Raccoons are a pest year-round, but especially in the winter months you’ll need expert help if you’re attempting raccoon removal in Milwaukee and the surrounding areas. Winter is when raccoons tend to gather in groups. They are hungry and can become more aggressive, nesting in your warm attic and causing trouble. Read more below about common raccoon behaviors, the risks they pose to your home and what to do about it.

Do Raccoons Truly Live by Themselves?

It’s common to assume that raccoons are solitary, because you usually only spot one at a time. You may see one near your chicken coop or in the garbage can, or scurrying out of view as you park in the driveway late at night. These solo bandits are likely to be the larger males who have learned to forage for themselves, especially during the warm seasons.

However, scientific observation of raccoon habitat and behavior indicates that when the males get hungry and cold during winter months, they’re more likely to stick with larger family communities. There is safety in numbers. Raccoons choose to stay in groups so they can huddle against the harsh elements, hunt together and share food. Traveling and hunting together in groups also protects them from other predators who are also cold, desperate and hungry.

What Is the Size of These Groups?

Male raccoon groups usually number no larger than four. Females, though, often live in larger groups year-round, especially if they have several babies. Males and females usually live separately, unless they are mating. Raccoons begin mating as early as January, so you may have them in your home now, in larger groups, even before the traditional spring mating season.

I Think I Have Raccoons In My Home. How Bad Can It Get?

Because raccoons remain in groups during the winter months, one raccoon in your home could easily lead to four more males and up to twenty with females and their babies moving in. Major risks to your safety and health exist when raccoons are not professionally removed. These animals are very dextrous and can easily remove DIY solutions such as tarps and duct tape. They also can rip off aluminum, soffit, shingles and flashing. What’s more, the toxic droppings they leave behind can include roundworm. Plus of course raccoons are infamous for often carrying rabies.

Finally, the biggest danger to your home is they can easily chew through electrical wires. This can cause a fire hazard, especially when near combustible materials such as wall insulation and dry wood.

Call Skedaddle for Raccoon Removal in Milwaukee

Especially in the case of raccoons, the adage “where there’s smoke there’s fire” is powerfully true. If you see one raccoon near your home during winter, there could be many more also nesting in your chimneys, crawl spaces and roof areas — they jump or walk there from tall tree boughs, or climb up ivy and drainage pipes.

Call us for expert, humane raccoon removal in Milwaukee and surrounding areas. With three decades of experience, we offer professional service:

1. Assess and Remove. Our technicians identify the number of raccoons and assess the degree of the problem. We analyze the risk of rabies (hard for an untrained eye) and humanely and strategically remove all mothers, babies and males. The mothers and babies are reunited in a heated baby box, far from your home.
2. Clear and Clean Any Mess. We handle professional removal of raccoon feces and contamination (roundworm).
3. Prevent and Protect. We identify entry points and permanently block raccoons from entering your home. We can install heavy-gauge screening at all potential entry points and advise and consult for insulation repair and attic restoration.

Our customer service professionals also provide ongoing assistance to you after your home service is complete. Send us a message and we’ll contact you to get started with your raccoon removal needs.