Lawn & Garden
Frequently Asked Questions
Select a topic:
- Fruit Trees
- Garden and Household Pests
- Houseplants
- Lawn Care and Landscaping
- Pesticides and Fertilizer
- Trees and Shrubs
- Vegetable Gardening and Small Fruits
- Wildlife
- Blackbirds
- Deer
- Moles
- Rabbits
- Raccoons
- Q: I have raccoons around my property, what type of damage can they do to my property?
- Q: I have raccoons on my property, what can I do to control them?
- Q: I have raccoons on my property, what general information do I need to know?
- Q: What do I do if I have notice a raccoon acting strangely or I have been bitten by a raccoon?
- A: Over the past several years the percentage of raccoons carrying rabies has increased. Care should be taken to avoid any raccoons displaying abnormal behavior. Daytime feeding and travel, apparent confusion, and fearless behavior are characteristic of a rabid animal. If you encounter a raccoon with this behavior, make every effort to avoid it and contact your local animal control officer. If you are bitten by a raccoon, wash the area of the bite with hot soapy water, consult a physician IMMEDIATELY, and contact your local health department for information on rabies and rabies testing. In addition, contact your local police department and monitor the whereabouts of the animal, in case it is needed for rabies testing.
To have nuisance wildlife removed from your property a wildlife professional should be contacted. For contact information regarding wildlife issues, contact your local RCE office, the Division of Fish and Game's Wildlife Control Unit in Clinton (908-735-8793) or local police department.
Note: Information attained from RCE fact sheet FS566, Wildlife and Homeowners: What's Best for Raccoons, McLaughlin and Vodak.
- A: Over the past several years the percentage of raccoons carrying rabies has increased. Care should be taken to avoid any raccoons displaying abnormal behavior. Daytime feeding and travel, apparent confusion, and fearless behavior are characteristic of a rabid animal. If you encounter a raccoon with this behavior, make every effort to avoid it and contact your local animal control officer. If you are bitten by a raccoon, wash the area of the bite with hot soapy water, consult a physician IMMEDIATELY, and contact your local health department for information on rabies and rabies testing. In addition, contact your local police department and monitor the whereabouts of the animal, in case it is needed for rabies testing.
- Skunks
- Squirrels
- Wildlife Professionals