How often do raccoons attack during the day?

[drumstick diva]

Raccoons are out anytime they know lunch is available. I've seen them as often during the day as night. We are a residential area but with a forest preserve at one end of the street - all manner of critters go by from fox and coyotes out in broad daylight to oppsosum &such. , this has been going on for 42 years - they all can't be sick. They just adapt readily to what humans provide for them - dog and cat food out during the day, bird feeders galore, garbage days when people don't put lids on the can or just throw food garbage in plastic bags (dumb).

 

[SC_Hugh]

Our idiot neighbors right behind us (Betty and Frank) feed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to them and also allow a few racoons to raise their young in their garage, then they pretend to be a rescue of some sort when really they are just allowing wild animals to live inside their garage, I could go on and on...over the years, a few of them have been dispatched and won't be breeding anymore...I have talked with Animal Control a few times, but they can't do anything, but they encouraged me to keep the population in check (from my side of the fence). I agree that relocation is NOT the solution.

I have a large hedge between us and them and our backyard is where we let our dogs roam when they are outside. So far, no losses in two years with chickens

The only racoons that we have seen during the day have been one of two very young racoons that don't know when to sleep (like babies do), they are young and not aggressive. The other daytime roaming coons would most likely be rabid.

The only upside to the neighbors feeding the racoons is that they aren't as hungry as they would be if they had to search for their own food.

 

[sourland]

Raccoons eat when they are hungry. It is true that their primary hunting time is from dusk to daylight, but if hungry they will attack in the middle of the day. This is especially likely on overcast days.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Quote:
Do you have a Federal Trapper assigned to your county? Do a google search on "Federal Trapper" then your county and state. They will come out and set a trap then dispatch the animal for a nominal fee.

 

[aprophet]

Quote:
you might try passing this on to the neighbors

http://www.cdph.ca.gov/healthinfo/discond/Documents/RaccoonRoundworms.pdf

what they are doing IS a danger to the neighborhood if/when a child gets sick they WILL be responsible

 

[OvertheHenHouse]

Quote:
you might try passing this on to the neighbors

http://www.cdph.ca.gov/healthinfo/discond/Documents/RaccoonRoundworms.pdf

what they are doing IS a danger to the neighborhood if/when a child gets sick they WILL be responsible

Wow, Aprophet - thanks for posting this! Really good to know about - and I'd imagine a good enough reason to call animal control or a federal trapper...

 

[angie3881]

Where I live, coons are like cock roaches. If you see one, there are a million more. I think the federal trapper is a good idea. I don't fault you for not wanting to shoot it or dispose of it- however, I would enjoy a nice, clean shot, but I also think the best coon is dead one from my own personal experiences.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I've never lost one to a raccoon, day or night. Out in the country here I've seen coyotes, foxes, skunks, possums, and other critters out during the day, but not a raccoon. I've trapped a few, but never seen one during the daytime here. When I lived in suburbia, I'd see raccoons occasionally during the day. Most of the time I saw them was dusk to dawn, but the middle of the day was not really unusual. They would use the storm sewers as underground highways and possibly to den in. You just have to look.

There are plenty of reasons fro them to be out during the day other than them being rabid, but once a myth takes hold, the myth never dies.

Never take a raccoon as a Disney character. They can be exceedingly vicious. They are quite capable of killing a hound dog.

One story that was not funny then but is funny now involved a raccoon. It was denning in a neighbors attic. They hired a professional trapper to get rid of it. While he was checking it out, he disturbed it and it took off on top of a fence in the middle of the day. My oldest son was playing on top if a swing set in out back yard. That raccoon was coming toward him, he got excited and fell off the swing set. But a back pocket got hung on a screw sticking up, so he was dangling by the back pocket as that raccoon ran down the fence right by him.

 

[angie3881]

One story that was not funny then but is funny now involved a raccoon. It was denning in a neighbors attic. They hired a professional trapper to get rid of it. While he was checking it out, he disturbed it and it took off on top of a fence in the middle of the day. My oldest son was playing on top if a swing set in out back yard. That raccoon was coming toward him, he got excited and fell off the swing set. But a back pocket got hung on a screw sticking up, so he was dangling by the back pocket as that raccoon ran down the fence right by him.

Oh, that was a good chuckle!

 

[ailurophile23]

I lost my first small flock of hens a few years ago to a raccoon who frequently came out during the late afternoon (3PMish). It quickly figured out the multiple locks on the coop and did my girls in - first one, then the remaining 4 in one afternoon. The raccoon was healthy..... and hungry - and the hens were an easy opportunity. This same raccoon could also be seen in the afternoons at my birdfeeder chowing down on birdseed. As others have said in this thread, raccoons are not exclusively nocturnal - more opportunistic. I now have two dogs and a much more secure chicken fortress - and no sign of raccoons (knock on wood!).