How to Get Rid of Raccoons

Why Is a Raccoon on My Property?

• Location: Raccoons have adapted to humans in cities and suburbs by using residences and buildings as spaces for living and feeding. They’re found living inside chimneys and rake through siding and shingles to enter houses and set up a den in attics. Tree branches that reach close to your roof may even serve as easy access for the spaces above your ceiling. In rural areas, raccoons tend toward natural shelters like hollow trees, rock crevices, brushy areas, or abandoned animal burrows. They’re also likely to establish a home near a source of water.
• Food: Raccoons are omnivorous, eating both plants and animals in developed areas and agricultural settings. Whether in an urban or suburban lot, trash cans are inviting targets for raccoons because of discarded food and the scent wafting from the garbage. Pet food left in dishes outside is also a tempting snack. Away from urban areas, the diet becomes more natural. A raccoon will take its plant meals from acorns, grains, wild berries, and fruits. To satisfy its animal hunger, the raccoon eats frogs, squirrels, mice, beetles, crawfish, and poultry eggs.
• Shelter: Home is everywhere for raccoons. They are a common sight near farms and woodlands because of abundant trees. In the big picture, though, raccoons are native to nearly every part of the United States. Only in very high elevations and in desert regions are these creatures absent from the terrain.

Signs of Damage

• If your trash bags have been repeatedly knocked over and ransacked, odds are high that a raccoon is the culprit. Their front paws are nearly as agile as human hands, making them quite skilled at opening various objects. Because leftover food and debris are a strong enticement, it’s important to secure the lids on your trash cans. This may even require bungee cords or pest-proof lids to discourage your nighttime visitors.
• For homeowners with swimming pools, raccoons may be an unexpected problem as they leave their droppings in the water on the top steps in the shallow end. This is an animal’s way of concealing its odor from predators in the area. Covering the top steps with plastic may be an easy way to force a raccoon elsewhere.
• Pet owners and bird watchers should keep an eye on outdoor food dishes and bird feeders. A raccoon will raid any spot that appears to be a food source – especially when the source is regularly restocked. Feed your pet during daylight hours and emptying the dish before nightfall.
• A determined raccoon may claw through shingles or fascia boards to make a home in your attic. This means that those areas may show claw marks and even a hole large enough for a small animal’s entry. Once inside, a raccoon may rip apart insulation and damage ductwork. To test whether your home has been breached, stuff newspaper into the entry hole you’ve located. If the newspaper has been torn out within a couple of days, a raccoon or other small animal is probably responsible.
• Certain crops are susceptible to raccoons. Damaged and gnawed ears of corn and partially-eaten melons are signs of a raccoon’s appetite. Poultry farmers should keep a watchful eye as well since raccoons will try to enter chicken coops.

What Are The Sounds and Signs Of Raccoons?

Seasonal Behavior

• During the coldest days of winter, raccoons will rarely venture out of their dens as they try to sleep through the chill. Breeding season occurs during this same time. If you live in a northern state, raccoon activity may not even be noticeable due to low temperatures. In southern states with mild winters, the day-to-day life of a raccoon may be largely unaffected.
• Spring sees new populations of raccoons as sows give birth.
• Kits are weaned during summer and moved about to prepare them for life on their own.
• Young raccoons sense autumn and will start to leave their dens to find a new place to live.
• While full-grown adult raccoons generally live three to five years, they may survive only one year in most populations due to their station in the food chain.

1. Seal Off Your Home and Yard

• Seal holes. Raccoons have a great sense of smell that they use to find food, and they won’t hesitate to venture inside your home if they can smell and easily access their next meal. Seal up any holes you find around the siding, foundation or roof of your house. Any hole that’s three inches wide or larger can be scratched open by a raccoon, creating an optimal entrance for them. You can easily cover these holes yourself with wood, caulk, expandable foam, or concrete.
• Use a perimeter fence. Raccoons are natural climbers that often venture onto trees and other tall places. A privacy fence surrounding your yard may not be enough to keep a raccoon out if it’s dead set on getting into your trash or pet food. These pests can easily scale fences in seconds, and baby raccoons can squeeze through any holes or cracks that are as small as three inches. The only guaranteed way to keep raccoons out is with an electric fence. This investment is a great long-term solution for keeping out raccoons and other wildlife. If you only have a standard wood or metal privacy fence, you can try to keep your trees and shrubs cut away from it so that it isn’t as easy to climb.
• Use barrier screens. Many purposeful openings exist throughout the outside of your home, which you may not ever think of as raccoon entrances. These could include the space leading to your crawl space, your chimney opening, and any side vents in your house that help with ventilation. Place barrier screen over these openings. You can use simple materials like mesh or screen, or nail plywood over openings like your crawl space.

Scare Tactics

• Motion-sensor devices: A motion-activated sprinkler, lights and ultrasonic devices are all available with motion sensor technology and can help scare off raccoons when they’re triggered since the abrupt presence of either of these things will startle them.
• Noise: If you’re home and you see a raccoon approaching through a window, you can easily scare it away with a speaker, blow horn, or even your own voice by yelling at it.
• Pets: Raccoons have been known to fight with cats and small dogs. But if you own a large dog, you can bring it outside to face down the raccoon and scare it away.

1. Remove Attractants

• Properly seal and dispose of trash. Make sure that your trash cans are never overflowing and seal properly without cracks or holes in the lids. Raccoons are even known to open trash cans on their own, so consider investing in a lock or some type of tie-down for your trash can lid, such as bungee cords. If you eat or entertain outside, always clean up any trash promptly and never leave any food sitting out.
• Keep food covered or inside. If you have pets or bird feeders, raccoons will also be attracted to their food. Try not leave pet food out at night while raccoons are active, and invest in covers for your bird feeders to use at night as well. If you also have a garden or small fish pond in your back yard, you may need to invest in preventative barriers like fences. If it’s hungry enough, a raccoon will definitely fish for food and feast on the vegetation in your yard.

2. Sanitation

• Regularly clean garbage cans. Trash containers are undoubtedly one of the dirtiest items around any household. Even if they close and seal properly, any residue left inside of them is bound to emit a foul odor. Take care to regularly wash your cans out with soap and water, especially if you know that something has spilled inside of one.
• Rake up vegetation. If you have fruiting trees or vegetables in your garden, raccoons will be even more attracted to them if they’re left to rot and release a pungent odor. Rake up any fruit that falls onto the ground and try to pick them as often as you can once they are ripe.

3. Trapping

How To Use A Raccoon Trap

• Before buying and using a raccoon trap, look into your state’s laws or specific area regulations regarding raccoons. You may need to obtain a permit, or there could be a specific way you’re allowed to trap and release a raccoon.
• Fully read the instructions that come with any trap you’ve purchased. Most raccoon traps work with one-way doors, but others can have mechanical spring mechanisms that may be dangerous to set up if you aren’t sure exactly how to do it properly.
• Place the trap in an area where you’ve seen raccoons feeding or near their nest if you’ve been able to identify it on your property.
• Bait the trap with anything you have on hand, since raccoons love to eat just about anything. You can try any type of pet food, fruits, or nut butter.
• Set the trap according to its instructions and leave it out at night.
• Make sure you’re checking the trap every morning to see if you’ve caught a raccoon. If you leave one for too long, it can injure itself trying to get out or dehydrate and die.
• Relocate the raccoon in compliance with your state or local regulations you have researched. A good rule of thumb is to leave the raccoon at least 10 miles away from residential property, such as a forest or other wooded area.

DIY Treatment Methods

• Peppers: Unlike humans, raccoons can’t stand the taste or smell of hot peppers and don’t want them anywhere near their food. By soaking hot peppers in water and strategically spraying this solution in certain areas, you can keep these animals away from your trash or garden. Since this method is completely natural, you can use the spray directly on your vegetation.
• Spices: For the same reason why raccoons stay away from peppers, they’ll also steer clear of certain spices like black pepper, cayenne pepper, and cinnamon. Sprinkle these natural repellents liberally in the areas where you want to stave off raccoons.
• Ammonia: Soak cotton balls in ammonia and place them around your property. This is especially a good method to use if you have raccoons in your attic, as the scent will be much stronger indoors and drive them away. With this method, be sure that you can’t breathe in the ammonia from the attic and that your pets can’t get anywhere near it.
• Pet fur and predator urine: Like other critters, raccoons have natural predators to avoid. Dogs and cats are two of the animals with which raccoons fight, so the sight of these animals will discourage them. Nevertheless, your pets can be in danger if they get into a fight with a raccoon, so it’s best to keep them inside and out of harm’s way. Dumping their fur or urine around your trash or garden will keep raccoons on edge and prevent them from wanting to linger and feed in your yard.