Color: Salt-and-pepper gray and black with a prominent black “mask” over the eyes
Legs: 4
Shape: Stocky with a heavily furred, ringed tail
Size: About 2 – 3 feet in length
Region: Found throughout the U.S.
Raccoons are found throughout the U.S., but are more common in the wooded eastern states than in the more arid western plains. Raccoons are night creatures, so they’re rarely seen during the day.
Raccoons are omnivores. So they’ll eat plants and other animals, including fruits, berries, nuts, fish, frogs, insects, turtles, mice, rabbits, muskrats and bird eggs.
Raccoons usually have one litter per year, with three to five young being born in late spring or early summer.
Raccoons don’t hibernate, but they live in dens and become inactive during severe winter weather. They can live up to 12 years in the wild.
Raccoons are a major carrier of rabies in the U.S., especially in the east where their numbers are increasing.
They can also damage business premises, especially by entering through attics or chimneys, which they use as dens. Sometimes raccoons have ripped off shingles or boards to get into an attic, roof void or wall space.
Raccoons often raid garbage cans in search of food, and sometimes damage crops and gardens, plus destroy birds nests and even kill poultry.
Raccoons prefer to live in forested areas near water, but can be found around farmsteads and livestock watering areas. Raccoons build dens in hollow trees, ground burrows, brush piles, muskrat houses, barns and abandoned buildings, dense clumps of cattail, haystacks, or rock crevices.
Raccoons are omnivore scavengers. So they’ll eat fruits, nuts, insects, bird eggs, fish and small animals. They’ll also hunt around your garbage cans, compost bins and any pet food left outside.
Raccoons are extremely vocal. They communicate by using 200+ sounds, including purring, chittering, growling, snarling, hissing, whimpering, and screeching. Baby raccoons make mewing, crying, and whining sounds to communicate with their mothers.
The safest way to get raccoons out of your attic is to contact a professional wildlife control service like ours. DIY methods can be risky, as raccoons can become aggressive when threatened, especially if protecting their young. At RK Environmental, we have 20 years’ experience of dealing with raccoons. So we will humanely trap and safely remove them. We’ll then also seal vulnerable entry points to prevent them from returning. So we help keep your and your family protected.