Raccoons
Procyon lotor (Common Raccoon)
Intelligent urban wildlife that causes severe structural damage and serious health hazards when denning inside BC homes.
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Raccoons
Overview
Highly intelligent urban scavengers that cause serious structural damage when nesting in attics and crawl spaces — and pose genuine health risks through their latrines.
BC’s Most Destructive Urban Wildlife Pest
Raccoons are among the most adaptable and intelligent wildlife species in British Columbia, and urban populations in the Lower Mainland have become increasingly bold and problematic. A raccoon that establishes a denning site in your attic, crawl space, or under your deck will cause significant structural damage — tearing insulation, destroying vapour barriers, contaminating the space with latrines, and potentially damaging electrical wiring. Raccoon roundworm (Baylisascaris procyonis), present in raccoon faeces, is a serious human health hazard requiring professional remediation.
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Risk Index
Our Risk Index breaks down each pest's threat level so you know exactly what you're dealing with and how urgently to act.
Risks: Raccoons
Property
Damage
9 / 10
Nuisance
Level
8 / 10
Health
Threat
8 / 10Structural & Material
Noise & Disruption
Bite & Disease Exposure
What This Means For You
Raccoons tearing into attic insulation, destroying vapour barriers, damaging roof materials to gain entry, and establishing latrines cause damage that frequently costs $5,000–$20,000+ to fully remediate including professional decontamination.
Nocturnal activity in attic spaces is extremely loud and disruptive. Overturned bins, ransacked gardens, and damaged property are nightly frustrations for affected households throughout the Lower Mainland.
Raccoon faeces can carry Baylisascaris procyonis (raccoon roundworm) — a parasite whose eggs can remain viable in soil for years and cause severe neurological damage in humans if accidentally ingested. Raccoons are also a primary vector of rabies in North America.
Know Your Pest
Raccoons Knowledge, Prevention Tips & Home Protection Advice.
Facts: Raccoons
Stocky body 40–70cm; distinctive black facial mask; ringed tail; grizzled grey-brown fur; dexterous front paws. Adults weigh 3–9kg. Highly vocal — variety of chittering, growling, and screaming calls.
Omnivorous opportunists — garbage, fruit, garden produce, bird eggs, small animals, pet food, and anything accessible
Moderate — one litter of 2–5 kits per year, born April–May; kits remain with mother until autumn
Summer
Spring
Fall
Winter
Raccoons are creatures of habit with strong site fidelity. Simply removing a raccoon without sealing its entry point will result in the same animal — or another — returning within days. Exclusion must always follow removal. Female raccoons with kits require specialist one-way door exclusion to avoid separating mothers from young.
Secure all garbage bins with locking lids, remove fallen fruit and accessible compost, and cap chimneys with a wildlife-proof cover. Inspect your roofline each spring for damaged soffits, rotted fascia boards, and open roof vents that provide raccoon entry points.
Humane Live Trapping & One-Way Exclusion (Wildlife relocation in compliance with BC regulations)
Attempting to handle or trap raccoons without experience is dangerous — cornered raccoons are aggressive and will bite and scratch. Trapping a nursing female and separating her from kits inside your attic will result in the kits dying inside your walls, creating serious odour and secondary pest problems.
RainCity uses humane one-way exclusion doors and live trapping in compliance with BC wildlife regulations, ensures mothers and kits are not separated, and provides full attic inspection and decontamination referrals where raccoon latrines are present.
One-way exclusion door installation at primary entry points combined with live trapping where necessary, followed by full perimeter exclusion sealing and decontamination assessment.
Raccoon removal and entry point exclusion completed within 1–5 days; attic decontamination recommended following any denning activity.
Signs of Activity
Early detection prevents small issues from becoming full infestations. Watch for signs in hidden or undisturbed areas.
Loud Thumping in Attic at Night
Heavy footsteps, thumping, and rolling sounds from the attic space — raccoons are much larger and louder than mice or rats, and their movement is distinctive and unmistakable.
Damaged Roof or Soffit Entry Points
Torn or bent soffit panels, damaged roof vents, and pulled-back shingles around the roofline — raccoons use their powerful paws to force open entry points into attic spaces.
Overturned Bins and Scattered Waste
Rubbish bins overturned and their contents scattered across driveways and gardens overnight — a nightly occurrence in households with regular raccoon visitors.
Raccoon Latrines
Communal latrine sites — accumulations of dark, tubular droppings often containing berry seeds — found on flat roofs, decking, at the base of trees, or inside attic spaces. These require professional decontamination due to roundworm risk.
Tracks in Mud or Snow
Distinctive five-toed handprint-like tracks in garden beds, mud, or snow around the property perimeter — raccoon front paw prints closely resemble small human hands.
Frequently Asked Questions
Find expert answers to our most common questions and discover how we keep your home or business pest-free.
In BC, raccoons are classified as wildlife and their trapping and relocation is governed by the Wildlife Act. Live trapping by homeowners is generally permitted for nuisance animals, but relocation must follow provincial guidelines. RainCity handles all trapping and relocation in full compliance with BC regulations.
Yes. Raccoon faeces can contain Baylisascaris procyonis eggs — a roundworm parasite that can cause severe neurological damage in humans if accidentally ingested. Never handle raccoon droppings without full protective equipment. Attic spaces used as raccoon latrines require professional decontamination.
Unlikely. Once a raccoon — particularly a nursing female — establishes a denning site in your attic, it has strong motivation to stay. Females actively defend their den site. Professional removal and exclusion is the only reliable solution.
Kits are born April through May and remain with their mother until autumn. Trapping or excluding the mother without accounting for kits inside will result in the kits dying in the attic. RainCity uses specialist techniques to reunite mothers with kits before exclusion is completed.
Raccoons gain entry through damaged soffits, open roof vents, rotted fascia boards, and gaps where different roofline materials meet. They can also climb downspipes and gain access via overhanging tree branches — these should be trimmed to at least 3 metres from the roofline.
Use bins with locking lids specifically designed to resist raccoon access. Store bins in a locked shed or garage until collection morning. Bungee cords are not effective — raccoons learn to defeat them quickly. Eliminating food sources is a critical part of reducing raccoon pressure on your property.
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