How to Keep Raccoons Away From Your Home?

Raccoons might look cute with their little masks and furry tails but can become a nuisance if they find their way onto your property. These clever creatures can be a major headache and can cause a lot of trouble. Raccoons might dig up your garden, break into your trash, or even go into your attic. The worst is that their presence can pose risks to both your property and health.

In this blog, we will learn how to keep raccoons away from their unwanted visits.

Living with Raccoons

Raccoons are nocturnal creatures that often live near people’s homes. They are good at finding food and can even break into trash cans and bird feeders. They can also cause problems by knocking over garbage, damaging property, and digging up lawns. Raccoons can also be a danger to pets and small animals. 

Once they find a place with food or shelter, they tend to return. If you have raccoons in your home or yard, you may need to take steps to remove them and prevent them from coming back.

Ways to Keep Raccoons Out of Your Yard and Home

Raccoons can be a nuisance, especially when they decide to make your yard or home their own. To keep them out, start by sealing up any holes or gaps in your house where they might squeeze through. This includes vents, windows, and loose siding.

Understanding what repels raccoons is the first thing you must think of. If you have a garden or pond, consider putting up a wire fence with a floppy top or a wire mesh cover to keep raccoons away. Once you have made your outdoor space less inviting, try the following deterrent techniques:

Make Your Yard Uninviting to Raccoons

Raccoons often visit yards to find a cozy place to rest. To make your yard less inviting, use bright lights and loud noises. This might scare them away, but it’s not always effective.

Raccoons like to search for food in gardens. If you don’t have a garden, it’s less likely they’ll come. If you do have a garden, protect it well.

Remove any branches or leaves that could help raccoons climb onto your roof or build nests under your deck or shed.

Motion-activated sprinklers or lights can also scare raccoons away. You can also try playing loud music, but be careful not to disturb your neighbors.

Try Some Homemade Deterrents

Raccoons can cause a lot of problems for you. They can damage your property and make a mess. Using natural repellents is what keeps raccoons away. You can use some home spices like black pepper, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper. These spices might irritate raccoons’ noses. It turns them off from coming to your home.

You can make a homemade repellent using cayenne pepper, onion, and boiling water. Add hot sauce for an extra punch. Spray it around your house twice a week.

Besides this,  mix hot pepper sauce or cayenne pepper powder with water and dishwashing liquid. Spray it on areas you want to protect. While homemade repellents are cheaper, you need to reapply them often because of rain.

Will vinegar deter a raccoon?

Using vinegar as a repellent can work best. Take vinegar and water in the same portion and spray it properly. You can also put soaked rags in your garden where raccoons go.

Garlic is an effective home remedy for keeping raccoons away from your marijuana plants. While cayenne pepper is also a good deterrent. Sprinkle it near raccoon entrances or in your garden. These strong smells can keep raccoons away.

Use Strong and Stinky Smells

Raccoons have a great sense of smell. Strong odors can help scare them away. While household products like ammonia and mothballs can work, they need to be replaced often and can be harmful. Trappers say that smart raccoons might even try to cover up or remove these strong smells.

A better option is to use cucumbers. Raccoons hate the smell of cucumbers. Plant them along your fence or in your garden.

One of the effective things is the ammonia solution for the raccoon deterrent. You can also put ammonia in bowls. You can also soak tennis balls in ammonia and leave them where you think raccoons are living. 

Predator urine can be a strong deterrent, too. Raccoons scare wild animals so you can buy wolf, coyote, or bobcat urine online or at outdoor stores. It will make raccoons feel unsafe and avoid the area.

Read More About: How To Fix Sewer Smell In Bathroom?

How to Keep Raccoons Away?

Raccoons are attracted to yards for food, water, and shelter. They are very good at hunting down food, going through the trash, and stealing birdseed. To make it hard for them you must:

• Seal any holes or gaps in your yard, under your deck, or in your shed with boards, wire mesh, netting, or newspaper. Check these places often to make sure raccoons aren’t getting inside.
• Cover any ponds or pools, and empty bins that collect rainwater. Don’t leave water dishes out for raccoons.
• Lock up your garbage can or bring it inside at night. Put a heavy stone on the lid.
• Don’t leave pet food outside.
• Put bird feeders on thin poles that raccoons can’t climb.

Trap It Or Call A Professional

Raccoons can be a problem. It’s hard to get rid of them safely. You can buy traps, but they’re not always the best. 

There are two types of Raccoon traps: Lethal traps that kill the raccoon and non-lethal traps that catch it alive. Lethal traps that kill Raccoons are not recommended. While live traps are safer, they can be hard to use. Make sure trapping is legal in your area before you try it. Some places need a permit or proof of damage. You can find out the rules by calling your local wildlife control agency.

Even if you can trap the raccoon yourself, it’s not always good. Traps can be expensive, and you might not catch the raccoon right away.

Why so?

Raccoons are wild animals and can be sick, so it’s best to stay away from them.

Instead, hiring a professional wildlife removal company might be better. They know how to handle raccoons safely. 

The Bottom Line

Raccoons can be a big problem, but there are things you can do to keep them away. Removing things like food and shelter that attract them can help you a lot. You can also discourage raccoons by making your property less appealing. Remember, keeping raccoons at a distance is important because they can be dangerous.

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