Raccoon what can I tell ya, every neighborhood has them whether you see them or not and they are the number one nuisance animal in our area. Raccoon do not hibernate but will sleep weeks at a time during the worst of the winter. They enter attics, garages, and go under decks to find denning sites throughout the year for different reasons. Raccoon and skunk are both guilty in causing lawn damage, rolling up new sod, and digging up gardens in search for grubs and other insects. From a nuisance wildlife trappers perspective their are two main seasons for raccoon. Spring is the time for birth and late fall is the time to find winter dens and that will lead into the mating season in January - February.
January to Mid March: With sunlight increasing and signs of spring starting to show, raccoon start their mating season which runs primarily January through March. If a female is not pregnant during this time period she will continue to look for a mate until one is found. In our area mating can continue into may, with males searching den sites for females late into June. After mating, male and female part ways, with the female giving birth and raising young by herself.
April to Mid June: Female raccoon and young dominate the scene during this time period. A good rule of thumb for knowing when young will appear is when the dandelions pop so will the young. When the young raccoon appear pricing will vary depending on the month or age of the young. Within the first three weeks baby raccoon can only be removed by hand as they are unable to walk. At around 4 weeks young raccoons can be removed by hand as well as by traps. When the young reach 5 weeks and older removal will be mostly accomplished by traps. All young animals born during the year must be developed enough to make through the winter themselves. If young raccoons are born late in the year they may den together during the winter.
In a nut shell: Male and Female raccoon do not raise young together, and are apart the majority of the year except for winter denning and mating. Females will raise 3 to 4 young by themselves with the possibility of more than 4 but not common. Males will continue to enter attics themselves throughout the year for various reasons. July and August seem to be the slowest time of year for raccoon calls. In September activity will pick up with the changing of the season, come late October the cycle will repeat with dens being sought after.
Hearing scratching noises or what you think are loud noises in the attic doesn't always mean its a raccoon. Sometimes mice or bats are the guilty party. Voids in walls can make noises amplified and when a mouse chews at drywall it sounds louder than you think. As for bats, they have a very large hook in the middle of each wing and that's was they use to crawl with. Now in the winter time some will go under the insulation and get the heat rising from the drywall and when these two large finger nail like hooks scratch the drywall it sounds really big.
I do not repair roofs or replace missing shingles torn off by raccoon. If you need repair to your roof you should contact a roofer for availability prior to calling me. Depending on the time of year trapping programs will run 3 or 4 days if normal conditions exist. Roof edges can be soft or rotted due to the lack of maintenance to gutters.
Providing nuisance animal trapping and removal services in the greater Chicago, Illinois (IL) region, including the cities of Joliet, Naperville, Lockport Illinois, Mokena, Bolingbrook, Cicero, Crete, Des Plaines, Evanston, Summit, Homer Glen, Mount Prospect, Oak Lawn, Oak Park, Orland Park, Palatine, Elwood, Crestwood, Oak Forest, and more. I service all of Cook County and Will County Illinois Wildlife calls, including the cities and villages of Downtown Chicago, Berwyn, Blue Island, Burbank, Beverly, Calumet City, Chicago Heights, Country Club Hills, Countryside, Des Plaines, Harvey, Hickory Hills, Hometown, Markham, Woodridge, Oak Forest, Palos Heights, Palos Hills, Park Ridge, Prospect Heights, Burr Ridge, Town of Cicero, Villages of Alsip, New Lenox, Barrington, Barrington Hills, Bedford Park, Bellwood, Bensenville, Berkeley, Bridgeview, Plainfield Broadview, Steger, Brookfield, Buffalo Grove, Burnham, Burr Ridge, Calumet Park, Chicago Ridge, Crestwood, Deer Park, Deerfield, Dixmoor, Dolton, East Dundee, East Hazel Crest, Evergreen Park, Flossmoor, Ford Heights, Forest Park, Forest View, Frankfort Illinois, Frankfort Square, Green Gardens, Franklin Park, Glencoe, Glenview, Glenwood, Golf, Hanover Park, Harwood Heights, Hazel Crest, Hillside, Hinsdale, Hodgkins, Aurora, Hoffman Estates, Homewood, Indian Head Park, Matteson, Justice, Kenilworth, La Grange, La Grange Park, Lansing, Lemont, Lincolnwood, Lynwood, Lyons, Maywood, McCook, Merrionette Park, Midlothian, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Norridge, North Riverside, Northbrook, Northfield, Oak Brook, Oak Lawn, Oak Park, Olympia Fields, Orland Hills, Orland Park, Palatine, Palos Park, Park Forest, Posen, Richton Park, River Forest, River Grove, Riverdale, Riverside, Robbins, Roselle, Rosemont, Sauk Village, Schaumburg, Schiller Park, Skokie, South Barrington, South Chicago Heights, South Holland, Steger, Stickney, Stone Park, Streamwood, Summit, Thornton, Tinley Park, University Park, Western Springs, Wheeling, Willow Springs, Woodridge, Worth, and more.