Raccoons are highly adaptable mammals found in various environments, including human-populated areas. While many assume they hibernate, their winter behavior is more nuanced. Raccoons do not enter a state of true hibernation; instead, they employ a survival strategy to endure winter by seeking suitable shelter.
Understanding Raccoon Winter Activity
Raccoons do not undergo true hibernation. Instead, they enter a state known as torpor, a temporary reduction in activity and metabolism that conserves energy when food is scarce and temperatures plummet, typically below -9 degrees Celsius (15 degrees Fahrenheit). Their body temperature and metabolic processes slow down, but not as dramatically as in hibernating animals, enabling them to awaken relatively quickly.
To prepare for winter, raccoons consume large amounts of food during the fall, building up substantial fat reserves, which provide energy and insulation through periods of inactivity. While in torpor, raccoons may sleep for days or even weeks at a time, but they will emerge from their dens during milder winter days to forage for food and water. Their diet shifts to whatever is available, including nuts, fruits, small animals, and urban food scraps.
Preferred Winter Den Locations
Raccoons are opportunistic, repurposing existing structures and natural formations for their winter shelter. These locations are selected based on their ability to offer warmth, protection from the elements, safety from predators, and often, proximity to potential food sources. In natural environments, raccoons frequently use hollow trees, logs, and tree cavities as dens. They also utilize rock crevices, caves, brush piles, and abandoned burrows dug by other animals like groundhogs or foxes.
In human-inhabited areas, raccoons readily adapt to man-made structures for their winter dens. Common sites include attics, chimneys, sheds, barns, and abandoned buildings. They may also den under porches or decks, in crawl spaces, garages, woodpiles, or even culverts and storm sewers. Attics and chimneys are particularly appealing due to the consistent warmth they provide, often enhanced by rising heat and insulation. These enclosed spaces offer security and a quiet retreat from disturbances and potential threats.
Living Alongside Winter Raccoons
As winter approaches, raccoons often seek shelter in human structures. They are drawn to properties that offer warmth, shelter, and accessible food sources. To deter raccoons, it is important to secure all potential entry points into homes and outbuildings. This includes sealing holes in soffits, repairing damaged vents and siding, and ensuring chimneys are capped. Trimming tree branches that extend close to rooflines can also prevent easy access to upper levels of a home.
Removing outdoor food sources is equally important in preventing raccoon incursions. Securing garbage cans with tight-fitting lids, avoiding leaving pet food outdoors, and promptly picking up fallen fruits or nuts can make a property less attractive.
If a raccoon is suspected of denning on a property, signs such as scratching or shuffling noises, thumping sounds, vocalizations, or a foul odor from waste may be present. Direct intervention is not advised; instead, contacting a professional wildlife removal service is recommended for humane exclusion and relocation. Professionals utilize methods such as one-way doors or traps to safely remove the animals, ensuring both human safety and the raccoon’s well-being.