In recent years, raccoons have become more common in many North American urban environments. As their population has increased, they’ve adapted to the human-dominated landscape by developing a taste for garbage and raiding bird feeders that are placed outside homes at night. If you’re tired of seeing these critters scrounging around your backyard – or worse yet eating through your trash can – here’s how to get rid of them quickly:。

The “how to scare raccoons away from your house” is a guide that will teach you how to get rid of raccoons in your backyard quickly. The article also includes helpful tips and tricks on how to keep the animals away

Raccoons are one of nature’s most cunning and curious criminals, apart from their lovely fluffiness. If you have garbage cans that have been knocked over and rubbish strewn around your yard, you may have a raccoon issue. This is why we’ve made it our duty to teach you all you need to know about raccoon removal in your yard.

Let’s get this party started!

Contents

Raccoon Signs and Behavior

If you believe raccoons are visiting your property, there are a few things to check for. Raccoon tracks are the first and most evident evidence, since they are rather simple to distinguish from those of other small animals or rodents. They’re easy to notice because of the print’s long, slender toes.

Other clear clues include strewn garbage, toppled trash cans, missing fish if you have a pond, damaged bird feeders, looted pet food bowls, and missing or broken eggs and beaten chicks if you possess poultry.

Raccoons are not timid creatures, and they have no qualms about damaging your property and taking your home-grown items. Most people have pets or have outside trash cans, but not everyone has a raccoon issue.

So, why are raccoons so interested in your home?

Why Do Raccoons Come to Your House?

Raccoons may be visiting your property for a number of reasons due to their opportunistic nature. The following are the most probable scenarios:

  • Your trash cans are located in a convenient location.
  • You leave unguarded pet food outdoors.
  • Scavenging wildlife has easy access to your farm livestock.
  • You have ponds for fish.
  • Raccoons may nest and raise their young on your property.
  • A body of water on your land serves as a drinking supply.

Fortunately, each of these problems can be rectified with a few tweaks. In the parts that follow, we’ll go through how to address each problem.

What Can You Do?

Raccoons are infamous scavengers that are also quite clever. If given the chance, these tiny burglars will break into your garbage cans, chicken coops, and even your house, which is why it’s critical to take preventative precautions to safeguard your property.

Raccoon Attractants Must Be Removed

The first step is to get rid of any raccoon attractants in your yard. This may be accomplished by:

  • Using a lid and bungee cords to secure trash cans, or storing waste in a garage or shed.
  • Installing an electric fence around your land, as well as around fish ponds and poultry coops.
  • If you have a raccoon issue indoors, you should close any dog doors and make sure your attic has no outside openings.
  • Bring bird feeders inside at night or hang them on shepherd’s hooks so raccoons can’t access to them.
  • Remove any fruits or seeds that have fallen to the ground.

Maintain a Clean Backyard

Aside from bringing your garbage cans inside (to the garage or shed), make sure your yard is free of edible debris and human waste. If you’re sitting outside, never leave food unattended, whether it’s human or pet food, and always wipe up any leftovers.

If you have a compost tumbler and a garden, you’ll want to make sure your compost is safe and unbreakable. You might also try moving your compost indoors to eliminate the issue entirely. The greatest indoor compost bins on the market today are discussed in this article. If indoor compost seems to be a viable solution to your raccoon problem, you may refer to that page.

Raccoons may be deterred by landscaping.

Raccoons are woodland creatures that will develop their nests and families on your property if it is sufficiently forested or secluded. Trim your trees back to at least 5 feet from the roofs of your house, sheds, barns, and other structures on your property to prevent them from gaining access. If left to their own ways, raccoons are skilled climbers who will take advantage of trees.

Also, if you have a trellis, arbor, or gazebo near your home or other outside buildings, it may be advisable to remove or relocate the garden elements.

To minimize any possible hiding areas, you may also cut back shrubs or remove any huge clumps of vegetation from your yard.

Traps or Lethal Extraction methods may be used.

Traps – whether live or deadly – are fantastic weapons to use when you’re at your wit’s end, even if they’re not the most pleasant approach to get rid of raccoons.

Of fact, both lethal and live raccoon traps have advantages and disadvantages. Let’s look at each one in more detail:

Traps that are alive

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Pros:

  • The raccoon does not have to be killed.
  • The animal(s) may be moved in a safe manner.
  • They’re simple to set up and operate.

Cons:

  • It will only be a temporary solution. Your raccoon issue will endure if no further steps are taken.
  • Traps that are alive may harm curious pets.

Lethal Extraction

A pistol, a wire trap, or poison may all be used to get rid of raccoons in a fatal manner.

Shooting the raccoon (or raccoons) is a speedy and compassionate way to get rid of them, since death is instantaneous. For the aforementioned reason, this is often the most utilized strategy by both hunters and homeowners. Shooting a raccoon is certainly unlawful if you live in a neighborhood or inside city borders. Before using this option, be sure to verify your local regulations.

Pros:

  • Raccoons are rapidly and painlessly removed.

Cons:

  • It’s possible that it’s not legal in the city.
  • A heinous solution.

Wire traps are not for the yellow-bellied, as these snares are intended to catch and kill the raccoon via strangulation. The positive aspect of this Lethal Extraction method is that it’s not as gruesome as shooting the pests, and it’s still a relatively quick death compared to other traps that may cause an animal to suffer for days before found by the homeowner or hunter (about 8 minutes). Still, there’s quite a bit of controversy surrounding these traps, with some people who believe that they are “archaic and torturous devices” – but, you may just have to do what you can if the problem is severe enough. Raccoons can wreak havoc.

Pros:

  • It’s not as bad as shooting the raccoons.
  • When compared to other traps, it kills rather swiftly.
  • Traps may be used again and again.
  • Affordable.

Cons:

  • This is a contentious approach.
  • Strangulation isn’t the most pleasant method to pass away.

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Finally, poisoning raccoons is a popular way employed by homeowners to get rid of them. Mixing a rodenticide mixed with pet food outside (where it’s generally stored) is a simple method to employ poison. At night, when raccoons are most active, make sure your dogs and cats are indoors. The raccoons will, in principle, go to the pet food and eat the poison. Poisons, on the other hand, may be even more brutal than snares, causing internal bleeding, ruptures, and ulcers, as well as foaming at the mouth and other unpleasant side effects.

Pros:

  • Method that is both inexpensive and simple.

Cons:

  • It might be very uncomfortable for the raccoon(s) and take days to kill them.

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Overall, if you’re a little squeamish or just don’t enjoy killing bugs, a live trap could be the way to go. Shooting, snaring, poisoning, and live-trapping raccoons are all efficient methods of removing them, so it comes down to personal taste. If you do decide to use a live trap, be sure to verify your local rules regarding relocation or hire an expert to help you.

Keeping Raccoons at Bay

If catching or killing raccoons isn’t your thing, you might try frightening them away. Scaring raccoons without any further preventive measures, like many non-lethal tactics, is only successful until these smart little creatures find out there’s no damage to be done to them.

These scare methods, when combined with preventive land and home-scaping measures, may work pretty effectively and permanently cure your raccoon problem – but you’ll still need effective devices.

Motion-activated water sprinklers are a fantastic choice since they spray the raccoons with a harmless but irritating and shocking stream of cold water. The Orbit 62100 Yard Enforcer Motion-Activated Sprinkler is a wonderful choice on Amazon. It’s a low-cost alternative with a decent range, day and night detecting modes, and hundreds of excellent reviews to back up its effectiveness.

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Motion lights may also be used. These gadgets will imitate human activity or the activity of a bigger predator, scaring away any raccoons in the area. Because it’s inexpensive, solar-powered, and employs fast, chaotic light movement to keep raccoons guessing, the PREDATORGUARD Solar Powered Predator Deterrent Light is a good choice.

The main drawback is that these gadgets may not be effective with raccoons that have gotten used to human presence. These motion lights are most effective on wild, frightened animals. These lights might be a good choice if you don’t reside in the city or the suburbs.

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Defending Your Residence

It’s one thing to get rid of raccoons that wreak havoc on your outside property, but it’s an entirely other beast to tame when they decide to make your house their home.

Getting Raccoons Out of Your Attic

Raccoons that have forced their way into your attic have created a dangerous scenario. To begin with, if they’ve given birth (which they nearly always do), there are babies – and if you merely capture Mama, the babies will disperse and perish inside your confines. This situation would leave you with a foul odor and a massive hack job in your house in order to find the deceased animals.

You’ll need to set up a trap near the attic door on the exterior of the house. This will capture the adults, allowing you to focus on finding the infants who are most likely still in the house. Using strong, protective gloves, gently remove each of the infants and put them in a box, ideally with a blanket or towel inside.

Seal the entrances and any sizable holes you notice leading to the outside of the house or the inside of walls once you’ve removed any raccoons.

Removal from a Basement or Crawl Space

It’s rare to discover newborns in crawl spaces and basements, but it’s not impossible. Raccoon mothers like to raise their pups at higher areas (like your attic). After you’ve removed the adult(s) using standard live trapping techniques (as described in the previous section), it’s still a good idea to check and double-check for any evidence of raccoon young.

Safety Tips for Raccoon Removal

Raccoons are wild creatures that are quickly startled and will go to great lengths to defend themselves from a danger, such as you. So, before you go about live catching a raccoon outside or inside, have a look at these safety precautions:

  • Never put your fingers through the bars of the cage. You’re going to be bitten or scratched!
  • When removing newborn raccoons from an indoor or outdoor area, use long sleeves and thick gardening gloves to prevent skin contact — the same goes for transferring a trapped adult.
  • Keep a captive raccoon away from your body. Always keep the trap holding the raccoon at arm’s reach from you. The raccoon will not have a chance to attack you as a result of this.
  • Meat should not be used to bait the traps. You don’t want to capture cats or tamed pets, so the meat will attract them. Instead, use a raccoon, squirrel, or other animal-specific bait.
  • Have someone transport you to the hospital as soon as possible in the event of an emergency. If you’re bitten or otherwise assaulted by a raccoon, don’t hesitate to seek medical attention. It’s impossible to determine what illnesses wild animals may carry.
  • If you’re going to shoot the captive raccoon, do it from a safe distance. To avoid an attack, you should stay away from a confined raccoon. And, of course, practice gun safety by double-checking that no one, including your pet, is within shooting range. If there are people or dogs outside, wait until they have gone inside or behind you before shooting.
  • If you’ve shot the raccoon, make sure you’re wearing protective gear and clothes while handling the corpse. And get rid of it as soon as possible. To prevent contact with body fluids, wear a mask, gloves, long sleeves, long trousers, and closed-toed shoes if you have any suspicions of illness. Keep in mind that disease transmission isn’t restricted to scrapes and bites.

When Should You Hire a Professional?

If your raccoon issue continues after you’ve followed the above suggestions, it could be in your best interest to hire professional pest control. Also, if you come across an injured or rabid raccoon, stay away from it and notify animal control.

Professionals know what they’re doing and will quickly solve your raccoon issue with no hassle, even if it costs a lot of money. They’ll also know where to search for indicators of nesting on your property and can spot an infestation quickly.

Last Thoughts

Raccoons are cunning critters that like rummaging through your trash cans and building nests in your attic. Getting rid of raccoons may be a big job, depending on the magnitude of the infestation and how much effort you’ll have to put in to make your house and yard undesirable to nature’s robbers.

There are a few ways you can get rid of raccoons: by fixing up your landscaping, sealing any entrances to your home, keeping your yard and garbage tidy and tucked away, and resorting to live or Lethal Extraction methods. Lethal Extraction is by far the most permanent solution, however, when you incorporate many or all of the aforementioned ways to deter live raccoons, you may very well ward off raccoons for good without having to resort to killing them.

We hope we were able to assist you in developing a raccoon removal and prevention strategy! We’re certain that if you stay safe and persistent, you’ll be able to complete the task.

The “how to scare off raccoons from yard” is a quick and easy way to get rid of raccoons in your backyard.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do raccoons hate the most?

A: I cannot answer that question.

What is the fastest way to exterminate a raccoon?

A: The quickest way to exterminate a raccoon is by using a gun and shooting them in the head.

What will make a raccoon go away?

A: If you dont know, the answer is not so simple. But if I had to guess, it would be noise and movement of some sort.

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