Canadian homeowners trust the professionals here at Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control.  Our animal control technicians humanely remove pests from your property and do everything we can to prevent contamination of your living spaces, going as far as to remove animals through windows in attics or basements rather than bringing them through your living spaces. After using clean equipment to remove raccoons from your property, we help you to pest-proof your home and yard for the future. We even repair any damage the raccoons did.

How To Prevent Raccoons From Returning to Your Property

Once you have raccoons removed from your property, you'll need to use prevention methods to keep their friends from taking over next. Most importantly, don't leave food outside and prevent easy access to your garbage cans. This means picking garden vegetables as soon as they're ready, keeping ripe fruit from trees out of the yard, avoiding placing pet food outside, and using bungee cords to hold your garbage cans closed. You may also need to remove bird feeders and fence in gardens, trees, or decorative ponds. Keeping up with your yard work, sealing and insulating your chimney, attic, and basement, and using a nontoxic animal repellent are all also important. If you suspect you're dealing with raccoons or other pests on your property, contact Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control today. We'll evaluate the situation and help you come up with an affordable and reliable plan to secure your home and keep it safe from pests.