5 Reasons Why Raccoons Are So Dangerous

If you ever see any signs of raccoons near your property, you'll want to contact a wildlife control service immediately. Raccoons aren't just a nuisance—they can be a real danger to your property and everyone in your home. If you spot a raccoon or think that you might have a raccoon problem, then you should schedule an inspection with a wildlife control service right away.

A reputable wildlife control service will be able to identify if you have a raccoon problem, trap and remove any raccoons present on your property and implement various methods for preventing raccoon problems in the future. To emphasize how serious a raccoon problem can be, the following are five reasons why raccoons are so dangerous:

1. Raccoons Can Carry Diseases and Parasites

It's not uncommon for raccoons to carry a variety of diseases, the most dangerous of which is rabies. Rabies is a viral disease that can be spread through saliva or blood, which means that if a raccoon with rabies bites a person or another animal, like one of your pets, there's a good chance that it could transmit rabies. Rabies is extremely dangerous and can cause fevers, headaches, muscle spasms, mental confusion, and paralysis. Once symptoms begin appearing, rabies can be fatal.

Two of the other common diseases that raccoons are known for carrying include roundworm and leptospirosis. Roundworm eggs tend to be shed in the feces of a raccoon. This means that if there are raccoons with roundworms present on your property, they could be defecating on your soil. If you have pets or young children playing in that soil, they could end up getting roundworms if they are to swallow any of the affected soil.

Leptospirosis is another serious disease that is spread through the urine and feces of a raccoon. It's a bacterial disease that is very rare in humans, but those who do get it can experience liver failure, kidney damage and in severe cases, even death.

2. Raccoons Can Injure Your Pets

Raccoons are very aggressive. If you have pets that you keep outdoors, they could be endangered by the presence of raccoons. This is especially true if your dog or cat attempts to attack the raccoon to chase it off. Raccoons will lash out in self-defense. They have sharp nails and will bite, which means that they could easily injure your dog or cat. Additionally, if there are more than one raccoon, your pet could be in trouble. Besides just injuring your pets, raccoons could infect them with some sort of disease, like rabies, as well.

3. Raccoons Can Injure Your Children

Raccoons typically stay away from humans, but if you have smaller children playing outside, raccoons may become aggressive in a defensive manner—especially if your children try to play with the raccoon. Raccoons may seem like cute, fuzzy little animals to younger children who don't know better, after all, and the last thing you want is for a raccoon to cause an injury and potentially an infection as well.

4. Raccoons Can Damage Your Garden

If you have a garden and you're growing vegetables or fruits, a raccoon will have no reservations about digging up your garden and eating everything that you've grown. If you think that raccoons have eaten some of your fruits and vegetables, you'll probably want to throw away any unaffected fruits or vegetables as well just in case they were exposed to raccoon saliva. 

5. Raccoons Can Damage Your Home

When you think of raccoons, you probably think of how they go through trash cans searching for food. But they will sometimes find a way into your home in search of shelter. This typically happens if they are looking for a place to nest. The last thing you want is a nest of raccoons growing in your attic, especially because of all of the damage that they can cause to your home. 

Besides just presenting a health risk to everyone within your home, raccoons can chew through wood, wiring, and insulation as they build their nest. They may also damage parts of your roof or windows as a way to get in and out of your house. It's especially dangerous if they chew through wiring since this could lead to an electrical fire. 

Last but not least, if there's a raccoon presence in your home, then they are definitely urinating and defecating within your home. Not only does this present a huge health risk, but it could cause damage to flooring, furniture, insulation and more.