Raccoons, known for the dark, mask-like pattern around their eyes, look like cuddly pets. However, these nocturnal animals can carry serious diseases and damage property. Raccoons are often found in backyards, garbage cans, vegetable gardens, and crawl spaces because of their willingness to eat just about anything. This is particularly true in the spring and summer when these wild animals gorge themselves on potential food sources to store body fat for the winter. If you find evidence that raccoons have been in your backyard, you will want to get rid of those raccoons immediately.
Protect Your Trash Bins
Raccoons are often drawn to a particular backyard because of food in open trash bags and containers. Getting rid of raccoons and the raccoon problem may be as simple as purchasing metal or plastic trash cans that are difficult to open or keeping garbage containers with easy access sealed shut with bungee chords. Consider double-bagging smelly foods, such as meat products, that attract raccoons and other pests.
Do A Sweep Of Your Yard For All Food Items
The garbage bins are one of many places adult raccoons will look for food. Ensure you clean up fruit that has fallen into your yard from fruit trees. Raccoons are also drawn to bird feeders and pet food, so bring both in at night.
Scare The Raccoons At First Signs Of A Raccoon Infestation
Scare tactics, including a motion-activated sprinkler, loud noises, and motion-activated lights, may deter raccoons from invading your backyard. Raccoons are pretty smart and may return to urban environments once they realize no real danger of these natural repellents.
Trap The Raccoons
Traping hungry raccoons from your backyard is the most effective way to remove them. However, trapping raccoons is illegal in many states, so be sure to check local ordinances. It can also be dangerous. Raccoons may carry Roundworm, Rabies, Leptospirosis, and Distemper.
Call A Professional Or Pest Control
Due to safety concerns, you should consider contacting your local small mammals control department or a private animal removal company if you have exhausted all other methods to remove the raccoons from your backyard.
How To Get Rid Of Raccoons With Plastic Toys Or Bright Lights
Raccoons are smart, persistent, undesirable critters and intelligent animals with a strong sense of smell. Keep them out of your yard and their hiding places and access points using two simple tricks, most effective when used in a varying pattern.
Things You'll Need As An Effective Method:
- Little plastic things in bright colors (toys, margarine or yogurt tubs, slightly-inflated balloons, etc.)
- Exterior-rated fluorescent lights on a timer
- Notice where raccoons have been in your yard. Look for rolled-back sod (newly laid), holes dug in garden soil or mulch, broken limbs from shrubs and trees, footprints and tracks, disturbed pond water or muddy fountains, anywhere that raccoons might be looking for grubs or washing grubs found.
- In the evening, since raccoons come around after dark, place a few small brightly colored plastic toys or margarine tubs right where the raccoons have been. Your goal is to distract the critters, upsetting their new regimen, including a yard trip to find something good to eat. They'll keep coming every night even if there's nothing to eat, but if they have a bright little “toy” to explore, they often forget their mission, distracted by a moment of play.
- Keep checking your raccoon area and placing the plastic “toys” in slightly different spots each evening. Also, putting a pebble or two inside plastic tubs offers yet another variation on this raccoon amusement.
- After a few nights, if you still have raccoons, switch tactics. Install some exterior fluorescent flood lamps (available at your favorite hardware, home, or discount store) on ground-stake receptacles. Plug these into a timer set to come on around midnight for 4 hours. Aim the floods to illuminate the points where the raccoons enter your property, using two or more floods if necessary. Scroll down for more tips.
- Alternate between toys and light for best effect. We have avoided the trouble of live-trapping raccoons with just toys and light — plus, we have no smell of dog or coyote urine (also raccoon deterrents) lurking about the garden. I prefer the scent of lilac, lavender, and jasmine!
Tips & Warnings
Fluorescent flood lamps cost little and use very little electricity. Raccoons in suburban areas have little fear of humans, but they will avoid bright light.
Keep the lights low-to-the-ground and pointed level to low.
If you want to run extension cords outside for your lights, use exterior-rated cords—ditto for timers for the lights. You'll find exterior-rated timers in the garden section of your home store.
Other Ways To Avoid Raccoon Damage
Raccoons are troublesome pests. Many things can be done to get rid of them, including using a radio, ammonia, and heavy brick.
Radio To Scare Raccoons
One of the most effective ways to eliminate raccoons is to use a radio or high-pitched sounds. They usually don't like to be around humans, so they will usually avoid areas with radios if a human voice is coming from them. Make sure you use a waterproof radio so rain doesn't damage it.
Ammonia And Strong Odors
You can also use the pungent smell of ammonia to get rid of raccoons. This chemical is found in predator urine and is very offensive to raccoons. You can put some ammonia on your raccoons’ entry points as a deterrent so they won't scavenge from it. If you have them in your home, you can get rid of raccoons by placing a rag soaked in ammonia near where they live.
Water
One way to get rid of the trash panda is to control the water around your home. They need water to survive, so you must ensure there isn't a source near your home. Make sure your garden hose isn't dripping water. Tipping your trashcans upside down would be best so they don't store water. If a pet needs a water bowl, lock it up at night if possible.
Meat
One final way to get rid of raccoons is to ensure that meat and food waste around your home doesn't lure them. If you place meat in your garbage can, you should enclose it in double plastic bags. This will reduce the smell of the meat so the raccoons aren't attracted to it.
These are a few tips to get rid of raccoons. You should ensure a heavy object is on top of your garbage can so they can't remove the lid. You can also try splashing ammonia on your trash to eliminate raccoons. If you need to place meat in your trash, put it in double plastic bags so they won't detect the smell.
