Camping With Raccoons
Wild animals are fascinating and beautiful. The opportunity to view these animals in
their native habitat is reason enough to go camping. However, wild animals can also be
unpredictable and dangerous. The following information is provided to help you “camp
with raccoons” while protecting you, your gear and the animals themselves.
It is important that you store your food and dispose of your trash properly, as well as to
never, ever feed the wildlife. Why? One person feeding wildlife either intentionally or
unintentionally can create a problem or nuisance animal for you or other visitors. Fed
animals cease to look for food in the wild and will instead seek out human-related food
items, including leftover garbage. As a result, they associate food with humans and
become nuisance animals that may have to be removed or even destroyed. This applies to
all wild animals. The good news is that we can prevent most problems by just doing the
following:
At Your Campsite
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Secure all food in your vehicle when not in use
Never use your tent to secure food. Raccoons will chew through and even unzip
tent doors.
These raccoons are checking the zippers of the bike’s saddle bags!
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If you feel you must leave your cooler on your camp site tuck it under a picnic
table seat so that the lid cannot be raised. Remember, raccoons can work the
closure latches and remove bungee cords, so simply locking the cooler is not
enough
Take pet food indoors at night.
Clean and store grills when not in use. Do not pour cooking grease or throw food
scraps outside.
Be careful not to leave wrappers, crumbs or other food trash after picnicking or
snacking. This includes soda cans and juice boxes.
If you install a bird feeder on your site, place it where raccoons cannot get to it
and clean up spilled feed each night.
Raccoons are industrious and adaptable. You can help protect
them by disposing of and storing food properly.