But they can be a menace and cause damage to your lawn and garden.
How to Identify Raccoons as Your Problem
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If possible, keep garbage cans inside your garage or shed or buy garbage cans with locking lids.
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Seal holes or gaps in attics and roofs to preventraccoon nestingand cap chimneys.
Install a fence with one wire 4 inches off the ground and a second at 12 inches high.
Since the fence is so low, you don’t need a gate to drop your garden.
The netting should encourage the critter to move along to easier pickings.
Scare Tactics
Raccoons have become “urbanized” and most scare tactics don’t work.
Move the sensors often as the raccoons get used to the tactics.
Since raccoons can carry rabies, allowing pets to interact is not recommended.
Try commercial or DIY deterrents made from predator urine or dried blood.
Some gardeners swear by mothballs or bowls of ammonia to keep raccoons away.
Change scents/flavors often as the animals become used to your tactics.
Be sure to check with your local Department of Wildlife before trapping and relocating the animals.
Live traps work well to capture raccoons.
To bait the trap, use sweet foods like marshmallows, cantaloupe, or watermelon.
Check the trap at least twice daily and add fresh bait if necessary.
Once the animal is trapped, drape a cloth over the cage to keep the raccoon calm.
Wearing heavy gloves, hold the cage away from your body.
