Tag Archives: raccoons

While I was growing up, my family had a raccoon that would always make an appearance in our neighborhood the night before garbage pickup. We even gave the raccoon a name — “Rory the Raccoon” — and caught him in the act of going through our trash on a few occasions. He was a nuisance, but that was all. People in areas with raccoon populations may have a bigger concern, though: an intestinal parasite called Baylisascaris procyonis. It’s nothing new, but it’s been reported in several states recently. And with winter — the raccoon’s mating season — quickly approaching, it’s a good idea to be mindful of the disease. B. procyonis is spread through parasite eggs in the infected raccoon’s stool, much like the way that roundworms and other intestinal parasites are spread from infected dogs or cats to other dogs or cats (or to people).  The eggs are resistant to many environmental factors, such as cold and disinfectants and can last for years, making them tough to eliminate.

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