Raccoons are moderate sized wild animals and they are known for their wit and agility. These animals are omnivores so are able to hunt and survive on a variety of types of foods. They usually prefer to stay in the wild and hunt there for a living but they are also easily attracted to any place with a lot of foods. Especially if these foods fall as part of their diet range, they are more likely to reside in these places. So if you are looking to keeping your house away from raccoons, the main factor you need to tackle is the easily reach to food at your place. As long as the raccoons have an easy reach to food, they would easily get into your house and would not leave that easily.
The problem with these animals is that they don’t come alone and they bring along with them many bacteria and viruses like rabies and this can be dangerous to especially children in the house. Moreover, these small animals are unpredictable and they might attack anytime, so it is risky to handle with them alone if you are trained to do so.
What kind of areas do raccoons like to be in?
Raccoons naturally reside in tree cavities, and this is especially true for mother raccoons who like to sit in hidden areas and look out for predators to guard their families and litter. Raccoons generally like quiet and dark environments so they choose places which are usually free of human movement or any other living creature for that matter.
This is why then raccoons enter our houses, they come in and reside in places which resemble their natural living habitats. They will come into our houses through the same way with which they reach to their tree cavity hideouts, which is basically by digging and climbing. These two methods are what they use often to get to sneaky little places they want to squeeze into. Below are a few of the common places in a house that raccoons might seek shelter at.
In the basement
Although this is not a common area where raccoons hide in, it is a very suitable area for them to seek shelter at if they are aware of this place in your house. The basement is dark and quiet and it is free of human movement during most of the day or even week. We only go down to our basements when we need to take something out of our storage, and most of us do not live in our basements so it is a good spot for the raccoons to stay in away from their predators and it is a good place for them to hide their food and also mate with each other. Therefore the basement is especially advantageous for female raccoons that are guarding their litter away from danger from predators.
In the attic
This is a very common place for not just raccoons but many other small animals and pests. Attics with food items in storage would be an even better target for hiding and again the attic is dark and quiet and away from human movement so it’s safe for mother raccoons especially for hiding with its litter. Moreover, the attic is easier to reach to than the basement, by climbing in with their agility. Especially if tree branches are touching the windows of your house and if your chimney is open without any mesh coverage, the raccoons can very easily reach to your attic.
In the crawl space
If your house in a raised level ground, then there will be crawl space under your house and raccoons can easily dig into that space and hide there. Just like the basements and attics, the crawl spaces are also very quiet without anyone around and they are also dark and warm for these nocturnal creatures to happily reside in. Although dry, they can dig through and create warm and moist holes in the ground for them to stay in.
In the spaces in between the walls
Raccoons can easily reach to and hide in the cavities in between the walls. Many walls nowadays are built with two materials and a gap between them. The space in between these two layers is a nice warm spot which conserves heat and moisture for the raccoons to safely reside in.
In the bathroom
This is rather rare because there are still humans moving around in the bathroom and area around it. But they are still likely to hide behind the pipes in the bathroom because it is one of the most wet, warm and cosy areas in the house.
In the chimney
This is also one of the most common areas in the house that raccoons would hide in. Chimneys resemble the hollow tree environment which makes it naturally a suitable place for their residence.
Inside the ceiling
There is actually a lot of space in the ceiling that we are not aware of and many animals and pests actually reside there. This is why we might hear some noises especially at night coming from our ceilings. Raccoons too are one of the many types of creatures and pests which seek shelter inside our house ceiling.
If you require assistance regarding raccoon infestations, contact Sande Wildlife Control today and allow us to help you through your raccoon problems!