Are raccoons stealing dog and cat food on your property? Raccoons are omnivorous animals. This means they prefer to eat plants and meat. Many animals that eat plants and meat are opportunistic animals. In general, raccoons eat whatever they can get their hands on, including berries and vegetables, and this is why you will see them in the trash. This includes raccoons stealing and eating your dog and cat food as well.

A raccoon’s main diet is nuts, berries, insects, rodents, plants, frogs, eggs, and other small rodents. Of course, this is when they are in the wild. They will stray from these food sources when other sources are more abundant. If they are living near suburban areas it is much easier to dig through your trash and get leftovers. It is even better when they find a bowl of dog or cat food left out for them. There is almost nothing a raccoon won’t eat!

Raccoons are often one of the biggest cause of problems in suburban areas. They are extremely smart and have hand-shaped paws that allow them to open almost anything. The best way to deter raccoons is to make sure they do not have a reason to be there. Make certain your trash can is locked up tight or put away until the morning the trash collector comes. Also, do not leave food out near open windows. You just may be inadvertently inviting an unwanted visitor into your home.  And then you've got real problems!

If you eat outside on your patio, any leftovers need to be removed. Also, make sure no food was overlooked and dropped on the ground. Dog and cat food must to be kept inside. If you feed your animals outside, make sure you clean up any pieces that may have been dropped. If a raccoon smells any food in the area, he will come looking for it. Once raccoons find a good source of food they will want to make a home close by. This will often be in someone's attic!

Raccoons can climb on roofs and chew holes in the eaves to get into the attic. They do this when they find a safe and quiet spot to nest. This can lead to additional structural damage on the inside and outside of your home.

Once a raccoon has entered your attic, the destruction begins.  A raccoon can easily dismantle your HVAC, and a nesting mama raccoon will ruin your insulation by making a nest for her babies.  Raccoon feces and urine will destroy insulation quickly, and this can lead to expensive attic restoration. As cute as they are, raccoons just don't belong in your home.

If raccoons are in the area to stay, you may begin to see a lot of fecal droppings. This may be in your attic or yard, depending on where they decide to stay. This is extremely unsanitary and may cause several health concerns. The main concern is a disease you can get from coming into contact with raccoon fecal droppings called Baylisascaris.

This disease comes from roundworm eggs in the fecal matter. Roundworms live in the raccoon's intestines. This is not harmful to raccoons, but is extremely harmful to humans and other animals, creating neurological damage. Symptoms may include tiredness, lack of attention to surroundings, fatigue, and an enlarged liver. Also, loss of coordination, lack of muscle control, blindness, and even coma can occur. These symptoms may start to show anywhere between one and four weeks after contact. If you start to display any of these symptoms, you should go to the doctor immediately.

Raccoons have also been known to kill cats, especially when there is a disagreement over food.  Its a wise kitty who knows when to back down from a hungry raccoon!

It helps to know if there is more than one raccoon that we are trapping. This information will help us determine the number of traps needed. For raccoon families, we set the same number of traps out so we can catch the entire family together. Our technicians will always relocate family members together if possible.

We may go as far as to hold the raccoons for a day or two. During this time we are able to feed and water them. We try to keep a family together because they have a better chance of surviving together. When relocating animals, we are putting them in another animal’s territory. This results in the raccoons to find other food and water sources. They may have to either fight for territory or avoid the other predators and hide. If they are by themselves, it is much harder and they may not survive.  We want to give every raccoon the best chance of survival.

Sometimes we actually trap 2 or even 3 juvenile raccoons in the same trap!  Its amazing how competitive these little fellows can be over some yummy raccoon candy!

There are specific baits we use to attract each species. Raccoons really love cat and dog food. However, if there are domestic animals around we use a different bait. We will use baits such as marshmallows or Twizzlers. These are sweet baits that dogs and cats do not enjoy.  However, raccoons love these treats!

Once all of their food sources have been removed, raccoons should move on. However, there are times when this is not enough because they have already settled down and made a home. This is when our company steps in to help with the relocation of the raccoons.  We use live traps that are harmless to the raccoons and any other animals that may get in them. The live cage traps are used to prevent unwanted harm to domestic animals.

Although the little fellow on the left seems a bit surprised at his predicament, he is on his way to a beautiful wildlife reserve where he will have access to food, water and shelter.  Everything he needs to live his best raccoon life!

At Apex Wildlife Control, we offer a fecal cleaning and deodorization service for all the little "presents" your unwanted visitors have left.  It is extremely important that the correct equipment is used to safely clean up fecal droppings from raccoons and other wildlife.  Safety goggles, suits, gloves, respirators, and proper cleaning supplies are needed for your protection.   Due to the incredible amount of disease raccoons carry, their droppings can make you and your pets very ill.  We also perform fecal cleaning and deodorization for attics due to damage created by raccoons, as well as rats and squirrels.

So if you have some little masked bandits stealing your cat's food, call Apex Wildlife Control today.  Your cat will thank you.