The raccoon is a stocky, heavily built animal, usually 60 to 95 cm long including the tail and weighing from about 5.5 kg to 22 kg depending on age and season. The coat is reddish brown to grizzled grey over the back and paler grey underneath. The face carries the black mask across the eyes that makes the animal unmistakable, set off by a long pointed snout and small upright ears. The tail is bushy with alternating dark and pale rings. Raccoons have five long toes on each front foot and use them almost like fingers, which is how they open latches, lift shingles and pull vent covers apart. They are mainly active at night.
Noises that start in late winter or spring usually mean a female has chosen your attic as a den.
Raccoons do very well in Canadian cities. Food is easy to find in garbage bins, green bins, compost, pet dishes and bird feeders, and there are far fewer predators than in the bush. What they want from a building is a dry, warm, defensible place to den, and attics, chimneys, soffits, porch decks, sheds and garages all suit them. Females look for den sites before giving birth, which is why entry into attics peaks in late winter and spring. Raccoons climb well and are strong enough to force weak building materials, so an aging soffit, a loose vent or an uncapped chimney is an open invitation. Scent left at a used den site can draw other raccoons in later seasons.
Raccoons are not aggressive by nature and normally avoid people, but they defend themselves and their young, so cornering one carries a real risk of bites and scratches. The health concerns are worth taking seriously. Raccoons in Ontario can carry rabies, and their droppings can contain raccoon roundworm eggs, which is why latrine areas and soiled insulation should be handled with proper protective equipment rather than swept up. They also carry fleas, ticks and mites that can move into the building. Property damage is often the larger cost. A denning raccoon tears insulation apart, chews wiring, damages ducts and soaks ceilings with urine and droppings.
Raccoons test a building constantly, so the goal is to leave nothing loose at the roof line.
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They are not left behind. We check for young before any exclusion work, and the job is handled so the mother can move her kits herself or so the family is reunited outside. Sealing a litter inside is inhumane and causes odour and further damage.
Not safely. If the animal is inside, it will either be trapped and die in the structure or tear a new opening, often causing more damage than the first one. The entry is closed only after the raccoons are confirmed out.
Not necessarily. Nursing females often forage in daylight because they need more food. An animal that appears disoriented or unsteady is a different matter. Keep people and pets away rather than approaching it.
Sometimes. Insulation that has been flattened, soiled with droppings or soaked with urine loses its value and holds odour. We will tell you what we see so you can decide whether cleanup and replacement is worth doing.
The same animal cannot return through a properly sealed opening. The risk is a different raccoon finding another weak point, since den scent lingers. That is why we screen the whole roof line rather than closing one hole.
Click the ant type to learn what to look for and why the right treatment plan matters.
Other pests we deal with that often turn up in the same places.
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