Raccoon

About

A ring-tailed animal with a black mask, about 2 to 3 feet long and 7 to 30 pounds. Raccoons eat almost anything, and they are notorious for raiding sweet corn, melons, grapes and tree fruit such as peaches, often right before harvest.

Spotting it

Damage

Raccoons climb or pull down cornstalks, then partly husk the ears and eat them, leaving broken stalks and half-eaten ears. They dig a small hole in melons and hollow them out, leave piles of grape skins or peach pits under the plants, and roll back sod or new turf looking for grubs and worms.

How to find it early

Raccoons feed at night, so check in the morning for broken stalks, husked ears, hollowed melons and five-toed tracks (the hind print is about 3 1/4 to 4 1/2 inches long). Sweet corn is most at risk at the milk stage, when the kernels are juicy.

When

Spring through fall; worst as sweet corn, melons, grapes and tree fruit ripen.

Life cycle

Raccoons mate mostly from January to March, and a litter of about 3 to 5 young is born in April or May. The young stay with their mother until late summer or longer, and the family dens in hollow trees, under decks, or in attics and chimneys.

What to do, gentlest first

Start at the top. Sprays are a last step; always read and follow the product label.

1. Take away food and den sites Prevent

   Keep pet food, birdseed and garbage in a garage or shed or in tightly closed cans. Cut back tree limbs that hang over the roof, leaving a gap of about 5 feet, and cap chimneys so raccoons cannot den there.

2. Watch out for raccoon roundworm Prevent

   Raccoon droppings can carry the eggs of raccoon roundworm, which can cause serious illness if people swallow or breathe them in; small children are most at risk. Raccoons use the same toilet spots (latrines) at the base of trees and on logs, woodpiles, decks and roofs, and the droppings look like small dark dog droppings, often with seeds in them. Cover sandboxes and keep children away from droppings.

   Do not clean up a latrine bare-handed. Wear disposable gloves and rubber boots, and seal the droppings in heavy-duty plastic bags. Bleach and other household disinfectants do not kill roundworm eggs. For a large or indoor latrine, follow the cleanup steps from your state health or wildlife agency.

3. Two-wire electric fence Barrier

   Ordinary fences do not stop raccoons, which climb. Put up an electric fence with one wire about 6 inches above the ground (Iowa State says 4 to 6 inches) and a second at 12 inches, about 2 weeks before sweet corn reaches the milk stage. It only needs to be on from dusk to dawn.

   Use a charger made for electric fencing and follow its directions, and post signs so children and visitors know the fence is live.

4. Wrap the ears Barrier

   In a small corn patch, wrapping ripening ears with filament tape or covering them with bags can slow raccoons down.

5. Trapping is regulated Trap

   Moving raccoons is often illegal. California, where raccoons are classed as furbearers, forbids relocating raccoons without written permission from the Department of Fish and Wildlife, Maryland law forbids relocating a trapped raccoon, and North Carolina requires a trapping license in season or a depredation permit out of season. For a problem animal, call your state wildlife agency or a licensed wildlife control operator.

   Raccoons can carry rabies and distemper. Stay away from one that seems sick, aggressive, unsteady or unusually tame, and report it to animal control. Keep pets' rabies shots up to date. Never handle a wild animal, live or dead, with bare hands. Trapping and relocating wildlife is regulated by state law, and the rules differ from state to state. Check with your state wildlife agency or your county Extension office before you set a trap.

6. Skip repellents Repellent

   UC IPM reports that no commercial repellent has worked against raccoons, and home remedies fail because raccoons adapt quickly.

Plants it goes after

Cantaloupe (muskmelon), Grape, Peach, Pineapple, Starfruit (carambola), Sweet corn, Watermelon

Pressure by region

Raccoons live throughout most of the lower 48 states; no regional severity source was found, so those moderate ratings are estimates. Alaska: raccoons are not native, and the island populations once introduced there are gone (Alaska Department of Fish and Game). Hawaii: raccoons are illegal there and treated as an invasive species; no source found describes a population, so the low rating is an estimate. Report any sighting to the state Pest Hotline at 808-643-PEST (7378).

Ratings come from extension sources where available; some are estimates, as noted above.