Do Raccoons burrow and dig holes?

Raccoons will generally burrow and not dig, and may even turn your lawns upside down when searching for food to consume. Raccoons may create several holes in your yard, however their holes may appear similar to those dug by other animals and one of the ways you can identify Raccoon holes from those made by other animals is to watch out for holes dug overnight. Raccoons prefer to burrow from the late evening and before the early morning. Raccoons and skunks are known to dig holes, create ground burrows, and crawl spaces through the attics.



Raccoons live in dens and burrowed spaces, they can create their dens in hollow trees, barns and brush piles, raccoons generally do not hibernate in one place for too long, and when they burrow through holes, they can squeeze through them , especially when there is food around the corner. The presence of burrows simply means that there are raccoons nearby, and they do indulge in shallow excavations to hunt for smaller animals that live in the soil. Newly laid sods around your home can be peeled back by raccoons when they search for food.

Raccoons burrow through the soil when the forage for insects and grubs, and since they eat both plants and animals, raccoons can dig for fruits such as berries, corns and grains. Raccoons can feed on eggs laid by chickens, and some other animals, thus they can dig up eggs buried under the ground. Raccoons can burrow through compost piles and through garbage trash cans , especially those left uncovered. Raccoons are mostly attracted to the rural and woody areas , and since they are night creatures who can live unnoticed in such areas for a while, it is quite difficult to detect when they will burrow in your backyard.

Raccoons can burrow through any material and that is why they can create their dens in outbuildings, crevices of rocks, brush piles, storm drains, hollow trees, Culverts, under the deck, attics and even your chimney. You can get rid of raccoons to a large extent by getting rid of insects and other foods that move inside the ground before the migrating periods of the raccoons. You need to install a cap on your chimney, and remove all brushes and fallen fruits in order to reduce the amount of time raccoons spend in burrowing around your property. Similarly, you can set traps around areas where you suspect raccoons are burrowing or call a wild life rehabilitation center.

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