What Keeps Raccoons Away From Your House

Woman using Tomcat® Repellents trash bag.

Raccoons are probably one of the nearly tenacious—and clever—suburban pests, boasting a wide range of able-bodied skills. They climb, swim, leap, and run with ease, and their power to intermission into trash cans is unparalleled in the animal kingdom.

Raccoons are nocturnal, wandering out at nighttime to feed. They're omnivores, which means they'll eat pretty much annihilation. Sweetness corn, grubs, fallen fruit, prize koi, leftover pet nutrient—these critters aren't picky. Despite their wild-at-eye nature, raccoons have adjusted to suburban weather condition, and yards with gardens provide the perfect hangout. Toss in a birdbath as a water source, and you've created a raccoon paradise.

Here are some signs that raccoons are visiting your k or garden:

Garbage cans opened and trash tossed near
Holes in the lawn and mulch
Fish missing from a water garden or fountain
Empty birdfeeders each morning time (feeders are often mangled and destroyed, too)
Half-eaten produce and/or corn stalks pulled down and ears one-half-eaten
Tubular droppings on logs, wood piles, or about the bottom of trees

Raccoons display a sure degree of ingenuity and persistence that's alarming if yous're trying to deter them from their nightly jaunts through your one thousand. Only there are ways to outwit this nocturnal marauder. Here are 7 simple ways to assistance keep raccoons abroad.

1. Protect your trash.

Raccoons tin't resist trash, and so you'll need multiple strategies in this area. Secure non-locking trash can lids with bungee cords or cinder blocks. Use heavy-duty trash numberless and double-bag waste material meat items to help reduce the smell.

2. Clean up.

Like many animals, raccoons love yards with places to hide as they scurry forth. Remove brush, go on grass mowed, and clip overgrown shrubs. Limit other hiding places by sealing the infinite effectually the bases of sheds and decks with chicken wire or hardware textile. (Don't similar the look? Hibernate the wire by adding a decorative lattice in forepart.) Seal entry points to chimneys, eaves, and attics.

3. Scare 'em.

If raccoons are raiding your garden, try scaring them off with movement-detecting sprinklers or strobe lights. Radios and other noise-makers can also deter raccoons. Switch up your scare strategies to go along raccoons from condign accustomed to i method.

4. Debate the garden.

A debate tin assist protect crops, but remember that raccoons are expert climbers. The near constructive fence to exclude raccoons is electric. Use a 2-wire electrical fence, placing wires 6 and 12 inches in a higher place ground. Set the fence on a timer, running it only subsequently night.

5. Repel 'em.

Though raccoon repellents tend to have mixed results simply because this pest is so persistent, they're worth a try. In addition, some gardeners report success with deterring raccoon damage on corn if information technology'south surrounded by prickly squash or pumpkin vines. Others lace bird seed with cayenne (it doesn't carp birds) to deter these masked bandits.

half-dozen. Remove food.

Gather any fallen fruit from trees, and don't let overripe produce sit on the ground in vegetable gardens. If you toss food scraps in a compost bin, make sure it has a locking cover. Be sure to bring bird feeders in at night or hang them in a spot that isn't accessible to raccoons.

seven. Tend to pets.

Raccoons likewise honey pet food of all kinds, and so never leave food out overnight. Seal pet entry doors at nighttime, specially if you know a raccoon has been visiting your yard. Make sure pets take all necessary shots just in case they interact with a raccoon (which are known to acquit rabies and distemper).