Raccoons can be dangerous, not only to people but to smaller animals as well. If you have squirrels in your garden, and are worried that raccoons will kill and eat them, then this article is for you.

Raccoons are omnivores, they eat both plant and animal matter. They are also opportunistic feeders, they eat anything they can find. So do raccoons eat squirrels? This article looks into it

If push comes to shove, a raccoon will kill and eat a squirrel. However, this isn’t something that will happen on a regular basis. Raccoons are opportunistic feeders and are omnivores but they would rather forage for an easy meal than hunt and kill their prey.

Do raccoons eat squirrels?

Raccoons are opportunistic feeders which means that they will eat almost any food that they have the opportunity to. They will even eat food from the garbage if they have to.

They have a set diet in the wild and in urban areas but if push comes to shove, these animals will eat a squirrel.

Benefits of raccoons eating squirrels:

Raccoons need to eat meat from time to time in order to get complete proteins. Not all plants will provide the complete proteins that raccoons need to live a healthy life, meat, including squirrel meat, does.

The proteins found in meat are needed for cell regeneration and tissue development in raccoons.

In addition, because protein takes longer to digest when compared to carbohydrates, squirrel meat will be very satiating for raccoons.

Risks of raccoons eating squirrels:

Squirrels won’t go down without a fight. They may seem like very friendly and peaceful animals but when attacked, squirrels will fight for their life.

One risk of a raccoon trying to catch and eat a squirrel is the squirrel scratching the raccoon and even biting the raccoon

Squirrel teeth and claws are quite sharp and strong, they can cut through and tear through nuts and bark. These teeth and claws can damage a raccoon, especially in areas that don’t have much fur.

Why raccoons prefer not to eat squirrels:

Raccoons are foragers, they prefer to forage for food than hunt and kill for food. A raccoon would rather eat unattended bird eggs or fruits than have to hunt and catch a fast squirrel

Squirrels are faster than raccoons, they can reach speeds of up to 20 mph, raccoons can reach speeds of up to 15 mph. A raccoon would have to ambush a squirrel to catch it.

Running and catching a squirrel takes up a lot of energy, racoons don’t like to use too much energy. This is why a raccoon will only eat a squirrel if it has nothing else to eat.

If there are other food sources available, the raccoon would rather conserve energy and eat those than to have to catch a squirrel

How raccoons hunt and catch squirrels:

Raccoons may prefer not to hunt their prey, but they will hunt with a good amount of precision when they have to

These animals will likely study the movements of the squirrel before finally attacking the animal

The raccoon will use its long claws and teeth to attack and kill the squirrel.

The body and skin of the squirrel is soft. The raccoon’s claws can easily cut into the squirrels flesh. This animal may scratch the squirrel’s eyes in a fight and bite into the animal’s body quite rapidly.

If this happens, the squirrel will be dead soon after.

What else do raccoons eat?

Because raccoons are omnivores they will eat both plants and animals. They have teeth designed to eat pretty much anything just like humans do.

In the wild, they will eat vegetables and fruit like nuts, grains, vegetables, and berries. They will also eat meats like frogs, snails, crawfish, fish, birds, squirrels, poultry, rats, insects, and even small livestock if they can catch and kill them.

In the city, they eat all sorts of human food, well, anything they can find.

Eating from the garbage and picking food off of the street is normal for them. However, this diet is not healthy for them. If they can, they will hunt and kill rodents, birds, snakes, rats, turkey, roadkill, and eat turkey, duck, and chicken eggs. Click the links to read more

If you keep your pet food lying around in or outside your home then the raccoons will gravitate to this as well. They will use their paws to get into and open anything and everything.

Here is a more in-depth article on what raccoons eat.

This article looks at what raccoons don’t eat

How to keep squirrels safe:

Many of the traps and repellents that will repel raccoons will also repel squirrels.

This includes using ammonia-soaked cloths on your property, using hot peppers on your property, and using mothballs on your property.

If you want to keep your squirrels safe you will need to call in pest control services to get rid of your raccoons without affecting your squirrels.

Raccoons sleep in hideaways during the day (read more here), adding an electric fence will keep them out at night when they’re awake

Conclusion:

In conclusion, yes, raccoons do eat squirrels. These animals will pretty much eat anything and everything.

That being said, raccoons are much slower than squirrels. A raccoon has an average speed of 15 mph, the average squirrel can run at a much higher speed. A raccoon will not be able to outrun a squirrel.

For the raccoon to catch and eat a squirrel it will have to ambush the squirrel while it’s sleeping or ambush it if it’s not paying attention. In that case, the raccoon will have an easier time killing the pretty.

Raccoons will not catch and kill squirrels on a regular basis. The raccoons would rather forage for food and find food lying around than hunt and kill to eat.

Squirrels will be repelled by the same methods that raccoons will so it will be best to hire pest control to get rid of the animals.