Raccoons raiding your garden or garbage?

Easy prevention techniques will keep raccoons out of your yard, garden, pond, trash or woodpile
Smart and resourceful, raccoons often get into trouble when they take advantage of the enticing foods we offer in our yards and gardens.

Yards
Raccoons can damage lawns (especially recently sodded ones) by digging for earthworms and grubs. Often they simply reach under the strips and feel around for their meal, pulling out the grubs and worms without causing any damage, but sometimes they’ll tear up the sod. This is generally a short-term problem that lasts only as long as the watering does.

Solution
On small areas, try a hot sauce (capsaicin) repellent. On larger areas, a band of repellent can be applied around the perimeter, lights can be left on to confuse the raccoons or tip you off to their presence and a scaring device such as a sprinkler can be set up to frighten any approaching raccoons.

Gardens
The key here is to act quickly: Step in at the first sign of raccoon damage, because one taste probably won’t be enough. Raccoons like both fruits and vegetables; among their favorites are grapes and corn. They often forage just before your crops are ready to be picked, so pay extra attention just before harvesting the crop.

Solutions
Set up a battery-operated radio by your crops, tuned to an all-night talk show and turn it on for a few nights.
Set up single-strand electric fencing around areas where damage is frequent.

Ponds
Ornamental ponds attract raccoons. They’ll eat fish, frogs or other aquatic life and they may tear up plants while searching for food.

Solutions
If your pond is at least three feet deep in places, try creating hiding places for the fish and frogs by stacking cinder blocks (the kind with the holes) next to one another in groups of three or four, piling rocks or sinking sections of ceramic tile (the sort used to line chimneys).
In extreme cases, and where it is allowed and will not present a hazard for children or pets, you can erect single-strand electric fencing around the pond anywhere from four to eight inches off the ground.

Trash
When raccoons get into the trash it’s not a raccoon problem; it’s a trash problem.

Solutions
Purchase trashcans made to keep wildlife from getting inside.
Secure the lids with bungee cords, rope tie-downs or weights.
Take cans to the curb on the day on the day of trash pick-up rather than the night before.
Keep cans inside a shed or garage.
Freeze smelly food items such as fish between pick-ups.

Woodpiles
Raccoons may make a temporary den in a large woodpile or they may use a woodpile as a latrine site.

Solution
If the latter occurs, do not use the wood in your fireplace. If it must be used for that purpose, bring in only as much as you can place directly into the fire. Do not store it or even set it down inside. Contaminated wood can be burned outside, and this is the best way to ensure that any roundworm eggs are destroyed. Source

6 STEPS TO KEEP RACCOONS AWAY FROM YOUR HOME AND YARD

Cartoon raccoons may look cute, but real raccoons can be dangerous. They may come to your yard in search of food, leaving destruction in their wake. Or, they might see your home or garage as a warm, cozy place to move in. While there, they’ll quickly chew at your home’s features and leave droppings behind.

Fortunately, there are a few steps you can take to prevent these critters from invading your space.

1. SEAL TRASH CANS

For raccoons, the trash in your trash can looks and smells like a delicious dinner. You want to prevent these hungry raccoons from knocking over your trash can and spilling garbage. To do so, buy trash cans with sealing lids. You can improve the seal by attaching plastic tubing along the lid’s rim.

If raccoons continue to break into your trash, try placing a heavy object on top of the lid. You could also try adding some ammonia to your trash can—the smell with drive raccoons away.

2. ADD LIGHTS

Lights can scare raccoons away and keep them from approaching your home. Install bright, motion-activated lights on your porch, driveway, and yard. You’ll likely need multiple lights to dissuade raccoons from approaching your space.

3. SECURE YOUR BIRD FEEDER

Raccoons will take food wherever they can find it, and your bird feeder can be an easy source. To protect your bird feeder from raccoons, install baffles on the poles of your bird feeder. These baffles block raccoons from reaching the bird feeder. You should also place trays six inches below the bird feeder to catch any seed before it drops on the ground. When bird seed falls on the ground, it can attract raccoons to your outdoor space.

4. REMOVE PET FOOD

You might set pet food and water outside where it’s convenient for your pet. However, this practice is convenient for raccoons as well. Avoid putting pet food and water outside or in your garage, especially overnight.

5. CUT BACK TREE BRANCHES

If there are tree branches hanging over your roof, raccoons might climb up the tree to get access to your home. Thus, you should cut back any tree branches that are within six inches of your home.

6. SEAL OPENINGS TO YOUR HOME

Look carefully for any openings in your home’s walls that raccoons could exploit. Cover these openings with sheet metal, wire mesh, or metal flashing. You can seal smaller holes with caulking or foam insulation.

By chewing and clawing their way through, raccoons can also enter through:

• Chimneys
• Roof soffit and fascia
• Roof vents
• Roof edges
• Crawlspaces

Pay attention to any vulnerable areas of your roof, such as roting wood. Have a roofing specialist repair and fortify your roof to protect it from raccoons. A specialist can also install pest-deterring roofing products such as chimney caps and crawlspace vapor barriers.

Also, avoid installing pet doors or leaving your garage door slightly open for your pet. Your pet probably won’t be the only animal to use these openings.

Act If Raccoons Enter Your Home or Yard

Even with these precautions, raccoons might still invade your space.

If you want to get rid of raccoons on your property, call a pest-control specialist. Only a professional pest-control specialist has the training and experience to safely trap and remove raccoons. He or she can also remove raccoon feces. Plus, a pest-control specialist can help you recognize and address anything about your home or yard that draws raccoons in.

Protect your home and family from raccoons by following these prevention tips. If you need to get raccoons removed from your property, call Triangle Wildlife Removal & Pest Control Inc.