Raccoon Control and Removal for GTA Greenbelt Properties

The GTA Greenbelt is one of the largest protected natural landscapes in the Greater Toronto Area, so it’s home to a great variety of local wildlife, including raccoons.

Living or operating near protected natural areas offers many benefits but also increases wildlife encounters. Homes, farms, golf courses, estate properties, conservation facilities, schools, and businesses bordering greenbelt lands often experience recurring raccoon issues. Properties near the greenbelt face challenges that are quite unique compared to those in more urban centres. This article will explore the raccoon issues in the GTA Greenbelt and ways to circumvent them.

Challenges with Raccoons Around GTA Greenbelt

• Wildlife corridors
  Greenbelts offer "highways" that wildlife uses to travel between water, food sources, and shelter.
  
  
• Mature forests
  Mature forests are ideal for foraging and contain many shelter and denning opportunities.
  
  
• Wetlands
  Greenbelt wetlands make available drinking water and foods like aquatic wildlife.
  
  
• Ravines
  Ravines are a perfect environment for raccoons, allowing for easy movement between different areas and providing shelter. 
  
  
• Less human disturbance
  Wetlands offer less human traffic and disturbances than other areas in the GTA.
  
  

Living Next to Wildlife Habitat Creates Ongoing Raccoon Pressure

Unlike isolated raccoons causing urban problems, Greenbelt properties often experience recurring raccoon problems on a larger scale. Here are some contributing factors:

• Established wildlife populations
• Continuous immigration from adjacent habitats
• Multiple denning opportunities
• Raccoons remember reliable food sources
• Established den sites continue to be used
• Family groups expand over time
• A small, individual animal problems can grow into a seasonal raccoon infestations
  
  

Unlike urban neighbourhoods where raccoon activity may be concentrated around garbage or buildings, GTA Greenbelt properties often experience wildlife moving freely between natural habitat and developed land.

How Raccoons Affect Different GTA Greenbelt Properties

Raccoons are opportunistic and will enter through and linger around the following types of Greenbelt properties:

Residential Properties

Homes close to a Greenbelt offer shelter and denning possibilities.

• Roofs
• Decks and porches
• Attics
• Detached garages
• Backyard structures
  
  

Farms and Agricultural Properties

In addition to costly structural damage, agricultural properties also face damages that can directly impact people’s livelihoods.

• Loss of crops
• Barns
• Equipment sheds
• Produce storage
• Small livestock
  
  

Commercial and Institutional Properties

Concerns around hygiene and safety can arise when raccoons show up at any of these properties:

• Golf courses
• Nurseries
• Schools
• Parks
  
  

How GTA Greenbelt Property Owners Try to Get Rid of Raccoons

Some of the below are necessary first steps in any scenario and should be done immediately after a raccoon sighting. Others yield very little promise of success.

Good practices when dealing with raccoon problems include some basic raccoon prevention measures:

• Securing waste and compost
  Reducing or eliminating the opportunity for raiding human trash is  a must and helpful but it won't remove established raccoons.
  
  
• Closing up building openings
  This should be a seasonal practice to prevent raccoons from entering a structure. It offers no benefit if raccoons are already inside.
  
  
• Property Maintenance
  Trimming vegetation, removing fallen fruit, and maintaining sheds or outbuildings can be helpful to reduce the property’s attraction level to raccoons.
  
  

These measures can help answer the question of how to keep raccoons away; of course, they are most effective when no established raccoons or active dens are present yet.

Largely useless or VERY short-term solutions:

• Chemical repellents, motion lights, or noise devices
  All of the above yield no long-term success as raccoons quickly realize that there's no physical danger and learn to ignore these methods.
  
  
• DIY raccoon trapping
  While there are some safety concerns when handling traps or trapped animals, the trapping itself often works flawlessly. However, the following relocation is an etirely different matter.
  
  
• Raccoon relocation
  In Ontario, captured wildlife must be released within 1 km of the trapping site. Since many raccoons travel up to 5 km per day to forage, most released raccoons are back on your property by the end of the day.
  
  

Why Temporary Raccoon Control Falls Short on the GTA Greenbelt

Particularly in a greenbelt, and where raccoon territories are adjacent or even overlapping, new raccoons will quickly fill the vacancy left by the animals that leave or are relocated. Large properties also have multiple access points, and seasonal wildlife activity continues year after year.

Professional raccoon removal is must when:

• Multiple buildings are affected
• Raccoon visits and damages repeat every year
• Maternity dens are established
• Operations or productivity at commercial properties is/are affected
• Agricultural losses are being observed

Relocation Doesn't End Greenbelt Raccoon Problems

• Relocation regulations
  The 1 km rule means that the trapped and relocated raccoons almost inevitably return.
  
  
• Trap-shy raccoons
  Raccoons are highly intelligent and evolved animals. Every time they are trapped (and released) they learnr and acquire new skills to evade the next trap.
  
  
• Continued attraction to the property
  Without changes to either the landscape or the affected structures, raccoons will almost always return.
  
  

Hawkeye’s Permanent Raccoon Removal for Greenbelt Properties

Rather than encouraging the never-ending cycle of trap and release, Hawkeye Bird & Animal Control offers a permanent solution. The licensed technicians at Hawkeye are trained and authorized to euthanize trapped raccoons if the clients so requests. 

Permanent Raccoon Removal Breaks the Cycle

• The problem raccoon is removed instead of relocated
• By managing mothers, babies and active dens the breeding cycle is also disrupted
• The same infestation cannot reoccur
• Solutions are customized to homes, farms, businesses and institutional properties
  
  

Why Greenbelt Properties Benefit from Customized Raccoon Control

Professional, customized raccoon control strategies take into account all aspects of the landscape and any buildings or operations, including.:

• Acreage
• Building layout
• Agricultural operations
• Wooded boundaries
• Multiple structures
• Seasonal occupancy
  
  

Contact Hawkeye - Professional GTA Greenbelt Raccoon Removal

Greenbelt properties will always have wildlife nearby. The goal isn't to eliminate wildlife from the surrounding environment—it's to prevent recurring raccoon infestations on your property. While basic prevention measures can reduce attractants, recurring problems often require a permanent raccoon removal strategy that addresses the source of the infestation rather than simply managing the symptoms.

For professional wildlife control in the GTA Greenbelt, Hawkeye offers customized solutions for recurring raccoon problems on residential, agricultural, commercial, and institutional properties.

The team at Hawkeye is ready to help - Call now!

Hawkeye's raccoon removal services are available all across Southern Ontario, including Toronto , Scarborough , Brampton, Vaughan , Markham , Ajax , Pickering , Newmarket , Etobicoke , Oshawa , and Mississauga .

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https://www.hawkeye.ca/blog/how-to-get-rid-of-raccoons-at-gta-poultry-farms
https://www.hawkeye.ca/blog/why-it-takes-a-professional-to-choose-the-right-live-trap-for-raccoons