raccoon wandering on property

How To Catch a Baby Raccoon

All native wild animals are protected by the ministry of the environment. While trapping is not illegal it is very long and difficult and has risks of harming other animals in the process.  Raccoons, especially those that are newly born during the baby season are protected animals in all of Canada. Trapping a baby raccoon also depends on its age, they are immobile for up to 2 months and are blind as well. They cannot move or defend themselves so the mother must hide them from any male raccoons that may find where she is hiding. Raccoon babies are already in a large amount of danger as their mothers must protect them from the fathers of other babies. Male raccoons hunt other raccoon female children to increase their own young’s chances of survival. This is not uncommon in wildlife and is shared by black and brown squirrels. So catching a baby raccoon is not something you need to do assuming they are still immobile. If you have a young raccoon on your property then it may have lost its mother. Calling a professional trapper is better but will still take a long time. If you have raccoons on your property there is a very good chance they are living there. You can reduce this risk by removing things they want, like food water and access to shelter. Keeping your garbage stored away and removing access to food and water will make it less likely for wildlife to hang around.

Raccoon babies
Raccoon babies cannot survive the first 8 to twelve months of their lives without their mother. in essence, they are similar to human babies, but age faster.

If you do have a raccoon in your attic and you think it may be raccoon baby season right now. Then call a professional and say you think there are babies in the attic. The technician will evict the mother via a one-way door, which is a device that allows an animal to vacate an area but prevents it from getting back in by locking in on itself after the animal passes through it the portal, this is done in many different ways but for a raccoon, it is usually a large flat steel framed door with a spring locking plexiglass door that makes it a little difficult to get through the door. Using this any adult bird, bat or wild animal is easy and cheap to evict from your home. But what about babies? The mother tries to hide them, she may cover them in some insulation. But we have a trick. Babies give off a lot of heat and with a thermal camera, our techs can find them no matter where they are. They can then remove them humanely and the mother, when realizing she has been evicted but her babies are safe will leave the property and likely never come back.