You wake up at 3 a.m. to the sound of something moving around your kitchen. Your heart starts racing as you think about what could be making those noises. 

Could it be a burglar? When you peek around the corner, you see a masked face staring back at you – but it’s not what you expected. It’s a raccoon, and somehow it got inside your house.

This scenario might sound impossible, but can raccoons open doors to get into your home? The answer might surprise you. Yes, raccoons can open certain types of doors, and they’re much smarter than most people think. 

These clever animals have found ways to get inside homes across Canada, including right here in London, Ontario. Understanding how raccoons entering homes happens can help you protect your property before it becomes a problem.

Raccoons are amazing problem solvers with nimble paws that work almost like human hands. They can turn doorknobs, slide open windows, and even figure out simple locks. When you combine their intelligence with their determination to find food and shelter, you have an animal that can cause serious headaches for homeowners. 

The good news is that you can prevent raccoons from entering your home with the right knowledge and help from experts like Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control in London.

How Smart Are Raccoons Really?

Raccoons are incredibly intelligent animals. Scientists have studied them for years and found that they can solve puzzles, remember solutions for months, and even teach other raccoons what they’ve learned. Their brains are similar to those of primates in many ways.

These masked bandits have excellent memories. If a raccoon figures out how to open your garbage can lid once, it will remember exactly how to do it again. They can also watch you from a distance and learn your routines. Some of them have even learned to open keypad locks by watching homeowners enter their codes repeatedly.

Their intelligence makes them excellent at finding weak spots in your home’s defences. They test different entry points until they find one that works. Once they discover a way inside, they’re likely to come back again and again.

What Makes Raccoon Paws So Special?

The secret to raccoon success lies in their amazing paws. Their front paws have five fingers, just like human hands. While they don’t have opposable thumbs like we do, their fingers are incredibly flexible and strong.

Raccoon paws are also extremely sensitive. They have thousands of nerve endings that help them feel textures and shapes. This is why you might see them “washing” their food in water – they’re actually using the water to make their paws more sensitive so they can feel their food better.

These special paws allow these animals to:

• Turn doorknobs and handles
• Slide open windows
• Remove screens from windows
• Open simple latches
• Manipulate garbage can lids
• Pull apart loose boards or siding

Common Ways Raccoons Enter Homes

Understanding how raccoons can open doors and other entry points helps you protect your home better. Here are the most common ways these animals get inside:

Doors and Windows

Raccoons can push open doors that aren’t properly latched. They’re surprisingly strong and can put significant pressure on weak spots. Sliding doors are especially vulnerable because they can grip the edges and slide them open.

Windows without secure screens are easy targets. Raccoons can remove or tear through flimsy screens and push windows open if they’re not locked tight. They’re excellent climbers, so even second-floor windows aren’t safe if tree branches provide access.

Pet Doors

If you have a pet door for your dog or cat, raccoons can learn to use it too. They watch how pets come and go, then copy the same movements. Large pet doors are especially problematic because they give raccoons easy access to your home.

Vents and Chimneys

Roof vents and uncapped chimneys look like perfect den sites to raccoons. They remind them of hollow trees where they would naturally make their homes. Once they get inside these spaces, they can often find ways into your main living areas.

Damaged Areas

Raccoons are excellent at finding and exploiting damaged areas of your home. Loose soffits, broken roof shingles, and gaps around pipes all provide potential entry points. They can make small openings bigger by tearing and clawing.

Signs That Raccoons Are Trying to Get In

Before raccoons entering homes becomes a reality, you might notice warning signs that they’re testing your property:

• Overturned garbage cans with scattered trash
• Damage to bird feeders
• Tracks around your home (raccoon prints look like small human handprints)
• Scratches or claw marks on doors, windows, or siding
• Strange noises at night, especially scratching or chattering sounds
• Pet food disappearing from outdoor areas

The Problems Raccoons Create Inside Homes

When raccoons do manage to get inside, they can cause serious problems:

• Property Damage: They can tear up insulation, chew through wires, and damage wooden structures. They often create multiple entry and exit points, causing even more damage to your home.
• Health Risks: They can carry diseases and parasites that are dangerous to humans and pets. Their droppings can contain harmful organisms that spread through the air.
• Noise and Disruption: Raccoons are most active at night, which means their activities can disrupt your sleep. They can be surprisingly loud as they move around in attics or walls.
• Return Visitors: Once they find a good shelter spot, they’ll likely return. Female raccoons especially like to use the same den sites year after year to raise their babies.

How Skedaddle’s One-Way Doors Work

At Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control, we use special one-way doors to solve raccoon problems humanely. These devices are designed to let raccoons leave your home but prevent them from getting back in.

Here’s how the process works:

• Assessment: Our experts inspect your property to find all the ways raccoons might be getting in or out.
• Installation: We install one-way doors at the main entry points raccoons are using.
• Sealing: We seal up all other possible entry points so raccoons can’t find alternative ways in.
• Monitoring: We check to make sure the raccoons have left safely.
• Final Sealing: Once all raccoons are gone, we remove the one-way doors and seal those entry points, too.

This method is effective because it works with raccoon behaviour rather than against it. Raccoons can leave naturally when they want to search for food, but they can’t return to cause more problems.

Why Professional Help Is Important

Many homeowners try to solve raccoon problems themselves, but this usually doesn’t work well. Raccoons are smart enough to find new ways around barriers that aren’t professionally installed. They can also become aggressive if they feel trapped or threatened.

Professional wildlife control experts understand raccoon behaviour. We know where to look for entry points that homeowners might miss. Our team also has the right equipment and training to work safely around wild animals.

Preventing Future Raccoon Problems

The best way to prevent raccoons from entering your home is to make your property less attractive to them in the first place:

• Secure Food Sources: Keep garbage cans tightly sealed and don’t leave pet food outside overnight. Clean up fallen fruit from trees and secure bird feeders.
• Remove Shelter Options: Trim tree branches away from your roof and seal off potential den sites like spaces under decks or in sheds.
• Maintain Your Home: Fix damaged screens, secure loose vents, and repair any gaps in your home’s exterior.
• Install Proper Barriers: Use raccoon-proof latches on gates and consider upgrading to more secure door locks if you live in an area with many raccoons.

Ready to Protect Your Home? Call Skedaddle Today!

Now you know the answer to “can raccoons open doors” – and it’s definitely yes! These clever animals are capable of getting into homes in ways that might surprise you. Raccoons entering homes is a real problem that affects many homeowners in London and across Ontario. But you don’t have to face this challenge alone.

The key to success is preventing raccoons from entering your property before problems start. When prevention isn’t enough, professional help makes all the difference. Our humane one-way door system has helped thousands of families solve their raccoon problems without harming the animals.

Don’t wait until you hear scratching in your walls or find raccoon damage in your home. Contact Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control in London today to request an estimate and learn more about how we can protect your property. Our experienced team knows exactly how to keep raccoons out while treating these intelligent animals with respect.