What Do Raccoons Eat In Your Home And Wild

Raccoons usually live in woodlands near a water source shared with multiple animals such as a pond or a stream, however, they are also found near the ravines at the edges of urban areas or hiding between the tight space between two buildings, an attic, or an abandoned home.

In cities, they tend to hunt less and scavenge more simply because that’s easier to do. They pilfer through the trash for the best bits and the high human population doesn't deter them, rather the higher trash generated actually attracts more of them. So, ever wonder what can raccoons eat from your trash? Here's what.

Grains are the foundation of modern cuisine and are present in almost everything. Oh, but you don't eat grains? Yes, you do. Maybe not yourself directly but pizza, cereal, rice, and especially flour to make other baked goodies are all made from grain, and waste byproducts from them always make it to the trash.

Whether spilled and swept whole grains, food or sugary residue still left on paper or pet food. They may not amount to much for us but will slowly stack up for energy for these urban scavengers and are also easy to move and store for future use.

Preparing salads always creates a lot of waste. Whether it is the stems or the outer leaves of cabbages, the shell of a watermelon, or the bits of tomatoes and cucumbers attached closest to the stem. As much as we'd like to believe it, no process especially cooking in the kitchen is waste-free. 

They may seem like insignificant small bits but they'll take what they can get. Even if you eliminate kitchen waste by putting it in a compost, truly desperate raccoons will also break into your compost bins and sort out the still edible parts. The definition of what's edible is a lot more lenient for raccoons thanks to their strong carnivore digestive system.

Being a mix of a scavenger and an optivore, they can eat everything from plant to animal matter. While they generally scavenge for apple cores and other untouched parts of the fruit that are cut and discarded in the preparation process from your in your trash, if they are desperate enough they will also climb into your compost bins.

Additionally, fruits are extra appealing because of their water content which also allows for hydration. As a matter of fact, raccoons are notorious for ravaging homegrown fruit gardens.

Cooked meat, who could say no to that? Certainly not raccoons who were already carnivores from the start. Cooked meat is softer, juicier, and easier to chew. Since they're already used to eating raw meat carcasses in the wild, having the food still be hot or cooked is merely a bonus.

Even if you've completely consumed your meat dishes, the raccoons have no qualms about eating bits and pieces still left on the sinew cartilage or scrapping up bone marrow while sampling your gourmet inclinations which you've infused into the meat through a variety of spices and seasons.

Considering that they eat both raw vegetables, raw meat, and cooked meat. It should come as no surprise to you that they are also capable of relishing in your cooked veggie meal leftovers. 

It doesn't matter to them whether it is a waste byproduct, slightly spoiled, or something that you didn't agree with, with great hunger comes a great lack of qualms and the mere fact of association of trash with your waste food is enough for them to raid your trash.

Raccoons are not the only animals that are attracted to your trash, other scavengers such as rats are too. And even if the raccoons lose the trash race to the rats, the rats themselves can also serve as food to the carnivorous side of raccoons.

Although raccoons are not the best experts at hunting prey, they do manage to occasionally catch some young mice, rats, and squirrels for consumption. This shouldn't be surprising considering that they survive 40-foot (12-m) drops and can run up to 15 miles per hour (24 kmh).

Garbages aren't the only thing that attracts raccoons. The scent of the food itself is enough of a reason for raccoons to make it to your yard. However, most of us aren't leaving our perfectly fine and delicious foods outdoors, no what they have come in search of through a slight trace of scent on the wind is pet food.

Whether cat or dog food is left in an animal bowl or bird feed, these clever bandits will handily break into your property and even the insides of your home through their excellent climbing ability and highly dexterous fingers and steal a handful of pet food or pass it to their buddies like a bucket train. 

Like rats, insects are also attracted to your garbage assortments. While it could normally be difficult to catch these critters, a feeding critter has its guards down which is all the opportune window needed by the opportunistic bandits for these juicy critter delights.

Utterly repugnant and full of diseases, the raccoon's impregnable digestive systems can get rid of any potential bacteria before the critter for food makes it to their intestines.

If they are much of a nuisance - and destroying your gardens for insects, you should probably get rid of raccoons.

In the wild, the trail of raccoons often follows creeks, streams, and the edges of ponds. In fact, they have such a strong association with water that they are known as water bears in most of the European Romance languages.

While their habitats aren't strictly set, one thing you can be sure of is that they are always bound to be where the food is greatly abundant and many raccoon huntable critters live in wet areas. Raccoons are nocturnal and generally hunt during low-light situations and retreat to shelter in their tree dens near the water during the daytime.

You may be surprised to hear this word but yes, in fact, the number one most preferred food of raccoons in the wild is crustaceans like crayfish. They are easily abundant near the wet regions and raccoons are fair fishermen.

They live close to the water and will regularly catch crayfish, shellfish, just to name a few, or whichever food is most currently abundant at the moment making it easy for raccoons to gain access to food.

Along with fishing for crustaceans like crayfish, raccoons will also regularly catch proper pisces such as small fish, carp, koi, and goldfish. Furthermore, with their ambidextrous hands, they will also check the riverbeds for additional sources of food.

If available and capable, they won't shy away from catching and feeding on their quarry of mussels, bivalves, and gastropods from shuffling and searching the riverbed. In fact, this would be their second favorite food after crayfish.

Raccoons near the coast can also be observed consuming crabs. This practice is so heavily associated with them that they are known as crab-eating raccoons to some local populations in South America. However, eating crabs isn't something unique to these raccoons as their mainland common raccoons could also do the same. 

During low tide when the river or the coastal seabed is fully exposed, raccoons go out and hunt for arthropods such as rock crabs and blue crabs. They grab the crabs and break off the legs and shell using their strong teeth before proceeding to scrape out the innard from the belly or chew on the legs. 

Sticking true to the abundant flavor of the season, when aquatics are rare, raccoons choose to better spend their time hunting for small mollusks such as snails and slugs or worms such as grubs, cicadas, and earthworms with their incredible sense of smell.

They have five toes and two front feet which are equipped with sharp claws that they will use to dig up grass, dirt, and tree barks in their search for grub during scarcity of other food sources.

The third most abundant meaty food after crayfish and fish in a wetland environment would be frogs. Frogs lay their eggs in moist environments which are then abandoned to become tadpoles and young frogs.

Without familial protection, frogs are not only plentifully abundant but also an easy catch for a family of raccoons. Free food is free food and raccoons certainly won't complain when frogs land on their laps. With their abundance, raccoons can easily catch a few frogs and the less proficient baby hunters can always beg their mother for food. 

Raccoons have been known to consume snakes as a part of their omnivorous diet. Thanks to their high dexterity, they can grab a rock and use it to smash the snake's head. This method makes it easier for them to hunt snakes without risking getting in touch with their venom or being bitten.

Thus, snake hunting is easier and safer for a raccoon compared to other land predators. While snakes may not be a staple food source for raccoons, opportunistic encounters can lead to their predation.

Raccoons being the opportunists they are, aren't above scavenging as proven in our urban diet section, and will eat dead carcasses of animals when they find them as they provide an easy and rich source of nutrients for the raccoons.

Though raccoons' digestive systems aren't as good as pure scavengers such as the vultures and thus they tend to avoid rotten food unless absolutely necessary, their strong stomach digestive juices and long intestinal systems are more than capable of enduring the consumption of a few hours old carcasses.

If you thought the diet of raccoons couldn't get any more diverse, you're in for a surprise because they are also very well known to steal bird eggs or hatchlings from their nests when the opportunity arises. Their hands are perfect for climbing trees and most of them live in hollowed-out tree dens in the wild.

If you ever notice an intense ball of birds alarming going up in the forest, it’s quite possible you could be hearing the bird alarm signature for a nest-robbing raccoon.

When other foods are scarce with not even worms and grubs being easily locateable, nuts, grains, berries, and fruit start to seem more appealing to the raccoons. In terms of nutritional value, such foods are packed with fat, protein, and other fundamental nutrients that act as a great source of energy for raccoons.

They rely on nuts such as acorns, beechnuts, and corn to get them through the cold winter months since they do not store food for winter but rather rely on their winter fat.

Here are some random raccoon trivia that you may not know. With how abundant raccoons are in every US state, you can always steer the conversation around on the topic of the black-masked garbage terrorizing bandit raccoons.

Why Do Raccoons "Wash" Food?

Most people have mistakenly come to believe that raccoons wash food before eating if there is water available nearby. This misconception arises from their habit of searching for food in or near water and then dipping their hands in water while eating. 

By observing closely, it is possible to see raccoons dipping the initial foods but not the remaining ones. Raccoons possess sensory nerve endings in their paws that become more sensitive when wet, enabling them to better investigate their food before eating.

What Do Raccoons Eat in the Winter?

If you wonder why raccoons are such voracious eaters, it is because they do not store food for the winter, instead choosing to consume everything on the spot. Thus during the seasons building up to winter, raccoons eat as much food as possible to store body fat for the cold months to come.

You don't usually see overweight raccoons because most of their body fat is stored in their tail which they will wrap around their bodies to keep themselves warm, similar to the Pallas's cat and raccoons could lose anywhere between 14% and 50% of their body weight during the winter. Thus, their voracious eating is essential to winter survival.

Do Raccoons Hibernate?

While raccoons may spend most of their winter time in dens to stay warm against the harsh winter cold, they are not true hibernators. Raccoons in winter do enter a hibernation-like sleep called torpor which may last for several days or weeks.

The difference is that hibernation is voluntary and is often accompanied by reduced metabolism, slower heart rate, and lowered body temperature. Whereas, topor is involuntary and can be described as passing out as a reaction to the cold.