Will raccoons go away on their own?

Lookie what's nesting in the ceiling above my front porch:





Well, maybe not this exact mama and babies, but how different does one raccoon family look from another?

Anyway, they apparently moved in this evening and the dogs are going insane. I don't really want to force them to go tonight if I don't have to because it's going to be really cold tonight. Will they go on their merry way when it warms up? This same thing happened about the same time last year, but babies weren't involved. I came down my stairs (inside!) to come face to face with a big ole' beautiful raccoon poking it's head out of an access panel we had cut in the ceiling between the front porch and the foyer. That was the only time I saw the little bugger, but maybe my Motel 6 light is on again? There's a perfectly good vacant house right next door. Why MY house?

Yeah. I read about the mothballs, but it also said not to use them around the babies because they will kill the babies with the fumes or something like that. I know that raccoons can carry rabies, and that gives me pause.

Raccoon racist. *snicker* That's kinda funny.

I actually adore raccoons. We had one fat little guy when we lived down in Knoxville who visited every single trash day. It never failed, I would set the trash out at night on the front porch and early the next morning, I would pull back the curtain to see him standing there with two egg shells in his little hands. When he saw me, he'd just waddle away.

Wayne K said:

They usually don't move into a strange place at this time of year. Maybe their home was invaded or destroyed. You can call animal control, they're humane. Or you can have Vinny "the Chin" and Charlie Walnuts have a little talk with them.

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LOL!! The website I went to mentioned that March and April are the normal times to find raccoons with babies. Mama's apparently on the job early this year.

Will animal control come out for free? I don't exactly have any money to pay them for removing the raccoons, and I sure don't want to hurt them.

We rescued a baby possum many years ago in Orlando, of all places. The poor little thing was just hanging (literally) in a bush outside the office where hubby worked at the time. Mama was nowhere in sight and there were cars everywhere. We brought him home and called animal control. They told us that it was ok to keep him for a little while, and to feed him kitten chow. He was so cute. He'd hang upside down on our balcony, and at the time I didn't realize that possums really did that. We eventually let him go in the woods since possums lose anything resembling cuteness when they grow up.

I'm reading a little about it. Supposedly they do sometimes go away on their own IF they are nesting because of babies. Supposedly they will move their babies at about eight weeks. It seems to me that this is the situation we've got here. I am also reading that if wildlife removal folks come out, they will probably euthanize the mommy and her babies because it's illegal to relocate raccoons for some reason in every state, but I also read that there are exceptions with special wildlife relocation experts. I don't see any of them being around where I live.

It's a little worrisome, the thing about rabies, but apparently there is only one documented case of rabies due to raccoons in the US ever. Most of them are from bats.

I guess I'm gonna have to call around in the morning to see what I can find out about it. Although I really do think raccoons are beautiful creatures and I certainly don't want mama and/or babies to be killed, I also don't want them to rip up the ceiling above the porch OR get inside the house and go after the dogs.

omg, I know. Raccoons are so cute and so smart. They're fascinating to watch, even when they are rummaging through your trash.

Bah--the only place around here that will come get them will euthanize mama and babies. Not gonna happen. Maybe I should just start setting more places at the dinner table?

Wayne K said:

If you're already setting places, I love to break bread with animal lovers. It's a true measure of a person's soul.

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C'mon over! An animal lover, I be.

Jean Marie said:

Best answer, so far

If you live close to CT, I can take care of your problem for you. If not, you're on your own.

Seriously, I volunteer for a wildlife rehab friend of mine who takes care of raccoons. She has a piece of property that backs up to open space and raccoons are her favorite. She takes care of and releases other wildlife, too.

I took care of a couple of raccoon babies for a few months. They are the most adorable creatures, smartest, too. We released them when they were ready.

In your situation, if there aren't any rehabilitators in the area, then you are stuck w/ them until mom decides to move on w/ the kids. Could be when it warms up. Whatever you do, don't feed them, 'cause they'll be around forever! Meaning, until the kids have kids.

It's a myth about raccoons being rabies carriers/having rabies. Most wildlife carry rabies. It's also patently obvious when an animal has rabies, too. Nothing to worry about, however, mom raccoon will be extremely protective over the kids, so don't leave any dry dog food out, it's their favorite, as is dry cat food. They like canned food, too.

You've apparently provided her w/ warmth, which is what she was looking for as well as a high protected area to raise her young. Guess the vacant home didn't fit the bill Maybe, it was lacking in decor...

In the interim, have fun

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I wish I could get a picture of them, but I really don't want to frighten mama and make her feel defensive. for now, I'm just leaving them to do their little raccoony thing. I live in Tennessee, so I guess I'm on my own. I really don't mind them at all. My biggest worries are if mom feels threatened by the dogs barking at her babies' squeaks and tries to defend them, or if she tears up wiring in the ceiling. I dont' really worry about rabies because of what you said and because I read that there's only one documented case of rabies from a raccoon ever in the US.

Kitty Pryde said:

I used to live at a summer camp that was overrun with raccoons (and skunks, and coyotes, and king snakes, and rattlesnakes). In the year I lived there, raccoons:

-broke into our garbage and made a huge mess
-broke into our bungee-corded shut garbage and made a huge mess
-chased innocent camp counselors all over the property
-sliced the heck out of the face of Georgie-Boy, The Toughest Cat In The World, necessitating many expensive veterinary services
-after getting sprayed with the garden hose for breaking into the garbage, chewed a million tiny teeth-holes in the garden hose
-when they found garbage cans they couldn't break into, they rolled them downhill from one end of the property to the other
-stood outside in packs of ten, hissing at us through the screen door any time we fried catfish
-climbed into our truck through a three inch window gap, unzipped my backpack, where they found and ate three Minty Aero Chocolate Bars from England, chewed up a vintage Doc Savage paperback novel, and pooped ALL OVER the inside of the entire vehicle

So, I wouldn't kill 'em, but I am definitely not in the 'raccoons are precious' party. Too smart and devious and gross. I've heard loud music can drive them away, then you can seal up the part of your home where they've taken up residency. Good luck with the little buggers.

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They are smart, for sure. But I wouldn't call them devious or gross. They're just doing what comes natural to them which is locate food when it's around. Really, they sound like raccoons that were accustomed to finding food where your camp was (which is probably also their home, or really close to it.) For example, your backpack had food, the raccoon wanted food and it got it. It's like they say with bears in the wild: If ya don't want them around, don't bring them a picnic. And raccoons are just as determined as they are smart. If they know food is somewhere, they will use their little dexterous hands to get at it. And if they have been fed there (deliberately or accidentally, like with the trash and your pack or with cat food left for cats) they know where to find the food. They don't reason like we do, so to them it was a treasure hunt for a snack.

If you think about it, you and the other campers were the guests in their home--the wilderness, so to speak.

And noooow, I can see out my window that two squirrels are chasing each other back and forth across the power line going from the main pole to the house. It's flippin' Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom around here!