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Is Raccoon Urine Dangerous?

Chances are you have never given raccoon urine a second thought, let alone considered the question of its risks. Sure you probably would avoid raccoon urine because, it’s urine. But grossness of urine aside, we should avoid raccoon urine because it can harbor a bacteria that causes a disease called leptospirosis.

How You Contract Leptospirosis

Raccoon urine can transmit leptospirosis
Raccoon urine can transmit leptospirosis. Photo: USFWS.

People typically contract the disease through direct contact with contaminated urine or contact with contaminated water or soil. Since most people will avoid raccoon urine, most exposures occur through exposure to contaminated materials. For example, consider raccoons living under a deck or in an attic. A repair person enters the crawl space or attic without proper personal protective equipment. As he crawls, micro-abrasions on the skin contact contaminated material thereby introducing bacteria into the body. If the exposure is more than what his immune system can fight off, then anywhere between 2 days or 4 weeks, he will get sick.

Symptoms of Leptospirosis

In the early progression of the disease, the symptoms of leptospirosis are rather vague and may be interpreted as having “the Flu.” Body aches, fever, head ache, chills, diarrhea, vomiting and others are common symptoms. Keep in mind, that exposure to the bacteria does not necessarily result in infection. Sometimes, the body fights off the infection. Victims may feel poorly but since they recover, they likely think they were exposed to something else.

Treatment of Leptospirosis

Fortunately, antibiotics can treat the disease. But treatment should not be delayed. Approximately 10% of victims develop a severe and life-threatening infection. Some people have died.

Bottom Line

Get trained in the use of personal protective equipment and wear it before entering areas where raccoons have been living. Tell family members and your doctor that you have worked in areas where raccoons have been present. One more thing, raccoons are not the only animal that can shed leptospira bacteria. So treat all wildlife as potentially hazardous. Enjoy them at a distance and avoid their poo and urine.

To learn more about leptospirosis visit the Centers for Disease Control

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications (http://kingsdivinity.academia.edu/StephenMVantassel) along with several books (https://wildlifecontrolconsultant.com/store-2/). Listen to his podcast at PestGeek Podcast (https://pestgeekpodcast.com/). He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to wildlifecontrolconsultant@gmail.com. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

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Bat Trapping

You may not have heard of bat trapping, but bat trapping is sometimes used by wildlife control operators (WCOs) to capture and remove bats from a structure. The concept is quite simple. You locate all the gaps in a structure and close the ones not being used by bats as

Photo of a Bat Trap manufactuered by Al LaFrance
BatTrap (18″ model) manufactured by Al LaFrance, its inventor.

exits. Then for the holes bats use as exits, you install a bat trap which captures the bats as they exit the building. Bat trapping is an ingenious idea. It allows the WCO to show the client that the bats have been removed from the structure. As a marketing tool, it was very effective and it worked to remove bats from a structure too.

A couple of types of bat traps exist. The one pictured at the right was developed by Al LaFrance of New York state. He was a pioneer in bat control and used the device successfully for many years in the 1990s.

Problems with Bat Trapping

While bat traps have some key benefits, they also come with several disadvantages. It’s the disadvantages that cause the National Wildlife Control Operators Association and Bat Conservation International to oppose the use of bat traps (except for disease management or scientific research). The first problem with bat traps is that trapped bats can overheat and die. While trappers can make adjustments to make these deaths minimal to almost non-existent, it is hard to completely eliminate deaths in every use.  The second problem is that with the emergence of white-nose syndrome, trapping bats could help transmit the fungal infection amongst bats more rapidly. The last problem with bat traps is that they are not needed to evict bats from a structure. Properly installed one-way doors, allow bats to leave but not return without requiring bats to be trapped.

Understand that these comments are not meant to condemn the inventors of bat traps. It is not fair to condemn inventors for problems (e.g. white-nose syndrome) that weren’t around when the traps were created. Bat traps have a role in bat management. It’s just a limited, but valuable role, namely for research and disease control. And for that advancement, we all should be grateful.  

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications (http://kingsdivinity.academia.edu/StephenMVantassel) along with several books (https://wildlifecontrolconsultant.com/store-2/). Listen to his podcast at PestGeek Podcast (https://pestgeekpodcast.com/). He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to wildlifecontrolconsultant@gmail.com. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

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Interviews

Do you like to talk about what you do? Do you give interviews? Do you run a business that serves the pest control or wildlife control industry? Are you are marketer, supplier, consultant, manufacturer,

Stephen M. Vantassel hosts a segment entitled “Living the Wildlife” on the Pest Geek Podcast.
Stephen M. Vantassel hosts a segment entitled “Living the Wildlife” on the Pest Geek Podcast.

trainer or business services supplier? Would you like to reach the pest control and wildlife control businesses in a cost-effective way?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you will want to be interviewed by Stephen M. Vantassel one of the speakers for the Pest Geek Podcast. Stephen hosts, Living the Wildlife on the Pest Geek Podcast. Pest Geek Podcast is the largest and fastest growing podcast for pest control professionals. If you want to reach out to this audience, then drop Stephen M. Vantassel an e-mail at wildlifecontrolconsultant@gmail.com. Stephen would love to hear from you. Provide details on your company and the services it provides and how it would help the wildlife control and pest control industry. Be sure to include a website URL,  brochures, a brief one paragraph bio about yourself and how you can be reached.

Interviews are done using Zoom or Skype. If Stephen thinks your product or service would be helpful or of interest to our audience, he will schedule a time for the interview. If not, then he will let you know that too.

So if you want to be interviewed on the Pest Geek Podcast, contact Stephen today.

 

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications (http://kingsdivinity.academia.edu/StephenMVantassel) along with several books (https://wildlifecontrolconsultant.com/store-2/). Listen to his podcast at PestGeek Podcast (https://pestgeekpodcast.com/). He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to wildlifecontrolconsultant@gmail.com. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

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Free Information

Free information. Who doesn’t love the sound of free be it free stuff, free service or free information. Politicians love to use the word free even though everyone should know that the government never does anything for free. But is information ever really free?

Wildlife Damage Inspection Handbook, 3rd Ed. Cover by Stephen M. Vantassel
Wildlife Damage Inspection Handbook, 3rd Ed. Cover by Stephen M. Vantassel

Is There Free Information?

I once had an argument with a wildlife control operator (WCO) who claimed that the information I provided is available for free. Therefore, if I understood him correctly, by charging for the information I was in effect ripping people off. I snidely responded to him by saying, and I paraphrase, “Information is free if you have the time to look, have access to the right resources, find the right relevant resources, correctly understand those resources and apply the information to found in those resources, then yes, information is free.”

Need for Context

My point is simply just because you have access to Google does not mean that you have access to the right information or that your internet search has revealed the right information. Lots of information on Google or the net, is simply wrong or more frequently out of balance or context. Google searches frequently don’t provide context for information, not because there is something wrong with the search but because people rarely read enough to understand how the information fits into the bigger picture.

You may have heard the phrase, “A little knowledge is dangerous.” It’s a true statement because when you only have a little information, you often think you know more than you actually do and that arrogance can lead to some very dangerous conclusions.

Consultation Fees

When you pay for a consultation with Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC you are paying for

  • Access to information you likely don’t have available
  • Ability to synthesize information in an understandable and usable way
  • Time to search and acquire information which allows you to spend your time in more profitable activities

Bottom Line

Can you search for information on your own? Certainly. My books and articles are available, many for no additional cost, to those wishing to read them. The internet also has lots of information both good and bad if you want to take the time to surf. But if you have better things to do with your time, then perhaps a consult with Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC is worth the price for you.

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications (http://kingsdivinity.academia.edu/StephenMVantassel) along with several books (https://wildlifecontrolconsultant.com/store-2/). Listen to his podcast at PestGeek Podcast (https://pestgeekpodcast.com/). He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to wildlifecontrolconsultant@gmail.com. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

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Staying Healthy at Training Conferences

Training conferences are awesome. You get to rub shoulders with industry leaders, colleagues while learning about your chosen profession. But training conferences are also a time where you are exposed to illness. Like it or not, conferences are an infectious stew. They often occur during the winter months where people are cooped up and sharing germs. If you attend events unprepared, you are likely to go home sick yourself. So how do you go about staying healthy while protecting yourself from getting sick?

Staying Healthy

Picture of hands being washed in a sink.
Handwashing is essential in avoiding illness.
  1. Wash your hands.  Many germs are passed by our hands to our face. Keep your hands clean and you will go a long way to preventing exposure to the nasties that make you sick. Wash thoroughly and use a towel to open the door as you exit.
  2.  Keep your hands away from your face. You can’t always get to a sink to wash your hands, but you can keep your hands away from your face. Germs want to get their way into your nose and eyes so be particularly careful about picking or rubbing your nose and rubbing your eyes.
  3. Stay hydrated. Hotel air is dry. Dry air means dry respiratory tract. Dry respiratory track means your protective mucous is vulnerable to invasion. Stay hydrated. One benefit is that you will need to go to the bathroom more where you can wash your hands.
  4.  Eat well. Nutrition matters. It may not be the time to start your diet but you know how to make good choices versus bad ones. Enjoy yourself, but be sure to think about vitamins.
  5.  Get some rest. Lots of late nights drinking and partying, I mean networking, with colleagues should be done in moderation. Keep in mind that you aren’t twenty anymore.

Bottom line

Following these steps doesn’t guarantee you won’t get sick. But you will certainly improve the odds.

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications (http://kingsdivinity.academia.edu/StephenMVantassel) along with several books (https://wildlifecontrolconsultant.com/store-2/). Listen to his podcast at PestGeek Podcast (https://pestgeekpodcast.com/). He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to wildlifecontrolconsultant@gmail.com. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

About Stephen M. Vantassel

Stephen M. Vantassel, MNI, CNI, CWCP, ACP, ACE Stephen M. Vantassel's Bio Stephen M. Vantassel is the Vertebrate Pest Specialist for the Montana Department of Agriculture (2015-present). Formerly, Stephen M. Vantassel was the Program Coordinator of Distance Education-Wildlife Damage Management for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Natural Resources from 2004-2014. Stephen filled … Learn More

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