Itsa国际传媒檚 raccoon birthing season and B.C. homeowners should be mindful the animals may try to seek refuge where they shouldnsa国际传媒檛.

Lorinne Anderson, who runs Wildaid, a Vancouver Island wildlife rescue operation, said raccoons are known to breed between January and March, with a majority of babies born between March and May.

Damage to insulation is among the problems raccoons are known to cause.

sa国际传媒淣ine times out of 10, what they do is they actually follow rats in,sa国际传媒� said Anderson. sa国际传媒淭hey will get rid of the rats, because rats are a threat to their babies. They will take an opening that a ratsa国际传媒檚 been using, enlarge that and then use that to access a crawl space or a shed or an abandoned vehicle, parked boat or whatever.sa国际传媒�

According to Anderson, raccoons can use space as a sa国际传媒渘ursery densa国际传媒� for a finite period of time and almost always vacate the area by July. People may not even know raccoons have taken up residence.

sa国际传媒淲hen the babies are little, they make little chirping noises, so people think they have a bird nest up there,sa国际传媒� said Anderson. sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 not until theysa国际传媒檙e older that you actually hear normal raccoon noises sa国际传媒� we call it a sa国际传媒榯rill.sa国际传媒� Theysa国际传媒檒l also make almost like a guinea pig sound: sa国际传媒楴eet!sa国际传媒� If the babies feel like theysa国际传媒檙e lost or separated, theysa国际传媒檒l make that sort of a noise.sa国际传媒�

Mothers can move babies and often, they will sa国际传媒減ark them somewheresa国际传媒� halfway between old and new locations. People may mistake the young ones as abandoned, but the mother often returns for the baby the following night, said Anderson.

She hesitates to refer to them as problematic, however.

sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檓 sure some people view it as a problem,sa国际传媒� said Anderson. sa国际传媒淭o me, they are not a problem at all. After raptors, theysa国际传媒檙e our No. 1 predator against rats. Theysa国际传媒檙e not dangerous. They donsa国际传媒檛 kill cats sa国际传媒� theysa国际传媒檙e one of the few animals that does much better in an urban environment than in a sa国际传媒榝orest environment.sa国际传媒� They are very prolific, but theysa国际传媒檙e prolific based on food source.sa国际传媒�

Ken Gunderson, owner of Island Wildlife and Pest Control, recommends against leaving out food that attracts raccoons.

sa国际传媒淭he biggest thing is not feeding birds, not feeding other wildlife. A lot of people in the city here definitely do that,sa国际传媒� said Gunderson. sa国际传媒淭he next biggest one is just making sure your roof is in good condition. In almost all cases we see, theysa国际传媒檙e accessing the attic through a weak soffit vent somewhere. Itsa国际传媒檚 just a matter of getting up there and making sure everythingsa国际传媒檚 sealed on the exterior.sa国际传媒�

Both experts warn health concerns could arise from inhalation of particles from excrement.

sa国际传媒淚n most cases theresa国际传媒檚 not going to be any health concerns if yousa国际传媒檙e just living in the house,sa国际传媒� said Gunderson. sa国际传媒淚f yousa国际传媒檙e actually going up in the attic and yousa国际传媒檙e breathing in the dust from the insulation and the droppings, theysa国际传媒檙e definitely health concerns. Ring worm is one of them. Leptospirosis (causing organ damage, meningitis and even death) is another one. All that stuff is very rare unless yousa国际传媒檙e doing a big cleanup and theresa国际传媒檚 a very large amount of droppings in a small area.sa国际传媒�

Anderson said there are misconceptions about raccoons. People generally worry about three things in relation to raccoons, she said.

sa国际传媒淭heysa国际传媒檙e worried that the raccoon is going to attack them, or their child, or their pet sa国际传媒� do all sorts of damage and then theresa国际传媒檚 the ones that just donsa国际传媒檛 think they belong in the city and they need to be moved back to the wilderness,sa国际传媒� Anderson said. sa国际传媒淪adly, all of those things are false. The only time yousa国际传媒檙e going to have a problem with a raccoon is if you corner it. And frankly, I donsa国际传媒檛 care what you are, if anything corners me in an alley, Isa国际传媒檓 coming with teeth and claws.sa国际传媒�

For more information on what to do if you suspect you have raccoons, click .

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