Humans see garbage as dirty and filthy, but why do raccoons eat garbage?

Raccoons eat garbage because they don’t have much of a choice. These animals don’t have access to fresh food in urban areas. They are opportunistic eaters and will even eat from the trash. They are dexterous and can open trash can lids very easily. Also, there is an abundance of trash cans in urban areas.

Raccoons are either loved because of their cute adorable appearance or they are hated because they rummage through the trash and are a nuisance. If you have a raccoon infestation you may have noticed that several raccoons loiter around your trash cans and eat out of it. So why is garbage food so desirable to these animals? This article looks into it.

Why do raccoons eat garbage? 

Raccoons eat garbage simply because they have nothing else to eat. Animals like racoons have been forced out of the wild to make room for human development.

Because of this, they’ve moved into urban areas and started living among humans. They do not have access to fresh food like they would have in the wild. Because racoons are opportunistic eaters they will eat anything that they find edible, eating both plant and animal matter

They will look for food in unconventional places like your garbage as this is a good place to find a variety of different foods. They can open garbage cans because of their dexterous nature. These animals will open garbage lids if not secured.

In addition, trash cans are abundant in cities. Raccoons are lazy and can be lazy forages, the closer the food is to them, and the easier it is to access, the better. The abundance of trash cans makes a raccoons life easier as it can find food almost everywhere. 

These animals will eat all kinds of animal and plant matter regardless of if it’s fresh or not and regardless of if it comes from the trashcan or not. In the end, the food will give the animal the nutrients it needs

Raccoons finding the same fresh food that they eat in the wild, in urban areas, can be very difficult. They would rather simply go through garbage cans to find foods in urban areas, it’s much easier.

Why don’t raccoons get sick from garbage? 

Raccoons don’t get sick from garbage because they have a long intestinal tract. The length of their intestinal tract allows their body to get rid of toxins that may have come from the garbage.

Raccoons can also eat the bacteria that decomposes corpses. These types of bacteria are non-toxic and not pathogenic so they do not cause raccoons to get sick and die.

The other types of bacteria that can be found in the garbage, that can be dangerous, get killed in a raccoon’s stomach. A raccoons stomach is highly acidic. The only way that these bacteria can kill the raccoon is if they are present in very large numbers.

Yes, certain bacteria will make raccoons sick, but not enough to wipe out the population. They have evolved to come to avoid the food that may be dangerous to them. 

How do I stop raccoons from eating my garbage? 

Garbage is a great food source for raccoons, raccoons have a great memory and know to frequent it in order to eat. To combat them digging in you need to create a barrier that will stop raccoons from getting into your garbage.

One way to protect your garbage from raccoons is by spraying raccoon repellent on the garbage. Raccoons hate the smell of ammonia so spray it on your cans to keep them away.

In addition, they do not like the smell of hot foods like pepper, to keep them away sprinkle some pepper on your garbage and this will repel them Note: The pepper can get into their eyes and damage them so if you’re concerned about raccoons, take this into consideration.

Remember to clean your trash bins and disinfect them regularly to keep lingering odours and residue off. Use bleach and ammonia to do this.

In addition, you can use rubber bungee cords to secure your trash can lids so that raccoons cannot get into your trash. This will prevent them from rummaging through your trash

Summary 

In summary, raccoons eat from the garbage because this is the easiest place to find food in urban areas. The garbage is filled with foods that humans have thrown away. Trash lids are very easy for raccoons to pry open.

In addition, these animals have evolved to be able to resist many types of bacteria and parasites in the garbage. If you want to keep them away secure your garbage bins with rubber bungee cords and spray some ammonia or cayenne pepper on them

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: why are raccoons hunted, how do raccoons not get sick, how to keep raccoons from eating tomatoes, why are raccoons fat