Quck answer
Raccoons can be a nuisance when they start digging in your yard. To deter them, try the following methods:
1. Secure your garbage bins: Raccoons are attracted to food, so make sure your trash cans have tight-fitting lids or use bungee cords to secure them.
2. Eliminate food sources: Remove fallen fruits, nuts, and bird feeders from your yard. These can attract raccoons.
3. Install motion-activated lights: Raccoons are nocturnal animals, so bright lights can startle them and discourage them from entering your yard.
4. Use a motion-activated sprinkler: Raccoons dislike water, so setting up a motion-activated sprinkler can deter them from digging.
5. Seal off potential den sites: Block access to crawl spaces, attics, and sheds to prevent raccoons from making a home on your property.
By implementing these simple measures, you can deter raccoons from digging in your yard and protect your property.
Raccoons are smart animals that can easily adjust to living with humans. They are known to cause significant damage to our yards, gardens, and even structures. They also carry harmful diseases that can be transmitted to humans and pets. If you notice a raccoon hanging around your yard for more than one or two nights, it’s time to take action.
Identify the Culprit
Before you can successfully deter a raccoon, you need to make sure it’s actually the one causing the damage. Other animals like skunks, moles, voles, gophers, and groundhogs can also cause holes in your yard. Raccoons, however, use their front paws to dig, tear off chunks of sod, and flip them over to find grubs and other insects. Look for additional clues like droppings, tracks, and feeding evidence to confirm it’s a raccoon.
Remove the Food Source
The main reason raccoons dig up lawns is to find food. They love grubs, so removing them from your yard will encourage raccoons to look elsewhere. Instead of using chemical grub control products, which can harm beneficial insects and earthworms, try using beneficial nematodes. These microscopic roundworms are safe for you, your pets, and the environment, and they naturally control lawn pests like grubs. Apply them according to the package instructions in the spring and fall.
Other Tips
Combine multiple tactics to make your yard less inviting to raccoons. Try using motion-activated sprinklers, bright lights, or loud noises to scare them away. Cover your garbage cans and compost bins securely, and make sure there’s no accessible food or water sources in your yard. Change up your tactics every few days to keep the raccoons guessing.
How to Get Rid of Raccoons
- To eliminate other food sources, ensure that your garbage cans and compost bins have lids that raccoons cannot remove. Use bungee cords to secure them. Clean up underneath bird feeders and bring them inside at night. Keep your pets’ food and water dishes indoors overnight.
- Install motion-activated sprinklers in your yard to water your lawn while scaring away raccoons. These sprinklers can detect movement up to 60 feet away and use only 2 to 3 cups of water per spray.
- If you have a dog that can be confined to your property, let it outside when you suspect raccoon activity. Raccoons dislike barking dogs and will avoid properties that feature them.
- If raccoons are particularly stubborn and resist leaving your property, consider contacting a licensed wildlife removal specialist.
Tip
Research the regulations and legal status of raccoons in your area, as they may differ from place to place. Raccoon management may also require local or state permits.
Warning
Raccoons are wild animals that can defend themselves viciously. Do not corner or attempt to touch a wild raccoon, or try to keep it as a pet.