Do Raccoons Bite?
Raccoons are not naturally aggressive toward humans, but they will bite if they feel threatened, cornered, or provoked. The following are the most common situations in which raccoon bites occur:
Defensive Reactions: Raccoons may bite when they are startled, cornered, or feel trapped—such as if someone accidentally blocks their escape route, approaches them too closely, or tries to remove them by hand from an attic, shed, or trash area.
Protecting Their Young: Mother raccoons are extremely protective of their kits. If a person or pet comes near a nest (often found in attics, chimneys, or under decks), the mother may attack to defend her offspring.
Feeding Attempts by Humans: People sometimes try to feed raccoons directly or leave food out to observe them up close. This can cause raccoons to lose their fear of humans and bite when food is delayed, taken away, or when they feel cornered during a feeding interaction.
Handling or Rescuing Injured Raccoons: Even a raccoon that appears injured, sick, or lethargic can lash out unexpectedly when touched. Well-meaning people who try to “help” can easily get bitten.
Rabid or Diseased Raccoons: Raccoons infected with rabies or distemper often display unusual behavior—such as wandering in daylight, approaching people, staggering, drooling, or acting disoriented. These animals are far more likely to bite without provocation.
Pet Interactions: If a raccoon feels threatened by a dog or cat, it may attack defensively. In trying to separate the fight, humans can end up being bitten.
Raccoons most often bite when they feel threatened, cornered, or are acting under the influence of disease. It’s essential to never approach, feed, or try to handle a wild raccoon.
Raccoon Bites
Raccoon bites can be quite serious and should never be ignored. While raccoons generally avoid humans, they may bite if cornered, threatened, or if they feel their young are in danger. Here are some of the risks and what to watch for:
Physical Damage
Raccoons have strong jaws and sharp teeth. Their bites can puncture deeply and tear flesh, potentially causing lacerations that bleed heavily.
Deep bites may damage tendons, muscles, or nerves, particularly in the hands or fingers.
Infection Risk
Raccoons carry a wide variety of bacteria in their mouths. Bite wounds are at high risk of becoming infected if not cleaned and treated promptly.
Signs of infection include redness, swelling, warmth, pus, and worsening pain around the wound.
Rabies Risk
Raccoons are one of the main wildlife reservoirs for rabies in North America.
Rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms appear, so any raccoon bite should be treated as a potential rabies exposure until proven otherwise.
Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is typically required after a raccoon bite, even if the wound seems minor.
Other Diseases
Besides rabies, raccoons can transmit leptospirosis, baylisascaris (raccoon roundworm), and other zoonotic bacteria through bites.
Raccoon bites can range from serious lacerations to life-threatening infections and rabies exposure. Even a seemingly minor bite warrants immediate professional medical evaluation.
What Do Raccoon Bites Look Like?
Raccoon bites have some distinctive features due to their strong jaws, sharp canines, and relatively small mouth. Here’s what to expect:
Puncture Marks
Raccoons have long, sharp canine teeth that often leave deep, narrow puncture wounds.
Usually, there are two punctures close together, representing the upper or lower canines, often with smaller punctures from the other teeth surrounding them.
Lacerations
Their bites can tear the skin, especially if the raccoon shakes its head or bites repeatedly.
Lacerations may be irregular and jagged, rather than smooth like a knife cut.
Location Patterns
Bites often occur on hands, fingers, arms, or legs because these are the areas people use to push away or handle raccoons.
Facial bites are less common but more dangerous due to nerve, artery, and cosmetic concerns.
Bleeding and Tissue Damage
Puncture wounds may bleed less than they look, but deeper bites can damage tendons, muscles, or nerves, leading to swelling, pain, or limited mobility.
Bruising around the bite is common, and swelling may develop within hours.
Infection Clues
Raccoon bites are highly prone to infection. Early signs include redness, warmth, swelling, pus, or increasing pain.
Because raccoons carry bacteria in their mouths, even small puncture wounds can develop serious infections.
A raccoon bite typically looks like one or more deep puncture wounds with surrounding jagged lacerations, often on the extremities, and carries a high risk of infection or rabies exposure. Immediate cleaning and medical evaluation are critical.
What To Do About Raccoon Bites
If you are bitten by a raccoon, you should treat it as a medical emergency due to the high risk of rabies and serious bacterial infection. Immediate and proper response is critical. Here is exactly what to do:
Get to safety immediately
Move away from the animal and ensure you are in a safe location. Do not attempt to capture or kill the raccoon yourself, as this increases your risk of additional bites or scratches.
Clean the wound thoroughly
As soon as possible:
Wash the bite area immediately and aggressively with warm water and soap for at least 15 minutes.
If available, flush the wound with povidone-iodine or hydrogen peroxide after washing.
Allow the wound to bleed slightly—this can help flush out pathogens—then cover it with a clean, sterile dressing.
Seek medical attention right away
Go to an emergency room or urgent care center immediately—do not wait to see if the wound gets worse. The doctor will:
Evaluate the wound for depth and tissue damage.
Clean it professionally and possibly prescribe antibiotics to prevent infection.
Assess your tetanus vaccination status (a booster may be given if it’s been more than 5 years).
Begin rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) if there’s any chance the raccoon was rabid. This involves a series of shots that are highly effective when started promptly.
Report the incident
Contact your local animal control, health department, or wildlife agency as soon as possible.
They may attempt to locate and capture the raccoon for testing.
If the raccoon is captured and tests negative for rabies, you may not need to complete the rabies series.
Monitor for infection
Over the next few days, watch the wound closely. Seek follow-up care if you notice:
Redness, swelling, or pus
Increasing pain or fever
Red streaks moving away from the bite
Avoid trying to handle raccoons in the future
Even if the animal seems calm, injured, or domesticated, raccoons are wild animals and unpredictable. Our professional wildlife control team should always handle removal or relocation.