Raccoons are everywhere in Canadian cities and forests alike. These are nocturnal, medium-sized omnivores that are famous for raiding garbage cans and making a mess. As city dwellers, raccoons are no strangers to attics and other man-made structures. Females come breaking into homes to raise their cubs every spring. Indoors, they cause a terrible amount of damage. If you suspect that a family of raccoons is living on your property, give us a call. We provide comprehensive raccoon removal, exclusion, and cleanup in the Toronto area.
Raccoons usually mate between January and March. After a gestation period of about 63 days, females give birth to litters of 1 to 7 cubs, though 3 or 4 is most common. Cubs are blind and deaf at birth. They rely entirely on their mothers, feeding on their milk and sleeping in the dens their mothers made for them. At 3 weeks, they open their eyes, then, at 8 weeks, they begin to venture out with their mothers. Mother raccoons teach their pups how to forage and handle the wilderness. The family unit sticks together for several months, with cubs going their separate ways at 10 to 12 months.
How to Handle a Raccoon Invasion
Female raccoons look for shelter during the mating season. In the wild, they den in tree hollows, abandoned burrows, and brush piles. In the city, however, they often den in crawl spaces, chimneys, attics, and other enclosed spaces that humans don’t visit. Attics are especially popular because they are warm and out of harm’s way. Raccoons push their way through soffits and roof vents and tear at the edges of the roof to get inside. Once in the attic, they cause a ton of damage, dirtying the insulation with feces and breaking cables. These are very destructive animals that are best kept out.
If you suspect that there are raccoons living somewhere on your property, call a wildlife removal technician for humane removal. He or she will find the animals’ entrance and get them out safely with the help of a one-way door. A professional can also confirm if it is safe to remove the cubs. If the cubs are still immobile, the technician can remove them by hand, then put them in a box, near the den, for the mother to collect them. The mother will then gather her cubs and find another place to den.
Call Raccoon Control if there are raccoons on your property or if you are interested in having them excluded. Our technicians are experienced in dealing with raccoons at every stage of their life cycle. We can remove cubs safely and ensure that they will be reunited with their mother. We only use humane methods of removal. Our technicians are trained and equipped to deal with all kinds of situations and to prevent them from happening again. All of our services are guaranteed and come with a 2-year warranty. Call us today if you have any questions.