Can Raccoons Climb Brick Walls?

There are very few things persistent pests like raccoons cannot climb. They have a natural inclination to climb to higher points and usually can do so with ease. Like most adaptable animals, raccoons are excellent climbers that can scale almost any surface with grooves or ridges. Really the only barriers are smooth plastics, glass, or metal that active animals can not grip or penetrate into.

Key Points:

  • Raccoons are persistent pests and excellent climbers capable of scaling almost any surface with grooves or ridges.
  • Brick walls are one surface that raccoons can easily, thanks to their strong muscles, grip onto, and due to the spaces between them.
  • The natural inclination of raccoons to climb is accompanied by their need for safety and food–both easily accessible when they can scale a brick wall.

I have seen plenty of raccoons slinking around, trying to go up trees, fences, and vertical walls to find what they are looking for. Raccoons climb for a variety of reasons in nature, including safety from predators and looking for food. The materials like brick, wood, and siding that we construct our homes and verticle walls out of are no match for some pests, are raccoons one of them? Let’s find out! 

Are Brick Walls Climable for Raccoons?

It is extremely easy for raccoons to climb brick walls. The gaps between the bricks, as well as the soft mortar holding them in place, make for ideal footholds for an ascending raccoon. As brick walls age and deteriorate, even baby raccoons can grab the brick facades and climb easily. 

When you have a brick wall on your home or lawn that is located near trees and food sources, then you are more likely to see raccoons climbing. Other house materials hold up no better, including siding and wood. Only a glass, metal, or fabricated material can provide a slick enough surface to keep raccoons from climbing.

Even if your walls are not easily scalable, you can still discover a family of raccoons or, worse, a dead animal in your attics and crawl spaces if pests are using nearby trees or a neighbor’s structures to access your roof. 

Raccoon Climbing Attributes

There are many aspects of a raccoon’s anatomy that make them amazing climbers. Similar to bears, they can climb with ease and also walk on two legs and run on four. This ability to move in so many different ways lends strength to specific muscle groups. These groups can make climbing unthinkable objects possible for determined nocturnal mammals 

Along with great climbing skills, raccoons can also fall with style. A drop of 35 to 40 ft should not harm a raccoon that has a relatively safe landing zone. With little fear of raccoon damage or injury from falling, they are more likely to climb carefree and drop down on unsuspecting garbage cans. Below are some the of features that make a family of raccoons tough critters to keep at ground level and out of your yard. 

AttributeBenefit
Long Thick Nails on Hands and FeetEasy of gripping and many holds to distribute body weight
Claws Penetrate Deeply into SurfacesEven slick surfaces can be scaled if a raccoon can get its claws deep enough into the material and create foot holes
Wrists pivot 180 DegreesThis makes it easier for raccoons to turn while climbing and rundown trees or walls
Climb IntelligentlyLike all good climbers, raccoons take a minute to plan their ascent before rushing up a wall to give themselves the highest probability of success

Why Do Raccoons Climb Walls?

Raccoons genuinely enjoy climbing, and it is a natural function they utilize constantly. Their survival as a species through the ages has been due to these impressive climbing abilities. As houses have replaced trees, our walls have taken the brunt of raccoon claws meant for bark, and activity on roofs and in attics has increased. 

As a result, more and more raccoons are taking up residency in our homes and yards as bird feeders, animal food bowls, and even bird eggs bring these agile animals near and nearer. Understanding why raccoons climb can help you take the steps needed to keep raccoons and other climbing pests off your walls and out of your homes. 

Searching for Food

As a homeowner, it is important to eliminate easy food sources in your yard and around your home that may attract raccoons. Even accumulated garbage or dirty garbage cans can be enough to attract these creatures. Even if accessible food like bird feeders is gone, the ability of raccoons to avoid competing is evident. 

Low-hanging fruit is the first to go, and in areas with lots of wild animals and food competition, being able to reach the treasures at the top of the tree is a huge advantage for both adult raccoons and their kits. A raccoon’s favorite method for finding food is to get into your attic through roof gaps or unmaintained vents. Once inside, there is sure to be something animal intruders can munch on. 

Safety and Nesting       

In areas with a lot of woodlands or trees, raccoons tend to find shelter in the hollows of trees still standing. Dead trees and hollowed-out trunks provide excellent hiding places for female raccoons and their kits. A determined raccoon that doesn’t have access to trees or forset shelter will instead come into our home through roof vents and crawl spaces. 

Our attics and roof overhangs also provided similar warmth and safety, and our climbable brick walls make it easier for pests to set up shop inside our homes. Full-grown raccoons can cause significant damage to structures, and roof repair may be needed if you can’t keep nuisance animals out. Prevent any allowance of raccoon infestations with humane traps and other exclusion techniques. 

Latrine Location

To avoid detection from predators and in part of a social custom raccoons adhere to, these creatures share common latrines. Often these will be on large branches of trees and can be found on roofs and other high-up surfaces. Any discovered latrine should be cleaned immediately to avoid spreading raccoon roundworm or other diseases to humans and animals in the area.

If there isn’t a branch or large tree trunk for raccoons to go on, they made build the latrine in a corner of your yard. 

Observation

Some raccoons like to climb high to see what is around them and even keep an eye on their territory. This may take them to dazzling heights like the raccoon reported to Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control that was 10 floors up and counting. From up high, raccoons can see the bins for garbage and any predators or competition in their territory. 

Curiosity

Raccoons are curious wild animals and will climb to explore new places and investigate anything that strikes their fancy. While food and mating are obvious reasons to climb and look, sometimes windchimes or a stuck toy on the roof will warrant a closer look and excite our raccoon visitors into exploring. It can be difficult to keep these curious animals off your walls if they are intrigued by something new in your yard. 

Companionship

While most of the time, raccoons live on their own and act as solitary critters preventing animal entry into their territories with aggression, sometimes males will hang out together near reliable food and water sources. This is usually the start of a common latrine and builds a social structure that benefits these critters.

If there are enough resources, then climbing to high places together like attics and treetops can be a form of championship not common in resource-starved environments and increases in frequency in cold climates. Regardless of why the raccoons are there, they will climb your brick walls with ease.