Please explain what you should do if you find baby raccoons – all courses of action should emphasize safety for both you and the raccoons, and should be humane?
If you find babies of any species outdoors you should almost always just leave them alone. Seeing young doesn’t mean they are abandoned or in trouble, and often the parent will return to care for them. If you interfere with them, though, you could cause more harm than good.
If the babies are outdoors and look injured or in a life-threatening situation, like struggling in a body of water, then intervening may be appropriate. Directly interacting with any wild animal should always be a last resort, especially with a potential rabies vector like raccoons. The mother could be near by and will be protective of her young. Calling a local wildlife rescue organization is a great option here, to get advice on how to act and potentially have a qualified person assist. You can also find organizations who connect individuals with rescue/rehabbers if you don’t know who to call.
If you find baby raccoons in a structure, like your home attic, basement, a shed, or similar buildings, you should leave them alone and back away. The mother is most likely very close, and if she feels you are threatening her young she could react aggressively. This situation definitely calls for reaching out to a professional company to perform the removal.
Can you also mention what baby raccoons can mean for your home / garden (can they be detrimental to your plants? etc.)?
Raccoons in your home can be detrimental in a variety of ways. They will often select an area inside the home as the designated bathroom. These latrines can have a large quantity of droppings accumulate, which carry a risk of transmitting Raccoon Roundworm. Raccoons also carry a higher risk of being a rabies vector, which is a concern for people and pets inside a home. They also will forage for insect larvae damaging the yard, especially sod, and can damage gardens, bird feeders, other elements of a yard.
Then, explain what you should do – should you wait for the mother to return? should you approach them, or keep a distance?
This was addressed in question 1, but I’ll reiterate here. Your first action should almost always be to do nothing, and wait for the mother to return, because in most cases the babies are not in any danger and interfering will cause more harm. You should not approach wild animals, especially young raccoons, because the mother will be protective and could react aggressively. Keep a safe distance.
What are things readers definitely shouldn’t do?
Definitely do NOT pick up the baby raccoons, especially bare handed. Do NOT interfere at all unless they seem to be in immediate danger or seriously injured. Do NOT try to approach the mother, feed them, or capture them yourself.
Also, please mention at what point it’s best to call in a professional wildlife expert to handle the situation.
Raccoons outside in nature are not necessarily a hazard or concern. A conflict typically arises when they start causing damage to a property or structure, come into unwanted contact with pets or people, or make a home inside a structure. Those situations is when someone should call in a professional.