If there’s a wildlife species in Kentucky with a public relations problem it’s the raccoon. And deservedly so.
Often portrayed as a cute creature with a ringed tail, white whiskers, bandit mask, and hand-like paws, there’s nothing shy and cuddly about raccoons. They are unwelcome pests in urban, suburban and farmland settings.
They take up residence in attics of old homes in tree-lined urban neighborhoods. They act aggressively towards pets in the backyard. They raid garbage cans and tear up gardens in suburbia, and eat their way into the wallets of farmers all across Kentucky.
They will decimate row after row of sweet corn bound for urban farmers’ markets and if raccoons can find a way into a chicken coop, they will come night after night, to kill and devour even the largest of hens.
Often portrayed as a cute creature with a ringed tail, white whiskers, bandit mask, and hand-like paws, there’s nothing shy and cuddly about raccoons. They are unwelcome pests in urban, suburban and farmland settings (Photo Provided)
“They are relentless,” said Catherine Smith, a trapper and fur buyer in Scott County. “Raccoons have amazing dexterity. I’ve seen them climb a chain link fence and reach around and unhook a latch.”
Raccoon populations are high in Central Kentucky, but low to moderate in areas of the state that have a higher percentage of forested land and less human development.
During the summer months when there’s less natural food in forests, they gravitate towards populated areas. They are opportunistic foragers, adept at dumpster diving, brazen enough to walk up on the porch to eat from your dog or cat’s food bowl, and determined enough to squeeze through any gaps in the soffit of sheds and outbuildings.
Raccoons are poor hunters, so when they find an easy food source they stay with it until it’s exhausted.
Licensed Nuisance Wildlife Control Operators
How big is the problem of nuisance raccoons in Kentucky?
There are 53 companies across the state that will remove nuisance raccoons. They are licensed by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. It is not a free service. They charge a fee to remove nuisance raccoons.
To search for a licensed nuisance wildlife control operator by county or statewide visit this website.
Fur
In the rural South there was a time when raccoons were cooked as holiday meals, but these days they are hunted and trapped for their fur, or hunted with dogs for sport. At fur auctions there’s a glut of raccoon pelts and demand for raccoon fur is low. That combination has depressed the price raccoon pelts bring in recent decades.
“Grade 1 finished pelts, that have been fleshed, scraped and dried, bring from 50 cents to 12 dollars apiece at a fur market,” said Smith.
Hunting
During Kentucky’s winter furbearer season, raccoons are hunted with dogs and taken by trappers.
“The endgame is harvest,” said Doug Morgan, president of the Kentucky Houndsmen Association (KHA), a statewide organization founded in 1987 to protect and preserve the heritage of hunting with dogs.
The allure of “coon” hunting is the breeding and training of hounds, being out in the woods at night, running the dogs, treeing raccoons and shooting them out of treetops. Visit the KHA website for more information.
Trapping
Trapping is an efficient way to lower local raccoon populations. Landowners who are experiencing depredation and other problems with raccoons can find local trappers on the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources website.
The fur trappers listed are looking for opportunities to trap raccoons and other furbearers. Trapping season is open from mid-November to the end of February. Visit this website to search by county.
Live-trapping is a particularly good way to deal with nuisance raccoons during the summer months. Havahart, in business since 1940, sells a line of metal box traps ideal for capturing raccoons. Visit their website by clicking here.
Life History
The raccoon is an omnivore, feeding on a variety of plants and animals that are accessible seasonally. Their diet includes crayfish, insects (grasshoppers and caterpillars), small mammals (mice, chipmunks, eggs, frogs, fish, snails and mussels), and other foods found on the ground and near water.
They will raid hen houses, eating both chickens and eggs. Dead animals, or carrion, are sometimes eaten.
They also feed on fruits such as apples, wild cherries, persimmons, wild grapes and nuts, particularly acorns. They eat field corn, wheat and other farm crops (grains).
Raccoons den in hollow trees, under logs or rocks, or in ground burrows dug by red foxes, groundhogs, and skunks. Breeding occurs from January through April, peaking in February. Young are born in 63 to 65 days (usually March through June). Liter size is generally three to five kits, born with pigmented skin showing facial mask and tail markings.
Young run and climb at seven weeks, and are weaned and leave den in about 10 weeks.
Diseases and Public Health
Raccoons can be a reservoir for disease and constitute a public health threat. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, raccoons are the most common wild animal with rabies (about 38 percent of reported cases). The lethal disease is caused by a virus, carried in the saliva and transmitted by bites.
Rabid raccoons generally are sickly in appearance, have impaired mobility, abnormal vocalizations, and are aggressive. Stay away from raccoons that exhibit unusual behavior or appearance.
Raccoons also carry at least a dozen other pathogens. Local populations can sharply decline after outbreaks of canine distemper.
Bacterial diseases that affect raccoons include tetanus and tularemia, diseases that can both be transmitted to humans. A parasitic disease caused by the trichinella worm is also found in raccoons. Eating undercooked raccoon has caused trichinosis in humans, a disease most often associated with pork.
Art Lander Jr. is outdoors editor for KyForward. He is a native Kentuckian, a graduate of Western Kentucky University and a life-long hunter, angler, gardener and nature enthusiast. He has worked as a newspaper columnist, magazine journalist and author and is a former staff writer for Kentucky Afield Magazine, editor of the annual Kentucky Hunting & Trapping Guide and Kentucky Spring Hunting Guide, and co-writer of the Kentucky Afield Outdoors newspaper column.
