Raccoons aren’t just inhabitants of the wild anymore. San Francisco’s hundreds of thousands of backyards offer them excellent places for foraging. In fact, food is the main reason for raccoons nosing around and eventually coming into your house. Because these animals do not hibernate through the winter, they might also seek out the warmth of a chimney, attic or crawl space — which are all also excellent spots for nest building in the early spring.

But as cute as they look, raccoons have the ability to cause significant damage to your yard and home. They can also be dangerous, especially if rabid or guarding a litter.

Of course, an ounce of prevention is always worth a pound of cure. You can take some simple precautions to avoid a raccoon encounter or problem:

• Do not leave pet food outside at night;
  
  
• Keep bird feeders out of reach;
  
  
• Seal garbage cans tightly and store them in the garage or shed;
  
  
• Install a spark arrester on your chimney;
  
  
• Seal up entries to crawl spaces under your house, porch or eaves;
  
  
• Cut back tree branches extending to your roof.