While raccoons are more likely to avoid you than attack you, under certain circumstances they can be dangerous. Share. They can serve as hosts to harmful parasites, bacteria, and viruses.Raccoons, along with skunks, foxes, and bats, are considered a primary carrier of rabies. From a raccoon’s point of view, humans make excellent neighbors. The rabies virus is transmitted through direct contact, usually a bite or scratch from an infected animal. If you keep small animals, like backyard chickens or pond koi, they may be vulnerable to raccoons. In later stages, symptoms progress to delirium, abnormal behavior, hallucinations, hydrophobia (fear of water), and insomnia.

This site contains affiliate links. Raccoons are nocturnal, meaning they’re most active at night, when they come out to search for food, mate and do other raccoon things. If you have a raccoon problem, contact If you have a raccoon problem, you’re not helpless. Here are a few signs to look out for:But you can tell whether a den is nearby if you spot latrines, communal areas used by raccoons for doing their business. They are often found in suburban and urban areas, making their homes in man-made structures like attics, sewers, barns and sheds. Raccoon aren’t mean to homeowners or their animals in general. Frequent hand washing is the best defense against parasites. If you purchase through these links we may receive a commission.Initial symptoms of a rabies infection in humans include weakness or discomfort, headache, and fever. This viral disease infects the central nervous system and can cause disease in the brain and ultimately death if left untreated. It can also be transmitted through shared water bowls and equipment. Rabies. Avoid close contact with wild animals and make sure your pets are up to date on vaccines. In urban areas, raccoons tend to stay closer to their dens with a range of only about 1 mile, depending on their age and sex.Raccoons are omnivores with an opportunistic diet; eating almost anything they can get their paws on. The majority of their diet consists of sweet foods like fruits and invertebrates.Raccoons can be extremely destructive due to their curiosity, intelligence, dexterity and climbing skills.Here are some signs to help identify a raccoon problem:Raccoons can carry several bacterial diseases and parasites that can be transmitted to humans and pets through a bite or the ingestion of raccoon waste.Some diseases that can affect humans and pets include:Although raccoons are notorious for carrying rabies, there has only been one recorded human death from raccoon rabies in the United States. Like their cousins, raccoons are true omnivores who eat a wide variety of foods, including nuts, seeds, fruits, eggs, insects, frogs, and crayfish. Raccoons prefer to avoid most other animals as well, especially larger ones that they may perceive as predators. By using this site you agree to these cookies being set. Signs of rabies in raccoons include lethargy, unusual movement as if it’s out of balance, aggressive behavior or lack of fear around humans, and foaming at the mouth. Here are a few steps you can take to convince raccoons to move on: If they are not foraging for food, they are most likely sleeping in their den. While it’s unusual, several factors might have forced a raccoon to move about before the sun goes down, such as a predator nearby. 4 Potential Problems With Pet Raccoons 1. Are Raccoons Mean to People or Pets? Even if you mean them no harm, it’s possible that these animals won’t perceive it the same way. This site uses cookies to improve your user experience. While many of these urban pests have lost their fear of people, they usually won’t act in a hostile way without cause. If you think you’ve been in contact with raccoon feces, call your doctor. What to do about raccoons. If you think you may have identified a rabid raccoon, call your local animal control authority immediately.A raccoon will rinse its food in water prior to eating it. Call animal control and report a possible case of rabies. Take defensive measures to protect your animals from raccoons. It’s also possible to contract rabies through contact with the saliva of an infected animal if it gets into an open wound, though this kind of transmission is rare. The virus may also cause the footpads to thicken and harden, leading to its nickname “hard pad disease.”Sometimes, raccoons come too close and begin to cause damage. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, in later stages, dogs develop circling behavior, head tilt, muscle twitches, convulsions with jaw chewing movements and salivation (“chewing gum fits”), seizures, and partial or complete paralysis. On this page, you will learn general raccoon facts and how to identify raccoon damage.Identifying Features: Gray fur with a black mask and 4-7 black rings around its tail; pointy snout with a black nose; dexterous front paws.Raccoons are natively found throughout most of North America. Unfortunately, once symptoms appear the disease is almost always fatal.In severe cases, these infections can cause kidney failure and meningitis.
Learn about raccoons and find out how what to do if they are causing problems on your property. There may also be prickling or itching at the site of the bite progressing within a few days to cerebral dysfunction, anxiety, confusion and agitation.

Early treatment may reduce serious damage, but no drug has been shown to be totally effective in treating infections. Raccoons are highly intelligent and curious creatures, but they can also be a nuisance to any homeowner. Use netting over your pond to keep raccoons from fishing. Raccoons are common and abundant throughout Massachusetts, with the exception of … Raccoons are highly intelligent and curious creatures, but they can also be a nuisance to any homeowner. Knowing how raccoons behave in the wild and around people can help you prevent problems before they occur. Raccoons are carriers of a particularly nasty type of roundworm, Once the eggs are ingested, they hatch inside the intestines and then travel to other organs and can affect the brain and spinal cord, the eyes and other organs.


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