Raccoon Removal & Exclusion Services
We know how to remove raccoons from your attic or crawlspace. Our raccoon removal experts will safely and humanely remove the raccoon from your home. Raccoons can wreak havoc on your garden and sod. They will also raid garbage cans in search of food.
If you have raccoons that have become a nuisance, the raccoon-control experts at Accurate Pest Control can help with safe and humane removal of the raccoons.
Raccoon Behavior & Habitat
Bandit-masked raccoons are a familiar sight just about everywhere because they will eat just about anything. These ubiquitous mammals are found in forests, marshes, prairies, and even in cities. They are adaptable and use their dexterous front paws and long fingers to find and feast on a wide variety of fare.
In the natural world, raccoons snare a lot of their meals in the water. These nocturnal foragers use lightning-quick paws to grab crayfish, frogs, and other aquatic creatures. On land, they pluck mice and insects from their hiding places and raid nests for tasty eggs.
These ring-tailed animals are equally opportunistic when it comes to choosing a denning site. They may inhabit a tree hole, fallen log, or a house’s attic. Females have one to seven cubs in early summer.
The young raccoons often spend the first two months or so of their lives high in a tree hole. Later, mother and children move to the ground when the cubs begin to explore on their own.
Raccoon-Transmitted Diseases
Rabies in Raccoons
Any direct contact with a wild animal needs to be taken seriously even if the animal appears to be healthy. Rabies incubates in a raccoon for some time before symptoms appear. Many symptoms of distemper in raccoons, which is NOT transmittable to humans and is still far more prevalent than rabies in raccoons, are very similar to the symptoms of rabies. Unfortunately, the only way to guarantee that the raccoon does not have rabies is for it to be killed for testing—even if it is a baby raccoon.
Depending on your area, it may be illegal not only to have a raccoon but also to not report any possible risk of exposure to rabies from a raccoon. Don’t let a perfectly healthy animal lose its life because of you. The best way to protect wildlife is to leave it in the wild and leave it alone. The best way to protect yourself, your family, and your pets from all strains of rabies is to have your pets vaccinated, keep away from stray or wild animals, and call your doctor if you think you may have been in contact with a rabid animal.
Raccoon Roundworm (Baylisascaris procyonis)
Raccoons are the normal host for the parasitic nematode or roundworm known as Baylisascaris procyonis. It is the common large roundworm found in the small intestines of raccoons. Cotton rats are believed to be a possible intermediate host. Adult raccoons are susceptible only to larvae from rodent tissue, while young raccoons are susceptible to infection by egg ingestion, where the larva hatches in the small intestine with migration apparently limited to the wall of the small intestine.
This roundworm is zoonotic, meaning it can pass from animal to animal (or human). In raccoons, these worms normally produce no symptoms in the infected host, other than possibly intestinal obstruction, and apparently do little or no harm to adult raccoons.
In the Midwest, prevalence is 70% for adult and 99% for baby raccoons, according to the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine. Adult worms measure 15 to 20 cm in length and 1 cm in width, tan-white in color, cylindrical, and tapered at both ends. The eggs are ovoid, brown, with a finely pitted outer shell, measuring 70 x 55 microns, and are passed in a one-cell stage. The eggs embryonate into larvae outside of the host.
Raccoon Distemper
Next to humans, the second leading cause of death in raccoons is distemper. Raccoons are susceptible to infection by both canine and feline distemper. Although both can cause acute illness and death, they are caused by two completely different viruses.
Canine Distemper is a highly contagious disease of carnivores caused by a virus that affects animals in the families Canidae, Mustelidae, and Procyonidae. Canine distemper is common when raccoon populations are large. The virus is widespread, and mortality in juveniles is higher than in adults.
Feline Distemper, also called feline panleukopenia, cat plague, cat fever, feline agranulocytosis, and feline infectious enteritis, is an acute, highly infectious viral disease affecting members of the Felidae, Mustelidae, and Procyonidae.