Raccoons are among the cutest wild animals you're likely to encounter in the city. They are also very smart, and they lose their fear of humans, if you feed them. Although they may be fun to watch as they obsessively wash rocks in your birdbath, they can do a lot of damage to your property, so you don't want them around. The first step is to stop attracting the animals. You don't want them to think your home or land is a cozy and inviting place to linger. If a raccoon has turned into a nuisance animal, you should probably call a wildlife removal expert to get rid of it, as it won't likely leave on its own. Here's why you want to discourage raccoons and how to do it.

Why You Don't Want Raccoons Hanging Around Your Home

If a raccoon finds a handy source of food in your yard, the animal may decide to find a place to live close to the food source. Unfortunately, that place could be under your house or in your attic. A raccoon can chew through the roof and enlarge gaps in the roofing or siding to get inside your home. Once that's done, the animal can ruin your insulation, chew on wiring, and spread urine and droppings around your attic to create a health hazard. Even if the animal never makes it inside your house, it can be a real nuisance outdoors, if you have pets or kids that play in the yard. It may not be safe for them to be outside, if a raccoon could enter the yard, because raccoons might bite if frightened, and they can carry diseases, such as rabies. Also, raccoons can tear up your trash cans, knock down bird feeders, destroy fruit trees, and demolish your backyard garden. They can also kill small animals such as chickens, ducks, rabbits, or cats that you might have in your yard.

Why Calling A Wildlife Expert Is The Best Option

Even though a pesky raccoon may be frustrating you to no end, they are actually beneficial animals. They may even be protected where you live. You don't want to kill or trap a raccoon, until you know the law and what the repercussions might be for harming the animal or releasing it in an unapproved location. A professional expert can remove the raccoon, in a humane way, with a live trap, and release it in an approved location that is safe for the animal and in compliance with the law. Plus, by letting a professional deal with the problem, you won't have to worry about being bitten by a sick animal.

How You Can Keep Raccoons From Coming Back

A wildlife expert will help you identify the things that lured the raccoon to your property. He or she can advise you on ways to protect your garden from raccoons with fences or netting, so they don't think of your yard as a nightly buffet. You can wrap the trunks of your fruit trees when they bear fruit, and bring in bird feeders and pet food at night, since the animals are most active from dusk to dawn. Since raccoons are always present, they may pass through your yard now and then. By making food unavailable and sealing gaps and holes in your shed, garage, and home, the raccoons should keep on moving, until they find an easier property to raid and nest in.

For more information, visit websites such as http://molterpestandwildlife.com.

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