There are many upsides to living here in Savannah. One downside is that raccoons regularly invade and cause trouble for area homeowners. These masked pests love living in cities and take advantage of unsecured garbage bins and empty outbuildings. To help you understand what problems raccoons might pose on your property and to give you options to deter them, here are some things to consider.
Why Raccoons Invade Properties
Raccoons are the definition of opportunity seekers. The main reason these furry pests love to live around people is because of how easy it is to find food, water, and shelter. If your property offers raccoons any of their basic needs, they will regularly pay it a visit and are likely to cause trouble in the process.
Do Raccoons Invade Homes?
It is rare for a raccoon to be found indoors around general living areas like kitchens, bedrooms, and bathrooms. Keeping this in mind, these pests have no problem breaking into closed porches, outbuildings, and other secluded areas where you may not notice them immediately. They typically break into these locations to find shelter from inclement weather or to sleep uninterrupted during the day.
The Dangers of Raccoons
Raccoons are dangerous because of the many disease-causing organisms they can carry. Some of these organisms are microscopic and are spread through these pests' fecal droppings and urine. Others are larger, like fleas and ticks. These blood-feeding parasites bite both people and animals and are known for spreading a range of diseases including Lyme disease, and murine typhus. Like many other wildlife pests in our area, raccoons can also harbor rabies. If a rabid raccoon is on your property, it will be more likely to attack and may act out in odd ways.
Other Problems Raccoons Cause
In addition to spreading diseases, raccoons are destructive to property. Using their dexterous fingers, raccoons regularly break into and tip over garbage cans and tear apart trash bags, leaving garbage strewn everywhere. These furry bandits will also break into outbuildings, attics, and basements where they defecate, urinate, and destroy insulation. If raccoons have established a nest inside your living areas, you might start to notice an unpleasant smell in the air caused by their urine and fecal droppings.
Some Ways To Prevent Raccoons
At this point, you are probably wondering how to keep raccoons from causing trouble on your property. To help you with this, here are some tips and tricks our experts suggest you use.
- Install motion-activated lights around your home’s exterior.
- Clear up vegetation and debris to create a dry barrier around your home’s exterior.
- Invest in tough trash cans that have tight-fitting lids, or use a bungee cord to seal your current covers.
- Repair damage to your home’s exterior.
- Make sure your chimney has a rodent-proof cap.
- Trim back tree branches away from your home’s exterior.
- Install a fence around your yard and garden.
- Install a barrier to stop raccoons from crawling under your porch or deck.
The Absolute Best Solution To Raccoon Problems
If you are consistently having trouble with raccoons on your Savannah property or suspect these pests are nesting somewhere nearby, do not hesitate to involve a pest control professional. To make sure the job is done right and that these furry bandits do not return in the future, trust the experts at Prestige Pest Control. We will perform a detailed inspection of your property and remove any raccoons we find. We will then set up defensive measures to deter these pests from causing trouble in the future.
Call us today to learn more about our raccoon control options and schedule your Savannah property for a visit.