Imagine You Are A Raccoon: Week 5

A weekly series by Brad Gates, B.Sc. Stay tuned each Wednesday for the continuation of this story!

With winter having taking hold, all the food that you were accustomed to during the warmer times of the year is now buried under a layer of snow or frozen solid. Instinct tells you to sleep away the cold nights inside your den, instead of wasting valuable energy searching for non-existing food sources. Unlike your cousin the black bear you are not hibernating but rather having a good long nap awaiting a break in the cold temperatures. Provided you have accumulated enough body fat, you can extend your sleep for up to one month.

Wildlife never ceases to amaze me! During my 35 years in the wildlife industry I have come across a hand full of raccoons that had certain disabilities. I have seen a few three-legged raccoons, some with only one eye and even a completely blind mother raccoon with babies.

This raccoon was found on a porch last week by Gates Wildlife Technician David. As he got closer to investigate, he noticed that this raccoon had only one eye! The raccoon did not appear to be injured in any other way, he was in great physical shape and had chosen to sleep in a safe location. This is something we see quite often at this time of year as male raccoons are constantly searching for females to mate with.

So how do these raccoons adapt so quickly with a disability and not only survive but also thrive?

Blind / One Eye:

When a raccoon looses a sense such as their sight or a portion of it, their animal instinct kicks in and they immediately know what to do. They start relying on their other senses to survive. For example, raccoons have very sensitive hands with long fingers, toes and nails. Only humans and other primates have similar numbers of receptor cells found in their hands. Suzanne MacDonald from York University stated “they can get an image of what an object is without even looking at it, so the raccoons actually see with their hands.”

Lost Limb: 

I researched and found a National Geographic article on the topic. The article stated, “It turns out that quadrupeds, the scientific term for four-legged animals, are far more resilient than humans when it comes to losing a limb. In some cases, the lack of a leg amounts to little more than a mild inconvenience. Why? Because animals have a variety of coping mechanisms that allow them to thrive on three legs” (Annie Roth, 2018). 

When a quadruped loses a leg, the animal can keep its balance by taking a tripod stance and still distribute their weight evenly. Animals will bounce back surprisingly quickly, especially when compared to the recovery time a human would take from loosing a limb.

Raccoons are great problem solvers that adapt easily to new environments and objectives. A change to their physical being such as loosing a limb or loosing their sight, may not be as big of a challenge to a raccoon as we may think.

By Cassandra Gates, B.A

"Can’t I Just Use A Repellent To Get The Animals To Leave?"

Over my 35 years as a wildlife professional I have seen all kinds of DIY attempts by homeowners to drive animals out of their attic. Our customers have placed everything from mothballs, lights, blaring radios, ultrasonic sound devices, ammonia soaked rags and even coyote urine in their attic. After unsuccessfully trying one or a few of these methods, we get the call.

Mothballs: Wildlife do not vacate an attic that has mothballs in it. Once they are dispersed in the attic it is virtually impossible to remove them. The vapours often permeate into the rooms below. Our customers have developed headaches, nausea, dizziness, and/or vomiting after being exposed to mothball (naphthalene) vapours. Animal studies have suggested that naphthalene can cause cancer.

Lights: Lights do not deter wildlife from living in the attic. Animals are attracted to attics because they provide a warm, safe location which is protected from predators and the elements. There has been documented cases where a light placed in an attic was either knocked over by the animals or the electrical wire were chewed on, which resulted in a house fire.

Radios: Placing a radio in the attic with the volume turned up seems to have little effect on the animals living there, in fact they might enjoy the noise. I once removed a family of raccoons nesting directly beside the radio. Using a extension cord to power the radio can be chewed on by wildlife and potentially cause a fire.

Ultrasonic Devices: The frequency emitted by these devices has no affect on raccoons or squirrels but they can harm humans. I was called out to a rental property to remove squirrels from the attic. The tenant was unaware that the landlord had placed an ultrasonic device in the attic a week prior, which coincided exactly with when she started to experience severe migraine headaches. Her headaches stopped after I unplugged the device.

Ammonia Soaked Rags: Animals do not seem to be bothered by the smell of ammonia. I have witnessed situations where ammonia soaked rags were placed in a fireplace, directly below a mother raccoon and her babies. The smell was very strong but it did not cause the mother raccoon to leave.

Coyote Urine: I am amazed at how many of my customers have purchased coyote urine in an attempt to solve their wildlife problem. It is, in my opinion, the modern day “snake oil”, a product that is sold by seedy profiteers trying to exploit an unsuspecting public. First off, how do you think someone would successfully extract urine from a coyote, they would have to be pretty “Wiley”. Secondly, most wildlife living in a city would not know what a coyote looks like, let alone what it smelled like. Animals cannot learn to be afraid of a coyote by smell alone, they must have a negative experience with that animal. Even if they were to have a run in with a coyote how does that make them afraid of the smell of their urine. It just doesn’t make any sense at all.

In my professional opinion the only tested and proven means of solving wildlife problems is to have them humanely removed using hands-on removal / one way doors and by installing animal-proofing to the building structure.

By Brad Gates, B.Sc.

Brad Gates is the owner and president of AAA Gates Wildlife Control. He has over 35 years experience in the humane wildlife removal and prevention industry. 

“Mice in the Attic??? It Sounds Like An Elephant!"

Sometimes are customers are adamant that they are being kept awake at night by raccoons or squirrels in their attic. But after performing a detailed exterior check of the roof and the rest of the house, we determine that neither animal has found its way in.

At this point we usually assume that they are hearing the scratching sounds of mice. In the middle of night any sound can be seem quite amplified. Customers will ask “how can you tell for sure if I have mice?” By inspecting an attic we will be looking for one inch trails the mice make on the insulation. Mice like to follow the same paths when they move around within the attic, which will create a detailed network of trails.  If the customer has had mice for a long period of time, the trails will be very pronounced, as seen in the photo.

Mouse noises are almost always quite localized, homeowners will point at the ceiling and say “I hear it there.” This is the main difference between the noise caused by mice compared to that from raccoons and squirrels. Because they are so light weight they cannot be heard moving on top of the insulation in the attic. They tend to nest beneath the insulation, directly on the drywall and being rodents they constantly chew on their surroundings. In the dead of night the chewing sounds caused by mice can be perceived as the noise caused by raccoons and squirrels.

By Brad Gates, B.Sc.

Brad Gates is the owner and president of AAA Gates Wildlife Control. He has over 35 years experience in the humane wildlife removal and prevention industry.