Ticks are not welcomed in human homes. These animals can live in grasses, leaf piles, shrubs, and trees. They can be spread by a variety of animals including squirrels, dogs, deer, and mice to name a few.
Animals eat ticks in the wild. So how about raccoons? Do raccoons eat ticks? This article looks into it
Raccoons will eat ticks if the opportunity presents itself. If a raccoon finds a tick on its body then the raccoon will eat the tick as it’s cleaning itself
Table of Contents
Do raccoons eat ticks?
Raccoons are known to be opportunistic feeders. They will eat almost anything presented to them as long as they decide that it is food.
These animals are omnivores, they eat both plant and animal matter.
Their diet can include birds, plants, amphibians, reptiles, and insects, like ticks, if they come across some.
How raccoons find ticks:
Ticks cannot jump or fly, they will, however, climb from one animal to another. Ticks will move from a prey animal to a raccoon as the raccoon eats the prey animal.
Raccoons are quite clean animals, if the raccoon finds a tick on its body, while it’s cleaning itself, then the raccoon will eat the tick.
That being said, raccoons don’t actively look for ticks. They will simply eat ticks while grooming themselves.
If you want to get rid of ticks it will be best to contact pest control professionals, relying on animals for pest control is not recommended
Do raccoons carry ticks?
Raccoons can carry ticks, ticks move from one animal to another.
Raccoons eat a variety of animals that carry ticks. While eating the tick will ‘quest’ between the prey animal and the raccoon.
When a tick quests, it keeps its third and fourth pair of legs on one animal while keeping its first pair of legs stretched out in order to attach to the other animal.
If the raccoon does not eat the tick, the tick will quest and move onto another animal
What is the natural enemy of ticks?
Chickens:
These are major tick eaters, chickens are very fond of eating insects, ticks included. Chickens that eat ticks help decrease the spread of ticks on your property.
Opossums:
These are also opportunistic feeders just like raccoons. Opossums find ticks while looking for other types of foods like insects and mice. If ticks move from insects and mice onto opossums, while the mammal is feeding, then the opossum will eat the ticks as they clean themselves.
Guinea fowl:
These animals are another type of bird that eats ticks. Guinea fowl love eating insects and happily eat ticks. They spend a lot of their time roaming around looking for insects to eat
Other animals:
Other animals that enjoy eating ticks include ants, squirrels, lizards, wild turkeys, fire ants, and frogs
Are ticks good for anything?
The main purpose of ticks is to be food for larger insectivores in the ecosystem. This may be a small role but it is an important one.
Conclusion
In conclusion, yes raccoons do eat ticks. Raccoons eat ticks when the opportunity presents itself. This happens when a tick moves from the raccoon’s prey animal to the raccoon, the raccoon will see the tick and eat it
Animals that eat ticks on a regular basis include chickens, possums, guinea fowl, ants, squirrels, lizards, wild turkeys, fire ants, and frogs
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other raccoon related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Do raccoons eat termites?, Do raccoons eat toads?, Do raccoons eat yellow jackets?
