Madison Squirrel Removal
Raccoon Removal Squirrel Removal
Madison Bat Removal
Brennon Miller
1-888-229-2036
All Live Humane Removal
Certified bat exclusion Professional / Licensed / Insured
Wildlife removed / Entry repaired / Job Guaranteed
please visit
http://www.usanimalcontrol.com/
Madison wildlife removal specializes in all types of animal trapping and exclusion. We remove From bats, raccoons, skunks, squirrels, snakes, opossums, beavers, flying squirrels, rats ,mice and birds of all kinds including pigeons. Any type of critter Removal & control is what we do on a daily basis. Squirrels in attics or in chimneys are a common problem in Madison
15 years experience
After we remove Madison WI raccoons and or squirrels from your chimney we recommend a commercially made cap. When we remove raccoons from your attic we find an appropriate method of closing the entrance. Most Madison WI raccoons enter the attic through the attic fan or through rotten wood.
If the raccoon enters through rotten wood, we cover it with sheet metal so it cannot ever get back inside. All raccoon and Madison WI squirrel jobs come with a free attic inspection.
1-800-714-8727
Madison squirrel control,Madison raccoon Madison control,Madison bat control,Madison snake control,Madisonbat
removal,in attic,fox,squirrel,bat,raccoon,snake,Madison animal control ,animal,removal,wildlife control,Madison wildlife Trapping, Madison WItraping,
trap,Madison pest, Madison control,Madison squirrels, Madison raccoons,Madison bats, Madison birds,Madison snakes, Madison mice,
Madison rats,Madison Madison opossums, Madison skunks, Madison wild, animals, Madison bat, Madison bird, Madison pigeon, Madison mouse,Madison rat, Madison
snake,Madison squirrel, Madison groundhog, Madison groundhogs, Madison skunk, Madison dead animals, Madison carcassas,
Madison odor, removal, Madison house, Madison attic,Madison garage, Madison shed, Madison basement, Madison vent, Madison vents, Madison nest,
Madison nests, Madison exclusion, chimney,Madison
Traps
Types of traps vary for any application. Most Madison homeowners will choose the live trap as their first choice when to attempt trapping raccoons from their home or yard. These traps can be very easy or very hard to use due to the many factors that come into play. First, if you have a problem assembling the trap then you have no business actually trapping the animal. These are mechanical devices and if you cannot put them together, then how do you expect to safely remove the animal,
from the trap. The rear door release safeguard trap is a good use trap for the homeowner. It is delivered already assembled. The Havahart trap you can usually can purchase from your local hardware store needs to be put together and most times I find that homeowners assemble it completely wrong. It doesn't mean this trap doesn't work, just that the homeowner can't follow directions. This is the person who should find
a professional trapper to remove raccoons. There are many ways to acquire your own trap for example www.craigslist.org This is a good place to find a local assembled trap someone else bought and used and may also have some valuable tips on trapping in your local area. Most important, this trap most likely has some animal scent on it. A new trap has no scent on ti and may take some time for the animal to get used to it. Another place to acquire
a trap is www.ebay.com This is a good place to research types of traps. From live to killing, most traps exist here. but beware of buying something you cannot touch or feel. returns will be difficult. Last but not least, at the bottom of these pages I always have a link to a company who sells traps
Madison WI Identification of the raccoon is most important.
Are you sure it's a raccoon? Just because you see a raccoon in your neighborhood, doesn't mean the noise in your attic is a raccoon. Now actually seeing a raccoon on the roof, well, that's a raccoon in the attic! Raccoons tend to exploit openings under soffets, attic fans, attic vents, and rotten plywood or rotten trim wood. So, if you are going to trap your raccoon, then get ready to do a through inspection from looking in the attic
for raccoon poop to climbing on ladders and walking on your roof to find the entrance. The entrance to your attic can be as small as a three inch diameter hole, an area you can insert your fist, but try to refrain from inserting it, the raccoon might be waiting just inside the entrance. Another thing very important to consider is the time of year it is. Spring is birthing season and if you trap a raccoon after April fools day, then you risk taking a lactating female. What
then, remove the mother, then the babies die. Try inserting 2 to5 pounds of hamburger in your walls or attic and let it rot, this is what these dead babies will smell like. Release the mother, then you are back to square one. "Eureka I have the problem solved" Call a person listed on this site. The one in your state. the one listed in your county or city. This situation is more than you want to handle. It can be difficult for the wildlife removal professional
also.
Release or removal of the animal from the trap
Be careful releasing animals in your local park or wooded areas can be illegal in your state. Not to mention, if you trap a rabid animal that shows no signs of rabies, that animal can infect all wildlife in your park or wooded area that children play. Hell, it may get you on its way out of the trap. If you must trap wildlife make sure you contact your local animal control warden to see if its even legal. Always check your state laws concerning trapping of wild raccoons.
Madison Squirrel removal and Madison squirrel control can
be very challenging. It will require many different types of tools and
ladders to complete this task. There are many different types of squirrel traps. Live traps in the attics aren't as effective as you might think. Trapping Madison squirrels at the roof entrance and near the entrance can be very successful Most Madison squirrel control service work is at the roof line if the house or dwelling. Getting the Madison squirrel out of the attic may require trapping, although it can be done through exclusion. A combination of exclusion and trapping is the best way to permanently keep Madison squirrels out. Properly trained & licensed exclusion professionals will make Madison squirrel Removal, problem
free. Madison animal control
officers will respond free of charge when a squirrel is in the living areas of your home. How to Trap Squirrels & trapping Squirrels Squirrel Removal Prevention Choose Madison squirrel Removal
Madison Raccoon Removal and Madison Racccoon Trapping is very dangerous work. Madison Raccoons have a higher possibility of carrying rabies and will be aggressive if cornered in the attic or inside your chimney. Most county and state animal control officials will respond to a Madison raccoon inside you living areas of your home at no charge. When the Madison raccoon takes up residence in your yard, crawlspace, attic, and chimney then
you need a professional. Most Madison wildlife removal and control
professionals have had a rabies pre-exposure vaccine administered to them. A contaminated attic may need Attic Decontamination is a most after removing these animals. Look here for Center for Diseses Control information on Madison raccoon fecal matter removal.
Madison Skunk Removal and Madison Skunk control will always be unpredictable. The spray from a Madison skunk can linger for weeks. unless you are very brave and or very confident, always have a Madison skunk professional remove these friendly but smelly creatures. Dogs that get sprayed by the Madison skunk usaully try to rub the smell from a Madison skunk onto your carpet or couch.
Madison Opossum trapping and Madison opossum removal is less dangerous than most other wildlife control, it is still not for everyone. The opossum is part of the kangaroo family. usually the opossum resides in the lower areas of your dwelling. The Madison opossum usually feeds on the dead caucus of other animals. Trapping Madison opossums removal and exclusion is the best way to handle these creatures. Madison Opossums usually are geound dwelling animals, if you hear noises in the attic and saw Madison opossum in the back yard, it doesn't mean its in your attic, although it can be if the attic has easy access. These Madison opossums are sometimes referred to Madison possums
Madison Snake Removal Madison snakes get the worst publicity of all. They have been feared since biblical times. Although Madison snakes are sometimes thought to stalk humans that's quite untrue. they're very east to predict. Food, heat and water is all they pursue. Take any of these things out of the equation and the snake leaves. Madison Wildlife control professionals know how to remove the factors and then remove the Madison snake problem.
Madison Beaver Removal Madison Beavers destroy man made habitat, but create much needed wetlands. The Madison beaver will never stop tearing down trees and blocking waterways. Most humans cannot tolerate beavers when they devour the ornamental trees that humans plant . Tree replacement can be very expensive. some trees such as weeping cherry and weeping willows can be hundreds of dollars to replace and Madison beavers can fall 5 trees per night. If you remove these trees the Madison beaver will fall anither tree the next night olny to eat the tops first.
Madison Bird Removal from Vents Madison birds crap all over everything. from Madison starlings nesting in vents to Madison pigeons roosting at areas where humans do business, Madison birds create many environmental hazards..After Having the Madison Birds it is very important to have the area decontaminated.Bird Netting And bird Spikes in Madison are good solutions to your Madison bird control methods
Madison Bat Removal Bats in Madison are considered carriers of rabies and should be excluded by professionals. There are to many variables in which to consider in Madison bat control and exclusion. Every situation in Madison is unique and should be evaluated and handled by a Madison licensed wildlife animal control professional. Experience is the key in removing these Madison Bats. From vents with a maternity colony to completely
infested buildings, Madison bat exclusion work is the most detailed work that can be done by the Madison Bat certified professional. After removing Madison bats in the attic one should consider Madison attic decontamination for further protection against disease.
Madison mole Removal Moles are one of the common species of
wildlife that we are called upon to control in North Houston. Moles can
be found living in at lawns and landscapes throughout Madison. Madison mole removal and
mole trapping should be initiated as soon as the mole has been discovered
living in these areas as Moles will tunnel through lawns damaging root
systems and making it unstable to walk on the lawn. Expensive
landscaping can be ruined quickly by this very small animal. Madison is
home to the Eastern Mole. Moles also take up residence under porches and
patios Mole Removal Is Very Important to protect these areas. Moles create tunnels underground and "push up" the dirt that is
excavated and deposit it on the surface of your lawn or landscape.
Moles commonly eat earthworms and grubs.
Raccoons
Raccoons(Scientific name:
Procyon lotor) Raccoons are highly intelligent mammals of our
forests, swamps, marshes, farms, parks and even urban areas. Their name comes from the Algonquian Indian
word arakun, which means "scratches with his hand." The species name, lotor, is the Latin
word for "washer" and refers to the raccoon's habit of washing food with its front paws. Raccoons are Wisconsin's
only ring-tailed mammal with a black face mask--distinctive characteristics that place
these night-roamers on the list of most widely-recognized
animals in our state, along with the white-tailed deer, black bear and bald eagle.
The raccoon is a compact, stocky mammal, about the size of a large
cat or a small dog. It has a robust body with short front legs and large hind quarters.
Adults stand about a foot high and
average about 32 inches from nosetip to tail.
They typically weigh between 14 and 24 pounds but large males--referred to as
boars--may reach 40 pounds, and exceed 3 feet in length. Females are called
sows. Both sexes look alike, except boars are about 15% larger than sows. The
young are called kits.
The raccoon's head sports the well-known black "bandit" face mask that sweeps out across
its cheeks. A rim of white fur outlines the mask, making it a very distinctive feature.
The raccoon has a black pointed nose, and
small but alert black eyes. The rounded, erect ears stand about an inch long and are
tipped in silvery white. Another well-known feature of the raccoon is its long bushy tail
with 5-8
dark rings circling its entire length. The black bands are separated by lighter
areas of dull yellowish white. The tip of the tail is usually always dark. The tail is
shorter than the body is long, about 8-16 inches in length.
The thick, coarse "salt and pepper" fur is about 1-2 inches long in tones of black, gray
and brown with silvery white highlights. The back fur is darker than the grayish belly fur.
Some unique individuals come in
buff brown,
mostly black or dull yellowish orange. Rare cases of pure black,
white, or reddish raccoons may be found in the wild. Sometimes these colors occur more commonly
in captive-bred raccoons due to selective breeding practices. When a
raccoon emerges from its winter's den in spring, its coat often appears patchy because
the animal has rubbed itself on the den walls all winter long. Raccoons shed these winter-weary coats
over an extended period each summer. As fall approaches, their pelts thicken and prepare them
for the cold months ahead. Their winter coat is thicker and glossier than their summer coat.
Back to Top
A raccoon's front paws leave prints that look like tiny hands.
The 2-1/4 to 3-inch long paws are very agile and can easily turn and
manipulate objects. The hind paws range in size from about 3-1/8 to 3-3/4
inches long. All paws have five toes, each bearing a
short, curved, non-retractable claw. A raccoon makes a characteristic track along
muddy shorelines. Its track consists of paired front and hind paw prints, with the
left hind paw placed next to the right front paw as it lumbers along.
If you are near a waterway, look for piles of crayfish parts and clamshells.
These telltale signs are good indications that a raccoon (or an otter) has been in
the area. Since raccoons do not cover their droppings (called scat or feces by
biologists) and because they tend to use the same "toilet" or "latrine" night after
night you may find small piles of scat on rocks, logs, stumps or bases of hollow
trees. Raccoon latrines are often found in piles outside their den trees. Their
droppings are long and granular, often containing signs of what they
have recently eaten....from crayfish to grape skins and seeds.
Sometimes you may be able to find bones of a raccoon in the wild.
Raccoon skulls are quite distinctive. Look for both large canine teeth and
grinding teeth, caracteristic of omnivores.
Back to Top
Raccoons have an excellent sense of hearing. They also have good eyesight and
night vision. However, they have only a fair sense of smell and taste.
Their sense of touch is extremely well developed, especially in the soles of their flat,
hairless black feet. They are constantly feeling around with their paws. Every glittering
stone, every unusual object, every smelly tidbit catches their eye or nose and
they will stop to inspect these objects with intense scrutiny.
A raccoon usually shuffles along with slow, deliberate steps. Perhaps because
of its lumbering walk and the fact that its rear end stands higher than its front quarters,
the animal looks rather clumsy. However, it can bound away very quickly to the nearest
tree, climbing it with ease. Still, it seldom exceeds 15 mph and so can easily be
caught by a dog. Raccoons are also strong, but slow, swimmers and are fond of wading
in water up to the midpoint of their body.
Raccoons make a variety of sounds. If a dog, coyote or person corners
the animal, it will snarl and growl harshly. If suddenly and badly frightened, it will
make a rasping scream. During the warmer months, a raccoon will occasionally make a
loud, long, tremulous, high-pitched whistle that sounds a bit like the call of
a screech owl, though much more harsh in nature. On a quiet, windless night, this call
can travel over a mile. Raccoons also "purrrr" or "churrr" loudly when they are
content. Their low-pitched purr is used to call their young together. They grunt
repeatedly to their kits to warn them of impending danger and sometimes they hiss in a
scolding manner. Kits beg for food with a musical "orr-orr-orr", and cry and
whimper like a child when hungry or deserted. They will squeal loudly if
handled roughly or violently disturbed.
Raccoons typically live within a home range of 3-5 square miles. Boars tend to roam farther...
up to 20 square miles. All raccoons will roam farther than normal if food becomes scarce.
These mammals tend to live alone most of the year. Boars are very territorial and their home ranges seldom
overlap. In late spring and summer, raccoons are often seen roving in family bands of the sow
and her kits. You may sometimes find an entire family in one tree.
In fall and winter a "coon tree" may contain as many as six animals huddled in the
same den.
These ring-tailed masked mammals tend to be mild mannered and will run rather than
fight if provoked. However, if cornered, they are an admirable adversary for
any predator because they are very strong for their size.
Raccoons mate as soon as the
winter temperatures begin to moderate, usually sometime between the last week in January
and the middle of March. Sows breed only once a year. Boars breed with several
females each breeding season. However, if a sow should lose her litter to
predators or severe weather early in the year, she may attempt to mate again.
Males born the previous spring--called yearlings--generally do not breed.
However, about 30% of yearling females may produce a litter. Approximately
80-90% of females that are one-year old or older successfully produce a litter
each year. If late winter and early spring snows are deep, the raccoons may not
be able to mate because it is too difficult to move about in the deep snow. In
such cases, they will continue their attempt to breed as late as early summer. The
problem with this late breeding is that the young will be smaller than normal as they
enter into the fall and winter seasons.
Once a pair of raccoons have successfully mated, the boar plays no further part in family
life. The sow, however, begins her search
for a secure den site in which to bear and raise her young. She generally selects a
hollow tree lined with nothing more than the old rotten wood of the cavity itself.
She may also use an abandoned beaver lodge, muskrat house, abandoned woodchuck burrow, a cave or old mine, brush
pile, rock outcropping, dense clump of cattails, haystack, culvert, storm drain,
vacant shed, barn loft, and even an attic or a chimney in urban areas.
After the sow has nurtured the developing fertilized eggs inside her for
63 days, she gives birth in April or May to a litter of from two to nine kits. The average
litter size is four kits. The babies are born as helpless, 2- to 3-ounce fuzzballs.
Their eyes are closed but they have well-defined masks and they can crawl around in the den.
The mother's milk nourishes them during their early weeks in the den.
The kits grow rapidly once they are born. After 18 to 23 days, their eyes open, but they
don't gain accurate sight until much later. They stay in the den until they are about
8 to 10 weeks old, nursing until they are 14 weeks of age.
By late May or early June, the kits are about two months old. They begin to sit
outside their den on bright days and eventually make short trips away from the den.
The young are very curious and playful. They frequently play by themselves or with their
siblings. Even older animals will play by themselves. They are extremely curious and will
snoop around and investigate just about anything. In this manner they learn
quickly about the world around them.
By July, the sow leads her kits to the nearest source of
food. It is not uncommon to see family groups romping through trees or along
creekbanks in late summer evenings.
By late summer and early fall, they begin to establish their independence
and a territory of their own. Sometimes by late fall, the families split up. In other
instances, the young "den up" with or near their mother during their first winter. The yearling
raccoons then strike off on their own the following spring, when they are 13-14 months old.
By then, the sow needs the home den for her next litter of kits that she will
produce that year. Raccoons live, on average, only about 5 or 6 years in the wild, but
can live up to 14 years when cared for in zoos.
Yearling females don't tend to travel very far from where they were born.
On the other hand, yearling males may travel up to 5 miles away from their birth den.
Adults are no stranger to long treks. As a local population of raccoons grows and the food
resources diminish, raccoons typically disperse up to 30 miles away from
their birth site. Some have been reported to travel as far as 160 miles or
more, though such great distances are rare.
Raccoons are nocturnal which means that they are most active all night long,
from about an hour before sunset to an hour after sunrise. The boars tend to
move farther than the sows at night. During the daytime, raccoons that live
in swamps or marshes rest in beds located on high ground or in old beaver lodges.
Raccoons that live in forests may rest in hollow trees, old leaf nests built by tree
squirrels or abandoned nests of large birds during spring and autumn. In agricultural areas
they may find haven in old barns and abandoned outbuildings. Sometimes raccoons will seek
shelter in rock crevices, burrows or caves. Raccoons use more than one resting area
and seldom use the same site two days in a row. The distances between their
various resting sites may be a mile or so.
When the snow falls or when temperatures drop to 20 degrees Fahrenheit or
lower, raccoons retire to their winter dens until warmer weather returns.
They curl up in a ball or lay on their backs with their front paws covering their
eyes. This long period of winter sleep is not a state of true hibernation since
raccoons do not experience the near-death reduction in heart rate, body
temperature, respiration or metabolism that occurs in true hibernating
mammals such as chipmunks, ground squirrels or woodchucks. If temperatures
reach 32 degrees Fahrenheit and if the snow isn't too deep, raccoons often wake
up and forage outside for food.
Back to Top
A raccoon's diet varies throughout the year, but the animal will eat just about anything
depending on what's ripe and in season. Biologists call animals with this varied diet omnivores
which means they eat both plants and animals. The furry mammals relish
plums, gooseberries, blackberries, blueberries, dogwood berries, wild
cherries, currants, wild grapes, apples and hawthornes. They find
acorns, hazelnuts and beechnuts quite appealing when in season. They
will also eat the shoots and tender buds of many trees as well as the
seeds from such plants as ragweed and smartweed.
Raccoons travel and feed exclusively at night, beginning as soon as the sun goes down.
They roam up to a mile each night in search of food. Sometimes raccoons will climb
through tree tops in anticipation of catching a sleeping squirrel or bird or a
bird eggs. In old pastures, hayfields or along roadsides, raccoons are noted for raiding nests of pheasants,
wild turkeys and other ground nesting birds.
These roving mammals are a major predator of turtle eggs. In June, turtles come
ashore to dig shallow pits along sandy ridges in which to deposit their rubbery-shelled eggs.
Often that same night, raiding raccoons dig the eggs out in a feeding frenzy. Raccoons also
will grub about in the mud for crayfish, snails, baby turtles and clams.
Frogs are a staple of the raccoon's summer diet. They have also been known to
sit by the water's edge and grasp shallow-swimming fish with their sharp claws and
dexterous fingers. They eagerly devour the crunchiest grasshoppers and crickets
or the slitheriest of small snakes. Raccoons even eat dead animals,
called carrion.
Much of the raccoon's native foods have been reduced or eliminated due to people's
increasing destruction of wild habitats. Therefore, raccoons are forced to rely on food sources
supplied by people, which, in turn, leads to nuisance complaints by those people. In
urban areas, raccoons are known to raid garbage cans, bird feeders, and outdoor pet food
dishes. If they find a particularly good source of food, the raccoons come back again
and again, often at the same time each night. Many a park camper knows all too well how these night-time bandits readily
whisk away any tasty tidbits left on the picnic table or in an unlocked cooler.
In agricultural areas, field corn is an important
food for raccoons during winter and early spring. The animals are
especially destructive to cornfields when the ears are in the milk
stage (when the kernels are plump and juicy). Home gardeners, also know
the raccoon's appetite for sweet corn. The coons usually raid the plot
a day or two before the gardeners were planning on picking their corn!
Raccoons also love cantaloupes, watermelons and tomatoes.
Raccoons eat their food using their paws, often sitting upright on their haunches.
Folklore is rich with tales of how they take their food to the water's
edge to "wash" it or "play" with it. Actually, raccoons do not always dunk
their food, even when near water, and they certainly don't hesitate to eat a tasty
morsel when water isn't nearby. Sometimes raccoons rub their food as though they
are washing it even when they are not near water. Many theories have been proposed
to explain this strange habit bu--so far--raccoons are the only ones that know why
they "wash" their food.
Back to Top
As autumn approaches, raccoons heed an inner call to build up fat reserves
so they can make it through the cold wintry months ahead. Adults eat more
during the autumn than at other times of the year. By late fall, they've generally
put on more than an extra inch of fat. Between summer and mid-November, juvenile raccoons
may increase their weight more than 120%!. This added fat provides them with the energy and insulation they
need during their long winter naps.
By spring, many raccoons have lost as much as 50% of their total body weight, mostly the fat they
put on during autumn. Sick or injured adults, as well as late-born juveniles, often cannot
build adequate fat reserves and so often die of starvation before the winter is over.
The major causes of death for raccoons in Wisconsin are trapping, motor vehicle collisions, disease and predation.
Starvation is seldom an important population regulator. As trapping declines, mortality from the other causes
increases.
Being large, night-dwelling mammals that are very agile tree climbers, raccoons
have few natural enemies. Kits and unwary young, however, sometime fall prey to foxes, coyotes,
wolves, bobcats, great horned owls and domestic dogs. The adult raccoon's dense fur, powerful
muscles and mouth full of sharp teeth aid it greatly when it comes to a fight. Pound
for pound most adult raccoons can beat any dog their size. When pursued by a dog, person or another predator,
a raccoon makes clever dodges as it runs, and obscures its trail by running to the
nearest stream. Then it hightails it to the nearest tree where it can remain clinging
to the trunk all day without any apparent problem of withstanding its own
weight or in losing strength in its limbs.
Many raccoons are hit along the roadsides during spring when they first emerge from their winter
dens and are still a little drowsy. Also in the summer when the sows are with their unwary kits,
entire families of raccoons are prone to being hit by motor vehicles.
Raccoons face a wide variety of diseases and infections. Disease is most prevalent in populations that become too
abundant for their habitat. Disease is more likely to occur in residential areas and in parks where
hunting and trapping are prohibited than in rural areas where hunters and trappers help reduce the overabundance of
these animals.
Viral diseases, such as parvovirus, canine distemper,
and rabies often lead to the slow and tortured death of the infected individual.
Parvovirus was responsible for the deaths of many Wisconsin raccoons in 1982.
Distemper has also been the source of several major raccoon epidemics in the state. The most
recent outbreak of distemper occurred in 1983.
Rabies is capable of producing extensive widespread deaths when outbreaks spread through a
dense population of raccoons. These "waves" of outbreaks occur periodically
throughout the United States. Four cases of rabies in Wisconsin raccoons
were positively diagnosed in 1982. These had been the first reports of rabid raccoons in
Wisconsin since the mid 1960's. In 1983, over 1,600 rabid raccoons were reported in the
mid-Atlantic States. In Wisconsin, raccoons with rabies is not common.
Raccoons also suffer from tuberculosis, pneumonia and encephalitis. Encephalitis causes the
brain to become inflamed, and produces spasms, convulsions, paralysis and eventually coma and death.
The Balisascaris
round worm which occurs in 50 to 80 percent of Illinois raccoons has
been found in Milwaukee and Ozaukee counties. This roundworm is fatal
not only to the raccoon, but also to people and pets. Raccoons are also
hosts for a parasitic nematode that causes trichinosis. Infections
caused by other parasitic roundworms, tapeworms and flukes of the
intestine and internal organs are generally not lethal to the animal.
However, when these worms become extremely abundant in the animal, they
can cause health complications. Raccoons are also plagued with external
parasites such as biting and sucking lice, ticks and fleas.
Diseases of wildlife are important to people, not only because of the damage they do to wild animals,
but also because some diseases, such as trichinosis and rabies, pose a health threat to people
and domestic animals.
By far, the greatest predator of raccoons is people. Even before the first white
settlers came to Wisconsin, Native Americans killed raccoons for food and clothing. Today
these fur-bearing mammals are stilled much valued for their rich, warm pelts and
their tasty meat.
Raccoons provide people with a good source of protein. "Coon feeds" are a
custom in rural Wisconsin. Some folks say raccoon meat tastes similar to
lamb, but with a higher fat content. Small raccoons are the best tasting, since large boars
tend to be very gamey in flavor. The scent glands under the legs and along the
spine near the rump as well as all external fat should be carefully trimmed away prior to cooking
because these contribute to gaminess. Since
raccoons can carry nematode worms that cause trichinosis in people,
the meat must be thoroughly cooked.
Come autumn, coon hunters take to the frosty night-time woods and deep swamps with
hound dogs they have been trained to trail the raccoon. The hounds range far searching for the scent of
a raccoon. Once they have found the scent, they begin
trailing the animal, baying and loudly yowling. Hound owners, who know the
terrain and the voices of their dogs, follow the progress of the chase. The outcome between hound and
raccoon is always uncertain. An especially intelligent and experienced raccoon can
lay a trail that the finest dog cannot decipher. Once the hounds have treed a raccoon,
the hunter shines a headlamp on the animal to ensure an accurate kill. The hunter
usually uses a .22 rifle for quickly and humanely killing the animal.
Trappers also take many raccoons because they have rich and valuable pelts.
Raccoon fur is extremely durable and makes high quality fur coats, collars,
hood trims and hats. Clipped and dyed fur produces a luxurious product. Unlike
synthetic fibers, such as polyester, fur is a naturally-renewable form of warm
clothing for people.
Wisconsin's coon hunters and trappers play an
important role in the population management of raccoons. Were it not
for them keeping the population lower than nature would allow, farmers,
gardeners and suburbanites would have more than their fair share of
headaches and complaints. Also, higher densities of raccoons lead to
outbreaks of the diseases described above which lead to poor health
conditions if not slow, suffering deaths of the infected animals.
Back to Top
Raccoons live along the edges of woods and farm fields, in swamps, or
along streams. They prefer hardwood forests to conifer forests, especially
those near streams or marshes. These furbearers are common from southern Canada to
Central America, though they are absent in some of the more mountainous regions in the west.
They are native only to the North American continent, though attempts have occured to
establish them in parts of Russia.<\p>
Raccoons occur throughout Wisconsin, in every county. They are more
numerous in the southern part of the state than in the northern counties, because
the winters are milder in the south, there are more areas of favorable
habitat and there are more food resources available in the southern counties than up
north.
Raccoons have adapted well to life in Wisconsin
Raccoons have very healthy populations in Wisconsin. Whenever the price of fur drops,
trappers generally put less pressure on raccoons and then their populations soar. The
price of fur began dropping in the early 1980's as animal rights activists protested the
killing of all animals. Today, demand for fur is at an all-time low in European countries
in the face of vocal animal rights activists. As a result, raccoon populations have
soared and are causing increased agricultural damage and urban nuisance
complaints. The soaring populations have also lead to outbreaks of disease and an
ultimate slow death of diseased individuals. More and more raccoons are found dead along roadsides
due to night-time vehicle collisions. Still, the demand for the renewable clothing resource provided
by the raccoon is on the rise in the United States, Russia and the Orient.
The population density of raccoons varies widely from one raccoon per acre to
one raccoon per 150 acres. The average raccoon density in Wisconsin's prime raccoon
habitats is generally around one animal per 30-40 acres. The higher raccoon
densities are found in river bottoms and agricultural areas that are well
interspersed with woodlands and waterways. Medium raccoon densities occur in
woodlands, wetlands, prairies, new residential areas built in farm fields and in expansive
farmfields. Low densities are common in extensive
evergreen forests. In older residential areas where food may be abundant, and
cover is plentiful, raccoon densities can approach one animal per 12-20 acres.
Raccoon populations generally consist of a high proportion of young animals, with
1/2 to 3/4 of the fall population composed of animals less than one year old.
Winter severity, food abundance, hunting and trapping pressure,
and levels of disease and parasitism ultimately determine the density of local
raccoon populations.
Since raccoons are so abundant in Wisconsin, most wildlife management emphasis is on
regulating the hunting and trapping seasons to help control the size of the population.
However, individuals interested in managing their lands for raccoons can focus on
restoring habitats along streams and rivers and preserving large den trees.
Back to Top
Raccoons have played an important part in our continent's fashion and economic
arenas long before the arrival of European settlers. A chief of the Powhatan, an
early Native American tribe near Fort James of the Virginia Colony, presented
Captain John Smith with a luxurious coonskin robe in the early 1600s. By the time
of the American Revolution, the famous coonskin cap was being worn by Daniel Boone
and many other frontiersmen, with the tail hanging rakishly to one side. During
the European settlement of the Mississippi River Valley, coonskins were often used
in place of money.
In the 1920s, college-aged boys wore raccoon coats which were all the rage at that time.
This drove the price of raccoon pelts through the roof and placed heavy hunting pressure on
raccoons. Between 1936 and 1949, the Wisconsin Conservation Department sponsored a
major raccoon propagation and release program in which over a thousand raccoons were
released during some years. The program was discontinued after wildlife field research
concluded that raising and releasing raccoons did not significantly supplement the low
raccoon numbers present at the time. In the 1950s, raccoon pelt prices peaked again when
Walt Disney's Davy Crockett brought coonskin caps into popularity again. During the late
1950's and 1960's, raccoons in Wisconsin expanded their range and increased in numbers to
the present level.
Back to Top
Some people find young raccoons after a raccoon family is evicted from a neighbor's chimney or
attic, or after the mother dies of an accident. Forget the raccoon's lovable, masked
face, its adorable little "baby hands" and its cute, striped tail. A wild raccoon baby quickly
transforms into a surly adult. With its insatiable curiosity, and
dexterous hands, a raccoon can literally turn a house upside down, opening doors, drawers
and cupboards, pulling down curtains and knocking over every knick-knack, china plate
and piece of furniture in the place. After a raccoon has finished with a cabin or house,
it looks as if a furry cyclone ran amok. Then, when the wild pet gets really bored, it
can turn on the hand that feeds it, using its 40 sharp teeth to inflict some really
nasty bites. Avoid any raccoon which is active during daylight hours, has lost its fear of
people, and appears uncoordinated, confused, or listless. If you encounter an animal
displaying these symptoms, contact your local DNR office immediately.
So, if you thought a big-footed, floppy-eared puppy-turned-shoe-eating-machine
was a problem, think again! Raccoons DO NOT make good pets! While some states, such as
South Carolina, legally allow raccoons to be kept as pets,
Wisconsin has sought to protect its wildlife and its citizens by making it illegal to
keep any wild mammal as a pet. A raccoon raised in captivity
cannot easily return to a life in the wild because it learns to rely on human handouts.
It is not in the best interest of the raccoon, and it is not safe for you to keep
raccoons or other wild animals in captivity. If you are positive that a young raccoon you find has
not been orphaned, then you should try to make every attempt to get it back to its mother.
If you know for a fact that the mother has been killed, contact your local DNR office
for the name of a licensed wildlife rehabilitator who can take in the young raccoon and
give it proper care.
Raccoons are well adapted to living in urban and suburban residential areas where people
provide them with an abnormally protective environment including food and shelter.
As one news reporter in southeast Wisconsin put it: "Counting raccoons running across
rooftops has become a popular substitute for counting sheep for many urban dwellers who
suffer from insomnia!" In Milwaukee and other cities, the raccoon population is running
rampant. Where once these cute clown-like critters were appreciated by suburbanites they are rapidly
becoming very unwelcomed guests that leave unique calling cards behind: overturned trash cans, earless sweetcorn husks,
seedless bird feeders, ripped-up sod and tulip bulbs, complete messes in residential
chimneys, attics, and other places where people don't want them.
If the raccoon populations are not controlled through active wildlife management
techniques, the alternative is often a long, cruel, painful death from diseases which
can also be spread to people. Trapping raccoons is one technique used by wildlife
biologists and animal nuisance control specialists to keep populations down to a point
where people can enjoy the animals rather than having to consider the animal a danger
or a nuisance.
Raccoons irritate farmers when they raid cornfields and rob the chicken coop. They are
especially devastating on an unlatched hen roost--killing many chickens and feasting
there night after night. In addition, raccoons love to shuffle along the ground in a
field, marsh or woodland in spring, looking for nests of ducks, grouse, pheasant, and quail.
They may sometimes catch an unlucky hen on her nest, but will always consume any unattended
eggs. Their raids can drastically reduce a local population of these game birds,
much to the displeasure of hunters. They exhibit insatiable curiosity and an innate
tendency toward great mischief once they enter an unoccupied cabin, trailer or tent. They
investigate all flour, sugar and snack sacks left on the counters and shelves, open
covers of food jars with very dexterous hands, lift the lids off coolers, and uncork
bottles with the greatest of ease. Very little escapes their attention and almost
nothing is left untouched.
Back to Top
Author/Editor:
Mary Kay Salwey, Ph.D.
State Wildlife Education Specialist
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Questions for Wildlife ManagementHouston squirrel removal DC squirrel removal Denver squirrel removal Fairfax squirrel removal Orlando squirrel removal
DC Raccoon Removal Arlington VA animal Removal Frederick MD animal trapping Seattle Squirrel removal Fort worth squirrel removal
Dallas Squirrel Removal Fairfax Squirrel Removal Chicago Animal Control San Diego Animal Control Manchester NH Animal Control
Waldorf MD Animal Control Annapolis Animal Control Prince Georges MD Animal Control Alexandria VA Animal Control Fairfax VA Animal Conrol
Madison Squirrel Removal Tulsa squirrel removal Denver Raccoon Removal
Contaminated Attic Insulation Clean Up
Areas We Service
Appleton Oshkosh Green Bay Racine Kenosha Madison Milwaukee Eau Claire Tomah Kingsford Ashland Superior Marshfield Baraboo Portage Wausau Monroe Fond Du Lac New Richmond Manitowoc Sheboygan Brookfield Burlington Genoa City Elkhorn Pell Lake Lake Geneva
US Animal Control