Sure the masked face makes raccoons adorable.
However, they don’t seem so cute when raccoons infest your property or home. There’s not only the danger of transmitting harmful diseases, but they can also destroy your home and garden.
The good news is that you can get rid of the raccoons yourself. Here are a few valuable tips and ways to do it.
Ultrasound animal repellents emit sounds in frequencies that only raccoons detect and not humans. Some devices even combine sound with light to scare off the raccoons.
They work best if placed in areas where you expect raccoons, like over garbage cans, in the soil, or balcony floor. As raccoons are easily shaken up, even devices that emit loud sounds with flashing bright lights help.
Raccoons hate the strong smell of mint oil, camphor oil, eucalyptus oil, and methyl salicylate. There are now trash bags with the minty fresh scent of these herbs available for your kitchen scraps and leftovers.
The bags mask the leftovers smell.
As racoons hate the smell, it keeps raccoons away. Besides, these natural aromatic additions mean the bags don’t pose a health risk to anyone.
The raccoon’s sense of smell is rather sensitive, and they are easily offended by some smells, including spices like pepper. So making a natural raccoon repeller using kitchen spices helps get rid of raccoons.
Mix a gallon of water, a bottle of hot sauce and a few drops of liquid detergent and fill in a spray bottle. Spray on raccoons, or create a perimeter to keep raccoons away.
However avoid spraying it on places people or pets may touch. While the spray isn’t poisonous, it can irritate the eyes if rubbed accidentally.
A spray of water is the perfect raccoon repellent. However, you can’t keep watering your garden. You end up wasting water, overwatering your plants, and a high water bill.
The more practical solution lies in installing a motion detector sprinkler that sprays water on detecting movement.
Most sprinklers let you adjust settings to turn on when raccoons are most active, which is at night. Don’t forget to set the sensor at raccoon height so that it easily detects its movement.
Did you know that raccoons are particular about peeing elsewhere so that the odor doesn’t interfere with their eating and sleeping?
You can use this fact to your advantage but not with pee or poop.
One of its components, ammonia which’s easily found in home improvement stores, does the job. Just place ammonia-dipped in places the raccoons frequent.
You can alternatively set a bowl of ammonia at your home’s entry points. While you may not like ammonia’s strong smell, it’s a safe way to keep raccoons away.
Instead of focusing on keeping raccoons away, try preventing them from getting into your trash in the first place. It helps because they realize there’s no point in hanging around in your property once there’s no access to food.
And the best way to do this is by securing your strong, durable, and heavy trash can. Also, place the can on a level and stable ground to prevent it from tipping over.
Raccoons come to your yard mainly for food. So getting rid of any food sources can help keep them away. Some practical preventive measures include:
Raccoons are also attracted to the grains, nuts, and seeds in your bird feeder. While you can’t stop feeding birds, you can:
With the chimney being a common entry point for raccoons, sealing it prevents them from entering. A spark arrester or meshed chimney cap serves the purpose well.
But as raccoons tend to give birth in chimneys, first ensure no family is living in it before sealing. Raccoons also like other openings leading to dark and safe places. So cover all sized holes, and seal all cracks and holes, with wood or concrete.
Appropriate fencing also helps keep pests out, but simple fences won’t serve the purpose. The jolts of electric fences effectively repel raccoons and discourage them from entering.
You can alternatively add a single electrified wire to your existing ordinary fence. Activating the fence only from sunset to sunrise helps you save on utility bills.
Of course, you can always have professionals get rid of the raccoons if you don’t have the time or patience! Expert pest control services have the expertise and equipment to capture raccoons and handle them if they get aggressive.
|
|
|
|---|
