What to do when Mama Raccoon moves in
I recently heard concerns about a mother raccoon and her babies living on someone’s property.
Yes, it can be annoying. But please remember they're just moms doing what's natural.Toronto Wildlife Centre gives great advice on this topic at torontowildlifecentre.com.
A raccoon living in a shed or garage from January to September should always be assumed to be a mother with babies. You don’t want to orphan the baby raccoons. Raccoons are excellent mothers and will move their babies to a new den site when frightened, but evicting a mother raccoon always runs the risk that she might abandon or become separated from her babies.
You can do nothing. Raccoons typically use sheds or garages as dens for short periods. Raccoon mothers often move their babies between den sites during the nesting season, so the raccoon may move her babies on her own. If you can wait until the babies are grown and/or have left, you can then close off the access point to prevent other raccoons from entering in the future.
In TWC’s experience, a raccoon mother whose shed or garage den has been discovered is usually frightened enough to move her babies within 48 hours with no other intervention.
The mother raccoon is living in the shed or garage because it’s a dark, quiet, safe place for her and her babies. If you make it the opposite, the raccoon can be convinced to leave and take her babies with her. All harassment techniques should be placed as close as possible to the den entrance, so the mother raccoon can’t ignore them when she comes and goes.
Turn on as many lights as you can in the shed or garage. Make sure they’re firesafe, especially if you have to use extension cords. Raccoons are nocturnal, and don’t like bright lights in their homes. An outdoor spotlight or a mechanic’s light should do the trick. In a small shed or garage, it may be enough to leave the lights on inside.Tune a radio to a talk station and place it near the den entrance. Music doesn’t scare raccoons, but the sound of human voices is threatening to them. The radio should be turned up as loud as possible without annoying your neighbours.
Soak some rags in apple cider vinegar or ammonia, and put them in a plastic bag. Poke holes in the bag to let the smell escape, and hang it next to the den entrance. You can also put dirty kitty litter in a plastic bag. Scent deterrents are least effective with raccoons, but can help when used in combination with light and sound.
Keep all of the above going for at least three days and three nights. You have to be persistent.
When you think the raccoon is gone, make sure with a paper test. Stuff the entrance with balled up newspaper, or tape a double sheet of newspaper over the hole. Wait another three days and nights. If the paper is still in place, inspect the shed or garage to make sure the raccoons are gone. Temporarily patch the entrance hole with quarter-inch wire mesh until you can do a more permanent repair.
Do not trap and relocate. Relocated raccoons don’t tend to survive when they’re moved off of their home territory. Relocated mother raccoons leave behind babies who will die without a mother. A mother raccoon relocated with her babies will be so frightened she will abandon them when faced with a new, unknown territory. In Ontario, it is illegal to relocate any wild animal more than one kilometre from where it was found.Side note: Please don’t relocate the baby raccoons. If they’re without their mom, they’ll likely die.
Sometimes it’s best to call a wildlife removal company. Make sure they’re humane.
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