Los mapaches son criaturas inteligentes y fascinantes, pero cuando no son bienvenidos, pueden traer muchos problemas a su propiedad como cualquier plaga. Hay una gran variedad de maneras de mantener a los mapaches lejos de su hogar y evitar que vengan en primer lugar.
En el resto del artículo, vamos a aprender por qué los mapaches se consideran plagas y cómo lidiar con ellos si comienzan a visitar su propiedad, tanto antes como después del hecho.
El grado en que los mapaches son plagas a menudo no se entiende bien y está sujeto a controversia, pero en términos generales, es mejor que los mapaches visiten su propiedad.
Veamos algunas de las formas en que los mapaches pueden ser plagas, así como algunos de los conceptos erróneos sobre sus interacciones con los asentamientos humanos.
No se entiende completamente qué atrae a los mapaches a los artículos para los que no tienen un uso inmediato, pero el comportamiento es increíblemente común entre las criaturas.
Se han descubierto madrigueras de mapaches llenas de todo tipo de elementos aleatorios. El tema general tenderá a ser que son bonitos a la vista, generalmente porque son brillantes.
Es posible que los mapaches roben estos artículos para usarlos como decoración, o podría ser simplemente que se destaquen a la luz, llamando su atención hacia ellos.
¿Los mapaches harán caca en tu patio?
Es poco probable que los mapaches hagan caca en su patio porque solo lo harán en lugares donde se sientan seguros. Si tienes un mapache defecando en tu jardín, esta es una mala noticia para ti, porque significa que hay más por venir.
Los mapaches no solo regresarán a su patio para defecar nuevamente porque ya han determinado que es un lugar seguro para hacerlo, sino que también puede encontrar otros mapaches que vienen a defecar en su patio por la misma razón.
A menos que desee una nueva carrera en la eliminación de caca, es importante crear elementos disuasorios para los mapaches tan pronto como comience a notar esto.
¿Los mapaches intentarán entrar en tu casa?
Si su casa contiene algo en lo que un mapache podría estar interesado, intentará entrar. Las fuentes de agua son comunes para los mapaches que ingresan a su casa, incluidos los grifos con fugas o los tazones de agua para mascotas. El tazón de comida de su mascota es otra cosa que puede llamar la atención de un mapache y convencerlo de que entre en su casa.
Es importante adaptarse adecuadamente a estas situaciones. Si el clima es muy seco, por ejemplo, y hay poca agua potable afuera, es mejor mantener los tazones de agua de sus mascotas fuera de la vista de las ventanas o puertas de vidrio.
Con cualquier tipo de alimento, siempre es recomendable mantenerlo fuera de la vista y fuera del rango de olfato si tiene mapaches en su área.
¿Pueden los mapaches dañar las casas?
Aunque los mapaches no son animales naturalmente destructivos, pueden causar daños a su casa como un subproducto de sus esfuerzos para entrar y atravesarla.
El daño más común en las casas de los mapaches es la madera y el alambre, que pueden masticar o destruir para pasar. Los mapaches también pueden derribar y romper objetos frágiles mientras se mueven por su casa.
¿Son los mapaches agresivos con las personas, las mascotas y el ganado?
Los mapaches no son agresivos con las personas o los animales que no son su presa natural en el sentido más verdadero, pero lucharán ferozmente si sienten que necesitan defenderse.
Si un mapache se siente amenazado, acorralado, o si está protegiendo a sus crías, exhibirá lo que parece ser un comportamiento agresivo, pero esto es estrictamente defensivo, y puedes alejarte fácilmente de la situación.
You need to be aware of raccoons that may be infected with the rabies virus. Rabid raccoons may attack unprovoked, and this may lead to the need for medical attention if you get bitten. Signs to look out for in rabid raccoons include staggering, apparent oblivion to their surroundings, matted fur, and discharge around the eyes and mouth.
Do Raccoons Eat Cats?
Although raccoons are omnivores with an incredibly broad diet, they are not likely to eat your cat. If a raccoon is hungry, it is not inconceivable that it may eat kittens if they are easily available, but cats are generally not considered to be prey by raccoons, so this would only happen in extreme circumstances.
Cats can often find themselves being victims of raccoon attacks if a fight ensues. If your cat has a very strong personality and does not back down, the raccoon will engage in a defensive fight, and unfortunately for your furry friend, the raccoon will probably win due to its superior size and strength.
What Should I Do If I See A Raccoon On My Property?
If you see raccoons on your property, do not panic. These animals are not aggressive by their nature, so you are not at immediate risk of harm, and neither are your pets as long as they don’t confront them.
With that said, raccoons can bring a lot of problems with them, so if you start noticing them on your land, it would be wise to take measures to reduce their presence.
The very first step in doing this would be removing items that might be attracting them to your property in the first place. Let’s look at some below.
What Might Be Attracting Raccoons To My Yard?
The biggest thing that might be attracting raccoons to your yard is food, with secondary considerations for water and other items that the animals may find useful, including shiny objects and shelter material, or indeed entire shelters, like sheds.
Although this probably doesn’t sound very appetizing to you, perhaps the most common “food” that might be attracting raccoons to your yard is your garbage.
Not for nothing are these mischievous little critters called “trash pandas.” If you have anything even remotely edible in your trash cans, raccoons will smell it out and attempt to get it.
How Do Raccoons Break-In?
Raccoons have multiple ways of getting into places that they are not meant to be. The most impressive method is by using their nimble front paws to operate door handles and window latches, but there are much more low-tech methods that they use. Let’s look at some of these.
Can Raccoons Get Through Chicken Wire?
Chicken wire will not keep a raccoon out for very long. Between their extremely dexterous hands, their sharp teeth, and their strong jaws, a raccoon can make an opening in chicken wire big enough for the animal to get itself through in very little time. If you rely on chicken wire to keep raccoons out, you will be very quickly disappointed.
Chicken wire is mostly made for keeping chickens inside an enclosure and not for keeping predators out. The raccoon will simply try and rip through the thin wire in order to make a hole bigger. And even if they can’t get their bodies through the wire, they’re known for dragging parts of the chicken through it bit by bit.
A good tip to keep your chickens safe would be to use a tougher kind of wire, like a hardware cloth instead of chicken wire.
Raccoons can easily get their hands through chicken wire.
Can Raccoons Scratch Through Walls?
Raccoons can scratch through walls, but the good news for you is that this is not a common tactic for them.
Usually, if a raccoon is scratching through your walls, it is because they are stuck and trying to get through. If you get to this stage, however, you may have them living in your walls, so swift intervention is desirable.
How Do you Know You Have Raccoons in Your Walls?
Raccoons like small, safe, dark places in which to build their nests, and the space between your walls is a perfect spot for them.A perfect spot for them, but not so much for you!
The sound of raccoons scratching inside your walls can be scary, and at the very least is annoying. Raccoons sleep during the day and only come out at night, so if they’re in your walls you’re likely to only hear them at night.
How do you know if you’re hearing raccoons and not squirrels or mice? Raccoons are mostly nocturnal, so hearing them at night is a good tip. They’re bigger and heavier than mice and squirrels as well, so they’ll be louder and heavier.
The biggest giveaway is the sounds they make, though. They make a wide variety of noises like chattering, growling, and crying sounds. Baby raccoons make a chattering cry that is very distinctive, and they tend to be very noisy.
Do Raccoons Climb Walls?
Raccoons are very good climbers and have been often spotted climbing walls. Not only can they climb many types of surfaces, but they will also go to extreme heights – literally – to get to that open door or window if they want to enter a house. Don’t rely on height as a defense against raccoons entering.
Will Raccoons Break Windows?
Although raccoons possess all of the intelligence, strength, and dexterity to break a window, this behavior is not common for raccoons. The damage that raccoons cause when entering homes is incidental rather than intentional.
Raccoons prefer to enter via windows by using the latches or handles to let themselves in rather than simply destroying them. It is not known whether raccoons are even aware that glass is easily destructible or whether they perceive it simply as a solid barrier.
Can Raccoons Get Through Small Holes?
Raccoons can get through holes as small as 4 inches wide. The size of the hole that a raccoon can get through ultimately depends on the size of the raccoon itself, with younger ones faring better.
You can estimate how big a hole any given raccoon can get through by looking at the size of its head. If the skull of the critter can potentially fit through the hole, then so can the rest of it. The reason for this is that most of a raccoon’s apparent volume is fluff rather than fat, as often incorrectly assumed.
Do Raccoons Live Inside Walls?
Raccoons, like all animals, seek shelter to live in and care for their young. The spaces between your walls are safe from both predators and the environment and are small and dark, just like raccoons prefer.
Due to the scavenging behavior of raccoons as well as the diseases that their poop can carry, having a family of raccoons, as cute as they are, in your walls is not a sustainable scenario.
Can Raccoons Lift Heavy Obstacles?
Raccoons are known for their incredible strength relative to their size and will be able to move heavy obstacles out of the way or off of lids to get to what they are after.
There are even suggestions that a raccoon can lift more than its own body weight!
Can Raccoons Open Doors?
Raccoons can open doors, windows, lids, jars, and pretty much anything that a human child can.
The reason for this is the way that their front paws are structured. Raccoons have long, dexterous fingers and opposable thumbs, which makes their front paws far more similar to human hands than, for example, your cat or dog’s paw.
Raccoons are also intelligent and have a good memory. This means that the little bandits can watch how you open your door and learn what to do, even if it involved something more complicated than simply twisting the handle.
How Do You Keep Raccoons Away From Your Property?
The best way to deal with a raccoon infestation is to not let it get that far in the first place. Let’s look at some different types of repellants that you can use to keep raccoons away from your property.
Can You Repel Raccoons With Sounds?
Raccoons are naturally rather skittish, so you can get them to leave with loud and sudden sounds. If you are present, you can make the sound yourself, as can your dog.
If your visitors come at night, motion-activated speakers (link to amazon) can work as a great raccoon repellant, as long as they don’t get used to them before they fully move on.
Can You Repel Raccoons With Smells?
Raccoons have very powerful noses, so you can use this against them by repelling them with smells that they don’t like. Hot peppers, onion, garlic, peppermint, cinnamon, black pepper, and Epsom salt are all common smells that will get rid of raccoons.
If you want to approach this with more finesse and don’t mind the smell yourself, urine from predators is an even more powerful repellant. Check out this coyote urine on Amazon.
Can You Repel Raccoons With Dogs or Pets?
Using pets, especially dogs, to repel raccoons is controversial. While the loud barks of a dog will scare raccoons away, you may also open your four legged friend up to injury.
Raccoons are fierce fighters when they feel threatened, and if your pet gets too close, they may walk away from a scuffle with some pretty nasty injuries.
Can You Repel Raccoons With Visual Things Like Scarecrows?
Raccoons will naturally want to avoid their predators, so leaving scarecrows out may get you some results.
The reason this is not a long-term solution is that raccoons are intelligent enough to eventually realize that the scarecrow is inanimate due to their never moving. Furthermore, very urbanized raccoons may be less put off from the beginning due to how used they are to humans.
One way to implement this solution is to get a set of fake owls and move them around frequently. Raccoons will avoid real owls, and by moving them around, you slow down the critters’ ability to figure out that they’re not real.
How Can You Get Rid of Raccoons That Burrow In Your Walls, Attic, or Crawl Spaces?
If you find that you have raccoons nesting in your walls, you’ll most likely want to get rid of them. While raccoons don’t usually scratch through into a house, if they’re trapped they could resort to that.
Aside from that, they can cause costly damage to your walls, electrical wiring, and crawlspaces. They can be vicious, and they are carriers of diseases like rabies. It’s a good idea to get rid of them.
The first thing to do is to check your home for openings like cracks in the siding, holes, and unused chimneys. Before you think about stopping up any holes it’s important to get the raccoons out first. You can buy some traps and set them out around your house. (Like this one.)
If you’re not comfortable dealing with the raccoons yourself it’s a good idea to call an expert. An expert can locate where the raccoons are as well as how they’re getting in. The expert is trained to remove unwanted guests from your house without damage to your house or to the raccoons.
How Can I Secure My House, Yard, and Chicken Coop From Raccoons?
Raccoons are clever and nimble, but they are neither all-knowing nor all-powerful, so to secure areas that you don’t want raccoons to enter, you just need to understand their limitations and incorporate them. Let’s look at some ways that you can do that below.
How Can I Keep My Chickens Safe From Raccoons?
Chicken wire in itself isn’t much of a barrier for a raccoon, so to properly keep your poultry safe from predators, you’ll need a bit more.
While reinforcing the enclosure where your chickens live is an obvious thing to do, you also need to consider other things.
Are there any other food sources on your property that might attract the raccoons and make them want to hang around, such as cat food, a vegetable garden, a bird feeder, or something similar? You need to consider getting all of this out of reach.
Your trash needs to be thoroughly secured, so the raccoons can’t get to it.
Consider putting up motion-triggered lights, a radio, or other things that might make it uncomfortable for the raccoon to hang around.
And then you need to thoroughly secure your chicken coop. Instead of using ordinary chicken wire, consider using hardware cloth with a smaller mesh size, like 1/4 inch. This mesh size makes it impossible for the raccoon to get anything through the holes, and the wire itself is much stronger than ordinary chicken wire.
Hardware cloth is too tough for a raccoon to break through
También debe extender el cable hacia abajo al menos 2 pies, para que el mapache no pueda cavar. Y el recinto completo también debe cubrirse por encima, ya que los mapaches son buenos escaladores.
Finalmente, debe asegurarse de que cualquier gallinero o estructura construida en relación con su gallinero esté bien hecha y sea sólida. Se sabe que los mapaches arrancan paneles de madera completos con clavos, por lo que es mejor usar tornillos. Y asegúrese de que todo esté bien mantenido y que ninguna madera comience a surcar o se vuelva frágil.
¿Pueden los mapaches meterse en la basura cerrada?
Los pestillos y las manijas pueden ser fáciles de atravesar para un mapache, pero si mantiene su basura cerrada de tal manera que requiera una llave para abrirse y dicha llave solo exista en los llaveros de su familia, el mapache no tendrá suerte.
Dado que la basura es uno de los imanes de mapache más grandes, esta es una buena estrategia para mantenerlos alejados.
¿Pueden los mapaches entrar en áreas cerradas de almacenamiento de alimentos?
Si bien los mapaches son muy diestros y astutos, no son lo suficientemente inteligentes como para descubrir cómo abrir una puerta, armario o candado con una llave.
Sin embargo, si la llave ya está en dicha puerta, podría ser otra historia.
Lo más probable es que un mapache vea una puerta o armario cerrado como un obstáculo sólido que no se puede abrir así, por lo que a menos que haya agujeros, paredes o lados fácilmente desmontables u otras «partes débiles», un mapache probablemente no entrará en espacios cerrados.
¿Pueden los mapaches trepar materiales resbaladizos?
Tan increíbles escaladores como son los mapaches, necesitan el material adecuado para agarrarse, y si es demasiado resbaladizo, no podrán escalarlo. Si tiene una cerca de metal lisa que sus visitantes escalan con frecuencia, puede intentar lubricarla con algo que la haga demasiado difícil.
Del mismo modo, si tiene problemas con los mapaches que escalan sus paredes, considere usar un tipo de revestimiento liso, como láminas de metal o algo similar, que evitará que los mapaches puedan escalar la pared.
¿Los mapaches son buenos para algo?
Tan común como es escuchar sobre las «infestaciones» de mapaches o la referencia general a ellos como plagas, no tienen que ser todos negativos. Dependiendo de sus necesidades, deseos y personalidad, es posible que le resulte beneficioso tener a los pequeños bandidos enmascarados corriendo por sus tierras.
¿Los mapaches mantienen alejadas a las ratas?
Los mapaches se alimentan naturalmente de ratas y otros roedores, por lo que si tiene mapaches en su propiedad, mantendrán a su población de roedores bajo control.
Puede ver esto como una ventaja adicional para los mapaches relativamente benignos, pero no es aconsejable atraer mapaches a su patio solo para deshacerse de las ratas. Los mapaches pueden terminar siendo una infestación mucho más grave.
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