In the past few days, a video has been making rounds online that showed a raccoon opening a raccoon-proof garbage bin in Toronto, Canada. This garbage bin has a circular lid on top that has to be turned to unlatch.
A local from Scarborough posted the video. According to him, he was alerted about the presence of the critter, hence the video. In less than 30 seconds, the raccoon had already successfully opened the bin, which is manufactured by Rehrig Pacific Company.
It was said that the raccoon might have been carefully observing a human on how to open the garbage bin. That is what makes raccoon cool. They learn and then adapt.
You have to do everything to keep your garbage bins secure until they will be picked up. If you have organic waste for disposal, keep them in the freezer first to somehow reduce the smell.
If the garbage can has to be placed outside, make sure you store it in a closed area, such as the garage, shed, or a wooden lock-box. Although bungee cords can be used to hold the can, just make sure you remove the cords in the morning so garbage collectors won’t think twice about picking it up.
2. Do not keep the cans outside overnight.
Because raccoons are nocturnal, it is not a good idea to put the garbage can outside overnight. You have to wait until the morning before you put out the can and prevent those raccoons from getting in.
3. Keep the garbage can clean.
In some cities that have a compost program, food wastes are often segregated in green bins. If you reside in a city that has this program, observe the rules.
It would also be great if you rinse all recyclable garbage before you put them in the bin. Unwashed garbage may only entice wildlife. Plus, it can hurt them. Raccoons and other wildlife may get their paws and heads stuck in broken bottles or pointed cans.
4. Put garbage bins off the ground.
If garbage bins are placed on the ground, raccoons can easily get into them. All they have to do is tip them over and then knock open the lid. If your bins have handles, you can simply hang them from a wall using a bungee cord or a bicycle hook.
Important Reminders
Raccoons are great climbers. As a matter of fact, they rarely get trapped inside garbage cans. However, if a raccoon is injured, there are chances when it gets trapped inside the bin. If you suspect a raccoon is in the garbage bin, leave it alone and call for help. SOS Wildlife Control is a reliable name to call.
On a Final Note
Yes, a raccoon can easily open a garbage bin. But, you can do something to keep it away from it. Be a responsible homeowner and observe humane ways to prevent raccoons from attacking the garbage can.
In the recent years, there have been several occurrences of raccoon distemper in the country. However, one specific case triggered some locals to believe the illness was caused by rabies.
The animal in question was captured and put down. Also, blood tests have been conducted. The results showed that it was not raccoon rabies. Instead, it was Canine Distemper Virus.
As of the moment, the representative for Toronto Animal Services, Tammy Robinson, clarified there have been no recorded cases of raccoon rabies. But, there could be chances that some of these animals are affected only by Canine Distemper Virus, which subsists within a certain raccoon population.
He said that these creatures may behave violently, especially if they are ill, troubled from their habitat, are being defensive, or feel in jeopardy.
It is easy to distinguish a distempered raccoon. More often, it displays changes in behavior. It seems to walk blindly and experiences seizures. Mucus might also build up around its eyes and nose.
If you notice a raccoon is acting strange, Robinson’s suggest you call 311. If possible, do not get close to it. Do not even attempt to feed it.
Then again, similar incidents involving distempered raccoons have already been reported around East York. Effie Papadopoulos, a local from East York, came across with a raccoon that is acting abnormally.
She recalled that the raccoon was trying to get into her house last month. It was going in a back and forth motion for more than three hours. The animal’s odd behavior made her decide to call Toronto Animal Services.
She also added the creature’s eyes were filled with pus. Unfortunately, by the time assistance arrived, the raccoon had already left.
As a general rule, sick raccoons should be put to death after being caught. Robinson explained that there is a zero chance of survival for a distempered raccoon. So, the best and most benevolent thing they can do is to euthanize it.
If ever you have a raccoon encounter, Mary Lou Leiher, program director of Toronto Animal Services, has important tips for you.
Observe caution. If a raccoon looks as if it is approaching you, move away. It is not a behavior you should expect from a healthy animal. Also, if you see it walking around in circles and seems like it keeps on tripping over again and again, looking worn out, and have bad discharge from their nose and eyes, the animal is likely to have the symptoms of canine distemper virus.
They mostly hibernate during winter. At this time, they should be spending their time sleeping, but they aren’t really true hibernators. Sometimes, they go out of their shelters and mate.
They prefer high places. By nature, raccoons reside in elevated areas such as trees. But, there are these rare instances when you find them building their nests at the top of a building or even in your home’s attic. Of course, they can do that easily. After all, they are expert climbers.
They can infest your property. If you want them out of your sight, you should be aware of the importance of garbage management. With their decreasing habitat and food sources, these creatures find ways to resolve hunger and be able to survive. That is why if they see piles of garbage, they would not think twice about seeking shelter. Then again, your home could also be a great habitat for them. To deter them, be sure you restrict entry and be sure no food sources are available.
Interestingly, in 2015, Canine Distemper Virus cases rose among the raccoon population in the Greater Toronto Area. Luckily, the outbreak eventually levelled off.
Check Out Our Other Posts on Raccoon Problems & Removal:
Property Standards for the City of Toronto sets the rules and standards for all its properties. All the property owners are required to strictly adhere to it. Section 9 of Chapter 629 states, “All properties have to be kept free of pests, including rodents and insects.”
Sadly, this is not followed at all times. Here is one such instance where a raccoon from their neighbor’s home has been a menace to a typical resident of Toronto for almost 2 years!
Chris and Christina Fowler have been living in Greenwood, where their home is semi-detached from the neighbor’s house. They have been facing troubles because of raccoons and squirrels invasion.
Raccoons are mammals with grayish fur found in colder regions. They are considered to be dangerous as they can carry several diseases like rabies.
The neighbors seem to have holes in their roof through which these creatures get into the Fowlers’ house easily. The pest trouble has increased to such an alarming level that raccoon feces and tracks can be seen everywhere. The couple, along with their daughter, has resorted to sleeping on a bed in their office across the master bedroom, that is if they are able to sleep at all.
When hearing them scratch and run around the walls of the house became a daily nuisance, the family then moved down to the basement for nights.
Abiding by the law, Chris has complained to the authorities a number of times since the year 2016 when this problem began. As per the investigation services in the city, a 14-day appeal period and thereafter a 21-days period to comply with the order is given to the property owners. Failing this, the city can do whatever work that needs to be done to resolve the problem and pass on the cost to the owner’s taxes or take them to the provincial court. $ 50,000 is the maximum fine if the owner fails to comply with the order.
You cannot simply go to your neighbor’s house and fix something which causes an inconvenience to you. There is a standard procedure wherein you can take the city’s permission or take the person to court to resolve the issue which can take months and is an expensive process too.
Studies show that about 10 percent of the property owners vacate their houses due to troubles with their neighbors.
But this is not an option for the Fowlers. They are not ready to leave their family home after living there for 16 years. They have too many memories associated with the place to leave it and move elsewhere just because the neighbor is unwilling to look after their property.
This is the reason why we advise our clients not to wait till the problem gets worse or out of control. It is important that you call our professionals immediately for appropriate and quick actions.
SOS Wildlife Control is a reputed and reliable company which provides pest control and raccoon removal in Toronto and the GTA region. Our team of experienced, qualified, and trained raccoon removal technicians will help you get rid of all your the pest. They will provide the best possible solution to all your wildlife-related problems. We are available 24*7 for your assistance. Do not hesitate to contact us. Remember, the sooner you call the experts, the sooner your problem will be resolved.
Raccoons are aggressive creatures that can transfer sicknesses to individuals through bites, scratches and even indirect contact. Since it isn’t unprecedented for us to now and again encounter these furry creatures around our homes, particularly during the night as they hunt for food, it is vital to take care while in their presence and use precautions when handling materials they’ve come in contact with.
Held up by masked bandits i’m Mateus
Pisano with CityNews in Midtown and if you bank at
this RBC branch here on st. Clair
Oakwood you’ll notice that you can’t get
in that’s because it’s temporarily
closed and it’s not because of
construction but because of a break-in
enter and it’s believed that the
suspects are still inside and they’re
not armed or dangerous they can get into
your garbage bins they can break into
your homes and now apparently they can
get inside a bank and no they’re not
there to make a deposit a family of raccoons broke into the ceiling of this
RBC branch on August 23rd the branch
closed its door is the same day they
remain shut ever since a copy of a
letter sent to customers has been
circulating on social media with the
branch apologizing for the inconvenience
and redirecting customers to alternative
locations nearby however not everyone
was aware of the situation from what
we’re told
yes the bank is being held up by furry
masked bandits raccoons the bank is
occupied what are your thoughts on that
well I’m sure that they’re not going to
steal very much
yeah I don’t know what they’d be able to
do with the money and I’ve lived in
Toronto all my life I’ve never heard of
anyway
yeah and so what goes through your mind
thinking about something like this I
guess it kind of makes you want to think
like what are they doing with the money
that these people are making this place
should be fixed a long time ago so why
is it taking so long to find out we
caught up with a representative from RBC
we’re almost at the end of September why
is it taking so long to reopen well as
everyone knows raccoons do cause a little bit of damage but this is an older building and the ceilings are
actually over 20 feet high so we had to
build a scaffolding on the inside so
that we’re able to get to the very large
ceiling tiles that are above it’s a
little different than fixing the roof is
a screen anything against them now this
isn’t the first time we brought you a
story about raccoons breaking into
things or places just ask our colleague
Roger Peterson he dealt with a family of
raccoons himself when they broke into
his home according to this expert we’re
seeing more cases like this because well
raccoons are getting more accustomed to
their surroundings raccoons are actually
very extremely trainable right they were
us challenging them as a human being
challenging raccoons it only makes them
smarter
so there they’re gonna basically try to
find a way to live within us and and
they won’t the one just go away now RDC
tells us that they’re doing their best
to speed up the process and they hope to
reopen the branch by the end of October
now we reached out to the raccoons to
find out if they are planning to leave
anytime soon they were unavailable for
comment
in Midtown I’m in Cisco so no city news
There are animals that hibernate and go on to sleep that lasts nearly the whole of winter. In this hibernation period, their body temperature drops and their breathing slows down along with their heart rate.
The animals that hibernate help conserve energy. The main reason behind the animals hibernating is the unavailability of food, and these animals hibernate until food becomes available again. The amount of time an animal hibernates depends on the specific animal, climate, and many other factors.
HOW DO RACCOON’S ADAPT DURING WINTER?
Raccoons don’t actually hibernate. They do hunker down, however, when it gets cold. But before the winter sets in, they eat as much as they can to accumulate fat and their coats get thicker to withstand the cold weather.
Raccoons can be especially pestiferous as they hunt for food. They tend to turn over garbage cans and dig up lawns looking for grubs. This can be a good time to track down raccoons in your yard, before they settle into their dens and before young are born.
WHERE DO RACCOONS HIBERNATE DURING WINTER?
In the extent to the seriousness of the winter raccoons in colder atmospheres develop thicker layers. The mix of physical adjustments and behavioral changes help raccoons flourish. Raccoons fill out for the winter on oak seeds throughout the fall. Raccoons lose around 50% of their weight before the end of hibernation. Raccoons have clumps of peculiar trees where they like to rest and they go to an alternate one consistently. Once in awhile, they take advantage of the ground tunnels of different creatures to rest in winter. They don’t generally rest alone, however, have others with them.
RACCOON’S SLEEPING HABITS
Raccoons’ sleeping habits are paradoxical to that of humans’. Raccoons are nocturnal and are active at night when we are sleeping tight. So our chances of tracking their movements are not that great. But if there is a forest or a bush near your house, that is most likely where raccoons go before sunrise to find a suitable place to sleep.
To capture the exact location where a raccoon sleeps is not an easy task. When it comes to making a den, raccoons are a real slouch. These brutes are not in the habit of building their own dens. They find it more conducive to use dens made by other animals or any kind of hole or shelter they may find in nature. They are quite opportunistic and can quickly adapt to any environment.
Raccoons may be found snoozing in arched trees, caves, cloven rock, burrows of other animals, abandoned nests, piles of wood, shaft underneath houses or decks, shed, relinquished cars, abandoned buildings and so on. When the weather is milder they may sleep in large forks in trees or even on the ground. And it’s not unconventional for a raccoon to switch their dwelling almost every night.
Behavioral Adaptations
During the winter when food is sparse, the raccoon does not hibernate but slumber for extended periods when the weather is unfavorable. The animals live on fat reserves and lose up to half their body weight during this period. Raccoons are adaptable when it comes to finding a home and will live anywhere such as tree stump hollows, caves, woodchuck burrows, deserted buildings or attics of deserted buildings.
Dietary Adaptations
The key reason for the animal’s success in burgeoning is the flexibility of their diet. Using their dexterous paws, the raccoon is an adroit fisherman, snatching small fish and crayfish from rivers and streams. It is an opportunistic eater and will eat whatever is bountiful in its spectrum. In some areas, fruit and plant material makes up the bulk of the animal’s diet. In others, small mammals, amphibians, and insects are more common food. In downtown areas, where wild food is less trivial, the animals turn to humans for food, often raiding trash cans. Size of the animal and its adroit fingers mean it can pull over the cans and even pull off the lids in search of food.
Predator Defense
Raccoons can hold against some meat eaters and are able enough to fight off animals almost twice their size with brutal grit. The main defense the animal has in avoiding most predators is its nocturnal lifestyle. The ability to climb quickly also helps to escape ground-dwelling carnivores. The animals do fall prey to a range of predators.
Increase In Activity
Mating season begins January through February for raccoons. Homeowners often complain that they hear animals fighting in their attic, and while that is a possibility, it is much more likely this pandemonium is caused by breeding raccoons. Kits usually take about 9 months to mature to adulthood, so come November or December, litters born early in the year are ready to venture out to look for den sites and start families of their own. This means that there is a rise in the number of adult raccoons seeking shelter just as the cold season begins. If you know there are raccoon in your attic please do not remove them yourself, there are strict laws by the city of Toronto against you removing baby raccoons from your home. If you do find raccoons during baby season call your local raccoon removal professionals for assistance and advice.
Raccoon Removal
If you notice any bizarre activity on your property, notably footprints in the snow on your roof, catastrophe to the exterior of your house, or thumping noises on the ceiling, there’s a possibility your attic has become home to raccoons. Between tearing holes in your roof, destroying insulation, urinating and defecating, and carrying any number of diseases, these animals are capable of causing a great deal of bereavement. While it’s understandable that raccoons are just trying to make it through until the spring, they pose a danger to your home. Your health and safety are far too prized to ignore. Contact a licensed raccoon removal company right away if you experience any of the above gauges.
Overall – Do Raccoons Hibernate?
So, when the question asked “Do raccoons hibernate?” the quick answer is No. However, their behavior is tremendously inveigled by outside temperatures so depending on where you live you may or may not spot them in the winters.
In the recent years, there have been several occurrences of raccoon distemper in the country. However, one specific case triggered some locals to believe the illness was caused by rabies.
