Raccoons are a thirsty species. The average adult raccoon can drink up to 930ml of water a day through both drinking and wetting their food as well as from eating mostly aquatic animals like fish and mollusks. They are very fond of water and can swim in shallow water but are terrified of water they cannot see the bottom of. This is why they tend to like human pools. A saltwater pool won’t quench their thirst and a chlorine pool is actually a bit poisonous to drink but the raccoon is not aware of this and will drink anyways. This is why it is not an uncommon sight to see a dead raccoon floating in a pool or bulled out of a hot tub or pool vent. They drink a lot of water and are constantly looking for fish. If you want a thousand raccoons in your backyard put them in a Coy pond. Raccoons are keen and smart. They can use their hands to grab and manipulate objects and food. When not eating out of the water they will often dip their food in the water. As said before, they are not washing it. That being said raccoons are communal in many ways and only deviate during baby season. They share communal latrines and tend to eat from the same containers and live near the same properties. The average raccoon only travels less than a kilometre away from its dens in either direction so if you plan on trapping one that comes to your property a lot remember that a non-licensed trapper cannot take the animal further than one kilometre away from a natural setting like a park or ravine. Any further and they may not be able to find food or water anymore. If you find that a raccoon has died in your pool or hot tub or pond then it is important to remember they likely voiced their bowels. A raccoon roundworm is a parasite that survives the heat of a hot tub and the chlorine of a poll so the water must be completely removed and the area cleaned with boiling steam over 100 degrees celsius. Only then is it safe to refill the pool?
If you have raccoons coming on your property you do not need to go so far as to trap them. You can usually get them to leave and stop coming back by cleaning up the property. Store garbage in tightly locked containers, inside the garage or a shed that is also locked and difficult to break into. You may need to get rid of the coy pond if you have one but most people just need to take down a bird feeder or birdbaths. They don’t only give raccoons food and water they also provide nesting sites for water-born insects like mosquitoes. So take care of your property, remove anything that an animal could drink or eat for dinner and you should not see many animals on your property at all.