A List of Raccoon Diseases

Need raccoon removal in your hometown? We service over 500 USA locations! Click here to hire us in your town and check prices - updated for year 2020.

Raccoons are linked to wide and interesting string of diseases, some of which can kill people and other animals, some of which are nothing more than a mild hindrance and a couple of days off work. In one form or another; however, the raccoon being around you will affect you. The chances of you coming across a raccoon that has ZERO health problems or diseases are slim to none.



Other reading:
Are All Raccoons in North America Infected With Rabies?
Do Daytime-Active Raccoons Have Rabies?
Raccoon poop photos
Raccoon urine
Do Raccoons Attack People?

Raccoons can be infected with diseases that haven't shown their symptoms yet. This means that a raccoon can have rabies and also the potential to pass it along to another animal, including people, without even looking sick at all. You cannot assume that an animal, particularly a wild one, is fit and well just by looking at it.

How would you know if a raccoon had a slight headache or a tummy ache?

A list of raccoon diseases:

• Giardia
• Leptospirosis
• Raccoon Roundworm
• Rabies
• Salmonella

The ways in which they are transmitted:

• Direct contact
• Bites or scratches (via infected saliva)
• Consumption of contaminated substances, by urine or feces
• Direct contact with dead carcasses
• Direct contact with other contaminated material, including chewed or nesting material

In many cases, you don't need to be anywhere close to the raccoon in order to get the diseases that it will be passing your way. The same can be said for other animals too, such as the pets in your home.

Anywhere that a raccoon urinates, there is the potential to find leptospirosis. Anywhere that a raccoon defecates, there is the potential to find Giardia, salmonella, and raccoon roundworm. Anywhere that a raccoon can bite can be subject to the very real dangers associated with the rabies virus. Go back to the Raccoon Removal page, or learn tips to do it yourself with my How to Get Rid of Raccoons guide.

READER EMAIL: We get coons in our yard on a regular in the summer, as I put out all my old cat food and scraps. One in particular has been staying very close to the house and has become very brave and gotten quite close to the areas where we socialize. It took a while but I saw it fall several times and it made me suspicious. I have fed this raccoon from bowl and from hand. It has snarled at me a few times but I held my ground. I realize that even IF you can hand feed a raccoon that still doesn't mean that DOES NOT have rabies, it just hasn't been aggressive yet, or at least that's what I've read. I keep finding the thing in my trailer, he/she is attempting to sleep in here and 3 nights in a row has come in or I have found it by the door (I have a cat door). So this thing has fallen over about 3 times when attempting escape, which looked painfully slow for the big raccoon. The raccoon walks very slow and loses its footing and falls over sometimes, well 3 times I've noticed. I have had to shoo it out of the trailer with a tennis racket and it didn't attack, though it did snarl and carry on, nothing too loud. The other thing is when this thing eats, its eyes move in and out, as if its eyesockets are not stationary and the eyes look kinda sickly. I assume you're going to tell me not to take any chances, but I would still like an educated opinion on whether this thing has rabies or not, because I fear it's dying and I could possibly help. So anything would be nice to hear. You seem like the person to ask. It has not yet foamed or hissed at me, and I have not seen it shake, convulse or fall over backwards (just forwards or sideways as a result of what looks like, very bad legs.) Anyway, thank you for your time and reading this thing. It's a little long sorry, and I don't type and watch or spellcheck much, so hopefully there are minimal spelling errors.