The raccoon has become one of the most commonly seen nuisance animals in the world. Raccoons are highly adaptable creatures that can survive in virtually any type of conditions as long as they can find food. They especially love to live next to unsuspecting humans, as there are some easier food sources available to them. Continue reading to find out what attracts raccoons to your home and how you can get rid of them.
Property
One of the biggest misconceptions about raccoons is that they randomly wander around until they find someone’s home. While this probably happens once in a while, the vast majority of the time the raccoon has a reason for being in a particular yard or house. Generally, the main reason raccoons are attracted to your home is because there is something that attracts them in your yard or on the outside of your house. The most common reason for this invasion of your property is because you have an easy food source located within it. Unsecured pet foods, garbage cans, and any fallen fruit from trees are all easy sources of food for raccoons. In addition to food, the raccoon might find itself a nice place to stay on your property, such as woodpiles, large stacks of stones or bricks, or even a nice tree. Raccooninformation.com is a great source to learn more about raccoons and what they look for when making a property their new home.
Home
If a raccoon makes its way into your home, it is probably due to the animal being attracted to your yard in the first place. However, once it is on your property, it might find your home very appealing for a variety of reasons. The first and most common reason is that it can find a warm shelter for the winter months. Generally, if a raccoon is a pregnant female, it will try to make its way into your attic. Attics provide excellent warmth and security for a nest of younglings. To ensure your attic is secure from a raccoon infestation, you can always hire professionals to inspect and repair your attic like those at adconstructionplus.com. Another common reason for a raccoon entering your home is that it can smell a food source of some kind. It might think that it can find all kinds of goodies if it can just make its way past your home’s exterior.
Trap Them
If you have raccoons in your home or on your property, a great way to get rid of them is to trap them. Be sure you learn how to trap raccoons if you want to do it safely, effectively, and humanely. An important thing to keep in mind is that if you are removing raccoons from your property, you need to make sure that there are no young raccoons anywhere. If they are still in your attic and you remove the mother, they will die slow, painful deaths and cause a terrible odor in your house. If you remove a mother raccoon, be sure to actively search for baby raccoons all around your attic, your house, and your property.
How Can I Prevent Raccoons?
The prevention of raccoons can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it. One of the simplest steps you can take to deter any future raccoons is to simply clean up your yard. Clean up any wood piles, debris, and fallen fruit from your yard. Be sure that all pet food is cleaned up before nighttime and be sure to secure your garbage. These are the most simple ways to prevent raccoons from coming onto your property.
When it comes to preventing raccoons from coming into your home, the steps become a little less simple. The first step to take is to simply examine your home’s exterior and interior. Be sure that there are not any large holes or gaps anywhere, but especially around your attic. If you find any problem areas, be sure to seal them up by using an all-weather sealant, aluminum sheeting, or fresh lumber. Always be sure to take care of any problems before they become larger problems.