Do raccoons live or sleep in trees?

Raccoons can create dens virtually anywhere they can, even female raccoons within a group can share dens; however, only male raccoons have been spotted to stay temporarily on trees. Raccoons generally can live in hollowed with some rotten logs, however, they cannot stay or sleep in trees with no space for burrowing and creating hollows. Raccoons can adapt quickly to urban lives, where there are quite a number of huge trees where they can create temporary nests. Raccoons cannot sleep on the top of trees, they can only sleep and live in hollow nests created at the base or trunk of such trees.



The ideal regions where raccoons can create nests are regions with small stands of Timber trees, especially those close to vegetation of corns and vegetables. Raccoons are omnivorous in nature, thus they can eat virtually anything, including fish, frogs, and sometimes they can get stuck by the side of the road when feasting on dead animals such as snakes. Raccoons often use their position from tree tops to watch their prey and pounce on them when no one is watching. In regions where raccoons don’t find water easily, they tend to hide under large trees to cool off after roaming about for several hours.

Raccoons do not hibernate but they can hide under trees during extreme weather conditions such as winter. While hiding under trees or in their dens, they use the fat stored up to provide extra insulation for their bodies and the bodies of their young ones being raised. When it comes to living on trees, Raccoons often prefer trees with large and long branches where they can easily jump unto. Raccoons have been spotted on trees as high as 20 feet or more , but their abilities to survive on such heights will depend on the number of branches available for them to climb and how well they can use their claws to have a solid grip on the trunk of the trees.

Though raccoons are normally solitary in nature, but they quickly build a family by creating crawling spaces round trees, thus they can share their dens. Many lost raccoons can quickly re-establish connections with other raccoons by locating crawl spaces around trees- these are spaces that have been created by other raccoons.

When you have large trees with outgrown branches around your property, it is ideal to cut down such branches to dissuade raccoons from using them to climb to the top of such trees and into your property.

Go back to the How to get rid of raccoons home page.

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.