How to Keep Raccoons Out of Your Yard: A Complete Guide
Raccoons may look like cute and harmless creatures. However, they can quickly become a nuisance if they make themselves at home. Are you wondering how to keep raccoons out of your yard? We’ve researched the best ways to keep raccoons away from your house.
Raccoons can cause severe problems for homeowners. They are clever animals, and they can cause a lot of property damage. They have a tendency to rip open garbage bins and spread waste all over your yard. Other problems include:
- Making nests in chimneys.
- Causing exterior damage to homes.
- Destroying gardens and fruit trees.
Raccoons can carry insects, a variety of diseases, and even rabies.
If you want to keep raccoons out of your yard, then you need to take action immediately. It can be challenging to get rid of them once they get established in your home or yard.
We did our research and found the most effective strategies you can use to keep raccoons out of the garden and off the property for good!
How To Keep Racoons Out of Your Yard
Raccoons are among the most persistent-and cunning pests you will have to deal with. They are intelligent, resourceful, and very agile. They also have an uncanny talent for breaking into garbage bins.
A raccoon’s lifestyle is opportunistic, like that of most animals. It basically wants to get by with the least amount of effort. Opportunities for easy pickings are often available in urban homes and yards. So, raccoons have adapted well to the presence of humans.
Wondering how to keep raccoons out of your yard? Trying to stop raccoons from taking up residence is not easy. Their ingenuity and stubborn nature are legendary. Despite that, it is possible to outwit this nighttime bandit. Here are the best ways for keeping raccoons away.
Making it difficult for them to get what they want.
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Fence off food sources
A regular fence will not deter raccoons, as they will either dig under or climb over it. In addition, raccoons have a knack for finding weaknesses in barriers and will rip off loose boards or enlarge the hole in a wire fence to gain access.
The only way to keep them out is with an electric fence. A single live wire l8 inches above the ground will suffice as an added deterrent if you already have a barrier in place.
When there are no existing fences, you will need to build an enclosure with two live wires. The first one needs to be 6 inches above the ground and the other 12 inches. You could try using one wire, but two is probably better. As raccoons are nocturnal, you only need to power the fence at night. You can purchase fence kits that have most of what you need. This video shows you how to set one up.
Fences may be built around vegetable gardens and ornamental ponds to keep raccoons away from koi and goldfish. It can also be used temporarily to keep raccoons from rolling back a recently laid sod lawn in search of insects or grubs. Once the turf has taken root, the fence can be removed.
Secure Your Trash
Leaving trash out where it is easily accessible is like putting out the welcome mat for the raccoons. Invest in a heavy garbage container with a secure lid. You might also consider enclosing the garbage cans in a storage container with a lid. Buying these can be pretty expensive, but DIY enthusiasts can save some money by making their own
Alternately tie cans to a secure post and use bungee cords or wires to keep the lids in place. Cinder blocks can help weigh lids down. Reduce odors by using heavy-duty trash bags and double-bagging waste meat.
Reduce potential nesting sites
Cleaning up your yard is the first step towards eliminating possible nesting sites. Wood piles and overgrown shrubbery need to go. Your attic and chimney provide a lovely home for raccoons. Remove anything that gives easy access to your roof. Try to cut branches overhanging your roof to give five feet between your roof and the tree. Consider removing trellises and arbors that allow easier access to your roof as well.
Nesting raccoons love chimneys. You can prevent raccoons from getting in by installing a heavy metal screen or sheet metal cap over the chimney opening. Anything you use must be tightly secured so that raccoons cannot pull it off. Please check to see that there are no animals inside the chimney before closing it. The raccoons will likely need to be removed by a professional if they have already taken up residence.
Even though chimneys are a favorite nesting place for raccoons, they will take advantage of other nesting sites around your house. The best way to keep raccoons out is to seal potential entry points before they are discovered. A 10-gauge 1/4- or 1/3-inch galvanized hardware mesh provides protection beneath structures, such as porches, decks, and garden sheds. Ensure that the bottom edge of the wire is buried at least 6 inches deep, extended outward for 12 inches, and covered.
Remove other potential food sources.
Pet Food
If you feed your pet outside, be sure to bring any food bowls inside before night falls. It is viewed as an all-you-can-eat buffet by raccoons. Do not store pet food outside.
Bird Feeders
Don’t forget to check your bird feeders. You can deter raccoons by hanging feeders out of reach, so raccoons can’t reach them easily. You could also bring them in at night.
Overripe Produce
Raccoons will love scavenging your windfalls. Cleaning up your garden will make it less attractive to raccoons. Fruits and nuts that have fallen from trees should be picked up. Don’t let overripe produce sit untended in vegetable gardens. Make sure the compost bin you use for vegetable scraps has a locking lid.
Finding this post helpful? See all our wildlife and animal posts.
Do Deterrents work against Raccoons?
Devices used to scare animals are meant to keep them out of areas where crops and gardens are located. Researchers at the University of California studied the effectiveness of various devices against some pests, including raccoons. These included:
- Loud noises
- Tape recordings of human voices or radio played at loud volume
- Reflective objects such as aluminum pans or windmills.
- Devices that give a short sharp explosive sound
- Vibrating devices
- Electromagnetic devices
The evidence suggests that using these devices only works against raccoons for a few days at best because they quickly adapt to them.
For the most part, they are best used for protecting crops for a relatively short period, like just before harvest.
They can also work well if the animals have access to alternative feeding areas nearby.
In addition, scaring the raccoon may provide protection for a few days, and that gives you time to set up more permanent control methods such as trapping or fencing.
But we would advise you to save your time and money.
Do Unpleasant Smells Keep Raccoons Away?
Researchers have tested various materials, such as predator urine, blood meal, dirty laundry, and mothballs, but none of them have proven effective against raccoons.
There is some evidence to suggest that mothballs (naphthalene) or PDB crystals (paradichlorobenzene) may be effective in confined spaces. This would include places like chimneys, attics, wall spaces, or crawl spaces. The smell may be just enough to encourage raccoons to leave those spaces for friendlier sites.
Call a Professional
If you have done everything you can, those pesky raccoons are not leaving. It may be time for more drastic measures.
You can hire a professional to help you remove raccoons from your property. A licensed wildlife control company is the best choice, as they know how to keep raccoons out of your yard. They understand the animal’s habits and have the experience needed. It will also give you some peace of mind knowing that it has been done correctly and safely.
In addition to having the correct equipment, the professional will also determine if a trapped female is nursing and deal with that appropriately.
In many states, it is illegal to release trapped raccoons back into the wild. Animals released like this may cause problems for others. Released animals can also transmit diseases. A professional will have the proper equipment to euthanize the raccoons humanely.
Some counties have animal trapping programs, including those for raccoons. Find out if your county offers this service by contacting your local agricultural commissioner.
Raccoon FAQ’s
How Do You Know you have Racoons in your yard?
Raccoons are nocturnal, so it can be harder to detect them. However, they will leave telltale signs of their presence.
The following indicate that raccoons are visiting your yard or garden:
- Garbage cans are opened, and trash is thrown around everywhere.
- You notice that fish are gone from your water garden or fountain.
- Every morning, the bird feeders are empty and often mangled.
- You notice half-eaten produce and/or corn stalks that have been pulled down.
- Seeing tubular droppings on trees, logs, or woodpiles.
- Seeing their footprints
- Sometimes raccoons roll over newly laid turf when looking for worms and grubs.
- Damage to your roof. Female raccoons may tear off shingles, fascia boards, or roofing vents searching for a nesting site.
You may hear them before you ever see them. Raccoons in chimneys and attics often whine and growl.
No matter what alerts you, it is essential to take action as soon as you’ve become aware of them around your home.
What should you do if you see a raccoon in your yard?
Keep calm. Take pets and children inside. Do not approach a raccoon, as they can become aggressive if they feel cornered. In addition to carrying a variety of diseases, raccoon bites or scratches can be dangerous. Seek medical attention immediately if you are injured by one.
You can try scaring away the animal with a loud noise from a distance, perhaps from a window. If the raccoon doesn’t leave or behaves strangely (appearing during the day), it could have rabies. Call animal control or reach out to an expert for help.
Once it has gone, start checking your yard for signs of raccoons. Do you see any evidence that they have taken up residence? Use the strategies outlined above or call in professionals.
How do you keep a raccoon off a deck?
Raccoons are not sociable. If they are visiting your deck regularly, they are after something. You need to figure out why they are coming. What is attracting them? Here are some possible reasons
- You keep dog food or birdseed on the deck.
- The BBQ grill may need to be cleaned. Remove the grease can.
- You have a small compost bucket outside the back door.
- There are dropped food from meals on the deck. This is more likely if you have younger children. Clean your deck every night. Don’t leave one crumb!
You may find a raccoon raising her young under your deck if she has found a good place to nest. A professional pest control service can assess the situation and remove animals and nests for you.
Will vinegar keep raccoons away?
It is said that raccoons do not like the smell of apple cider vinegar.
Supposedly a rag soaked in apple cider vinegar can be placed where you see signs of raccoons, or in trash cans, or in nesting areas to help deter them.
I could not find one scientific study to back this up, so I suspect it is not valid. Even if it does act as a repellent, the smell of the vinegar will disappear very quickly. Still, vinegar is cheap and readily available, so it wouldn’t hurt to try if you are interested.
Does Irish Spring Soap keep raccoons away?
Probably not. As with vinegar, the idea is that Irish Spring Soap can deter raccoons.
The active ingredients in the soap supposedly have a strong smell that will keep the raccoons away. In theory, you can sprinkle soap flakes around the perimeter of your yard or vegetable garden.
Again, I couldn’t find any scientific studies to back this up, so I suspect it doesn’t work. Still, it isn’t expensive, so by all means, give it a go if you want to try.
What is the best way to get rid of raccoons for good?
Wondering how to keep raccoons out of your yard for good? The most effective way is by trapping and removing them. A company that specializes in wildlife removal will be able to help you with this process. They have the equipment, training, and experience necessary for a job like this.
If you are not ready to do that, you can try using the strategies we have detailed above. The best course of action is to keep raccoons off your property or make your yard less attractive to them.
You can try the following methods together, or just use one at a time until you find something that works for your situation: – physical barriers like fences and chimneys caps. Removing food sources, such as pet food, and making sure there are no nesting sites that are easy to access.
No matter what you do, it is vital to act fast. If raccoons are not removed from your property, they can become quite destructive. We hope that this article has been helpful to you and has shown you how to keep raccoons out of your yard.
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