9707 Craun Road, Dewitt, Michigan 48820, United States
Raccoons can be very destructive to property. They often cause nuisance issues due to their scavenging nature and resourcefulness. People usually find dens in attics, crawl spaces, garage, chimneys etc.
Diseases: Raccoons are carriers and transmitters of a variety of disease, some of which are very harmful to humans and pets. They are noted to carry and transmit distemper, dermatophilus, rabies, raccoon roundworm, leptospirosis, and salmonella through their excrement. They also introduce a variety of parasites, including ticks, mites, fleas, etc and thus the diseases associated with them. Avoid contact with raccoon feces and safely clean up areas where raccoons defecate (raccoon latrines) on your property.Avoid direct contact with water, soil and vegetation contaminated with raccoon urine.Contact MI Animal Contron nuisance control service for help cleaning up latrines and removing problem raccoons.Vaccinate cats, dogs and ferrets to protect them against rabies; consider vaccinating dogs for leptospirosis.
If you see racoon scat in your home, call us immediately. This is a VERY dangerous situation, especially with young kids, sick people, and the elderly.
Human Contact:
Discourage raccoons around your residence:
- Never feed raccoons
- Feed pets inside and store pet food inside
- Keep pets inside at night
- Prevent raccoons from entering your house through pet doors or other openings
- Keep garbage cans inside and use locking or secured lids outside
- Clean barbecue grills after each use
- Use secure bins for food composting
Although cute in the movies and cartoons, raccoons are fierce fighters.
Raccoons can be very protective of their young. They can also attack people if provoked by a person, or they may be ill and attack for no apparent visible reason at all. If you are bitten or scratched by a wild raccoon, please make sure you tell the nuisance control operator immeidately, as other precautions must be made on behalf of the state. Furthermore, seek immediate medical attention for the person who had contact with the animal.
Never touch a wild animal of ANY TYPE. You may jeapordize your health, the health and safety of the animal or its offspring, the demeanor of the animal, or the success that the animal will have on its own and without human intervention.
Biology/Animal Information
As explained by the State of Michigan DNR
Latin Name: Procyon lotor;
Order: Carnivora;
Family: Procyonidae
Raccoons are medium size adaptable furbearers with a masked face and ringed-tail. Average weights are nine to 20 pounds, but larger in the north where weights up to 62 pounds have been reported. Fur color varies from dirty blonde with darker guard hairs to reddish and darker colors. The hind legs are longer than the front ones, creating a hunched appearance when running.
Raccoons are widely distributed across the U.S. where they use varied habitats from streams, rivers, lakes, and wetlands to forests, prairies, farmland, and urban areas. Home ranges vary by habitat from 15 acres in urban environments to 12,000 acres in prairies. Raccoons in the wild den in hollow trees, ground burrows, brush piles, muskrat houses, barns, buildings, clumps of cattails, haystacks, and rock crevices.
They are omnivores eating fish, crayfish, mussels, fruits, grains, small animals, birds, and muskrats. Coyotes, bobcats, mountain lions, owls, eagles, and fishers prey on raccoons. Breeding occurs in January in the north to March in the south. Litters average two to five young, up to eight. Females breed their first year, males at two years of age.
Raccoons and squirrels will tear off pieces of siding, soffit material, roofing, and anything loose to get into a warm house.
Raccooons devastate sweet corn and other garden veggies. Exclusion serivces keep the garden safe!!!