Have you ever seen a raccoon? You know, those small furry gray animals? They probably look like giant rats or squirrels from a far, but once you come close, they look quite different.
That’s a raccoon. Just one of the many denizens of the urban environment. Depending on where you live, they might be a common sight… or not. Either way, they’re there to stay unless you do something about it.
But is having raccoons in the neighborhood a bad thing? Not necessarily, as they serve a purpose in maintaining the food chain while also controlling the population of the animals it eats.
But sometimes, it can be a little too much. As cute as they may be, sometimes you might want to actually deal with these furry creatures before they potentially inflict significant damage on you or your property. What kind of damage are we talking? Well…
Raccoons overthrow garbage cans in search of food
Raccoons are omnivores and generally not picky about the type of food they consume, as long as it’s food. This means that their food range can be almost anything, and they also don’t particularly care if the fruit they managed to get is already rotting.
This is why trash can incidents with raccoons are a major nuisance for many, because raccoons constantly knock over their garbage cans in an attempt to steal its contents.
Even worse if they placed all their trash inside wrapped plastic containers, the raccoons would just use their claws to rip it up, scattering the trash everywhere. Not only does this cause potential hygiene issues for the area, but the mess also makes it more prone to other pests like flies, inviting them to feast as well as lay their eggs.
Raccoons can destroy property
If you thought raccoons destroying plastic bags was bad, wait until you see raccoons going straight for your house. Indeed, not even your place of residence is safe from a raccoon, as they might think that it’s safe for them. And no, the raccoon does not do this by attempting to throw you out of the property.
Instead, what a raccoon does is similar to how they get to your trash cans: They use their claws to rip holes in the exterior of your home to gain access inside. If they find a suitable place that they want to call ‘home’, they’ll try and find it, ripping into the insulation in the process. The attics of houses are a favorite of these creatures, which can make finding them difficult if they’ve already managed to sneak in.
Raccoons will scratch and bite to defend themselves
Raccoons are wild animals. Naturally, this means that they have their own ways of attacking and defending themselves once things get hairy for them.
They shouldn’t be underestimated either, a threatened raccoon can inflict significant injuries to an unprepared person, and this is usually why getting professional help to remove a raccoon is much more advised than doing it yourself.
Raccoons carry potentially deadly diseases
Like any wild animal, one cannot be completely sure that a wild raccoon is safe from disease, even if it looks fine. Unless you’ve actually been paying attention to where a raccoon has been 24/7, you really can’t say for certain that the raccoon is indeed disease-free.
And it’s not like raccoons only carry mild nuisances that simply give you a cold or something. They can carry parasites like roundworms, and if you’re afraid of rabid dogs or cats, then you should be afraid of rabid raccoons as well since they can also carry rabies. That’s right, the dreaded rabies that guarantees death once symptoms start showing… those are the kinds of disease that raccoons carry. Of course, there are more diseases than that, but these are the most notable ones of the bunch. You would do well to stay far away, lest you get attacked and have its disease transmitted directly towards you.
Raccoons can contaminate the environment they touch
Related to above, because of the raccoon’s lifestyle and us not really knowing where raccoons wander off to when not in sight, we can’t trust that they’ve kept themselves clean, whether on the inside or the outside.
This means that racoons can be a danger simply from the things they touch. Food or water left out and gotten to by a raccoon is considered contaminated and not even your pet should even touch it. If a raccoon somehow manages to wriggle its way into your stuff, you’ll need to clean it thoroughly.
If it’s food and/or drinks, then you’ll need to say goodbye to that sandwich.
Wrapping up
Raccoons are still an important part of urban society, as they are able to take advantage of an ecological niche that few animals are able to, but they can also harass or even threaten the lives of people if left unchecked.
Therefore, it is imperative that the population of raccoons as well as their activities in relation to humans is always being kept in check to ensure proper co-existence between both sides.