Raccoon mothers give birth annually in March and April. The animals will take up residence in a structure at any time of the year, but March and April are the most common months. During that time of year females are looking for a place to give birth and keep their babies protected. It is not at all uncommon to have a pregnant raccoon break into several houses in a row down a street to scope out which is most conducive to nesting with their babies.
Many people do not know that raccoons climb and are, in fact, tree-dwelling animals. As the state of New Jersey continues to grow, there is constant new construction. We're knocking down the trees and putting up buildings! During construction phases, local raccoons will often take up residence in open structures. Eventually, they begin to think that they belong in a house or professional building! In fact, many, many raccoons are born inside buildings instead of in the wild. The combination of this learned behavior and a lack of acceptable habitat has caused an increase in raccoon break-ins to human buildings.
