Raccoons are specific in their function in this ecosystem. They have been here before humans and evolved, like us, from the very first mammal morganucodontids, which is a tiny shrew or mouse-sized creature that lived in caves and burrows beneath the might of the dinosaurs 210 million years ago. The raccoon is very much that shrew. It has evolved and grown in size along with many mammals and has become smarter and, dare I say, shrewder. This animal is ancient and knows how to survive, and how to survive in an urban environment even with the danger of angry humans and cars, both of which are the reason most raccoons do not live past three years old and why raccoons in captivity can live to seventeen or older. A well-fed and smart raccoon can also live up to seven years in the wild or in an urban environment. They will have their own domain, they will chase away other raccoons and have roughly a full square kilometre of space to find food. Most raccoons that have reached a great age like five or six know that residential properties are not as good for food as commercial and government properties like restaurants and senior homes. The amount of food they through away is much greater than a residential lot can produce. That is not all though. Raccoons are very fond of water. They can swim but cannot hold their breath underwater. They must doggy paddle but will not enter a water source they cannot see the bottom of. This is why most raccoons will drown in a chlorine pool. They do not know there is chlorine in it and try to drink from it or wash their food in it. This is a big process, the raccoon will void its bowels and make your pool a biohazard. It will need professional cleaning before it can be used again.
If you are worried about raccoons on your property then you should know that the raccoons coming to your property likely have nowhere else to go. They are young, they do not know what to eat and what to avoid and young raccoons at one or two years old have a higher rate of raccoon roundworm than older raccoons. This means the numbers are going up and raccoon feces has become a serious danger to everyone, in the city, the suburbs or way out in nature. They are everywhere and there is no avoiding them. Preparation is all you can do.