What do Raccoons Like to Eat?
January 15th, 2022
Raccoons aren’t particularly picky eaters. They generally like to eat whatever is easiest to scavenge. Hence why they are easily attracted to any home that has a viable food source.
If you are having trouble with raccoons around your home, make sure you quickly remove access to their food source and contact a company that specializes in raccoon removal in Tampa.
Here are some of the most common food sources for raccoons.
The Garden
It’s usually the squirrels and rabbits that receive the blame when garden goodies go missing, but not so fast. It might be a raccoon stealing those tomatoes you’ve worked so hard to grow. These critters are smart and know the perfect time to swipe your garden fruits and veggies.
Garbage
Raccoons are notorious for rooting around in garbage cans, so notorious that they’ve even garnered the nickname trash pandas. Since they have a strong sense of smell, your garbage can is an easy target for these little guys.
If you wake up to overturned trash cans and garbage strewn all over the yard, it might be time to start thinking about raccoon removal strategies!
Pet Food
Pet food or any food left out can attract raccoons. Be careful when feeding the neighborhood cat; any leftovers will attract other animals that are also hungry.
Don’t forget to store your pet food inside, even if you keep it in a container. Unfortunately, containers will not always keep the raccoons away. They are smarter than your think. A study found that raccoons have far more brain neurons than most non-primate mammals (nearly twice as many as house cats!). This means the containers that keep your pets out, might be an easy puzzle to solve for a hungry raccoon.
Features That Draw in Other Wild Animals
From bird feeders to small ponds, the additions you made to your yard to attract the birds and other animals may be attracting raccoons as well. While you’re sleeping, raccoons may be fishing in your pond or munching on your bird food. And by the time you wake up, they’ll likely already have eaten their fill and left to go to bed themselves!
Don’t Let Your Home Be Invaded Next
If raccoons continue to be a problem around your house, it might not be long before they work their way into your attic and set up a permanent home. Removing easy access to garbage, bird feeders and pet food isn’t always effective at solving a raccoon problem. Most times you need the help of a raccoon removal specialist to help you exclude them from your property.
At Alford Wildlife and Pest Management, we specialize in raccoon removal in Tampa and most of SWFL. We make it a top priority to relocate raccoons and other nuisance animals to more suitable habitats. Contact us today to get started with our raccoon removal solutions!
