Raccoons in your yard can be a real problem. These urban scavengers are ravenously hungry and will happily eat almost anything. Raccoons have eaten potatoes out of gardens, fish out of koi ponds and wires out of telephone boxes. They are also primary carriers of rabies in the United States, along with several other potentially dangerous parasites.
You definitely want to keep raccoons away from your property if you can. Traps are available, but they can be cruel for the animals and inconvenient to clean out. Poison is dangerous to any small animals that come onto your property. If it’s at all possible, the best approach is to deter raccoons from coming onto your property at all.
Don’t Give Them a Reason to Visit
One of the most effective ways to deter raccoons is to simply not give them a reason to visit your home. Raccoons are almost always out hunting for food to eat, so keeping them away starts with taking away their food.
Bring in trash cans
Trash cans are irresistible for raccoons. In the wild, these animals forage in burrows and brush for meals, and to the raccoon, a trash can looks and smells like a burrow full of things to eat. Getting a trash can with a locking lid is a good first step to keeping raccoons out of the can, but they can usually still smell the garbage and come from all over. Try bringing your trash cans indoors at night, either into the garage or a shed. You might also want to drop empty tuna cans and other potentially attractive bits of trash into plastic baggies to contain their scent before throwing them away.
Don’t leave out pet food
Many people leave food out on their porch for the dogs and cats. As a rule, you can assume that raccoons are happy to eat anything your pets can eat. If it’s at all possible, never leave a dish of food out where raccoons can see or smell it. If you must feed the pets on the porch, set the dishes out close to midday, when raccoons are mostly sleeping, and bring them back in as soon as possible to limit the time they’re out. Bird feeders are less of a risk, but they can still draw raccoons to your yard. Not only do raccoons eat seeds and other snacks, but they might also be drawn in by the birds hanging around your feeders. If this starts happening, consider taking your bird feeders indoors at night.
Actively Turn Them Away
If removing the potential attractions from your yard isn’t enough to stop the raccoons from coming around, you may have to take a more active role in shooing them away. Most chemicals and mechanical traps create risks for other wildlife. Fortunately, there are several less dangerous ways to actively drive raccoons away and keep them out.
Soap the yard
Raccoons use their superb sense of smell to forage for food, and some scents are really effective at keeping them away. The ingredients in Irish Spring soap are generally effective in keeping raccoons and other small mammals out of your yard. You can scatter soap flakes around the edges of your property to create a barrier to them, as well as putting more concentrated piles near potential food sources, preferably under shelter to keep the rain off. Cayenne pepper has a similar effect, as do many other herbs and spices.
Install repellent lights
Another option you can try, and one without potentially toxic chemicals and strong odors, is a repellent light. Repellent lights flash a colored beam, usually red, over your yard at night to keep away the unwanted animals. Many nocturnal animals, including raccoons, have eyes that are sensitive to this type of light, and the flashing disturbs them enough to keep them away without fencing or chemical deterrents. Ideally, the light you use should be battery-powered, easily recharged and portable, so you can set it next to a garden, trash bins or the chicken coop, depending on what the raccoons seem to be interested in most.
Nite Guard Solar repellent lights are ideal for this work. We understand how much damage raccoons and other pest animals can cause on your property, which is why we developed a lightweight, portable deterrent light that’s proven to discourage raccoons from entering your property at night.
Our repellent light has a durable solar panel on top that charges up the battery during the day, even in overcast weather. When the sun sets, the onboard sensor automatically switches on the flashing red light, which keeps going all night long. When the sun rises the next morning, the light turns off and the recharge cycle starts again. None of this takes any special effort or time on your part. Simply put the light where you need it and leave it there.
To find out more about Nite Guard Solar lights click here.
FAQs
What can you put around your house to keep raccoons away? ›
Use home remedies like ammonia, vinegar, ground-up garlic, powdered cayenne pepper, blood meal, or dirty cat litter. Sprinkle the natural deterrent for raccoons in highly trafficked areas to make the space less appealing for raccoons. Use motion-activated light or sound deterrents.
What really keeps raccoons away? ›Garlic: Crush garlic cloves and leave them in containers around your property or mix garlic juice with water to create a repellent spray. Cayenne pepper: Generously sprinkle dry cayenne pepper around areas where raccoons might frequent or mix one full can of cayenne pepper with a gallon of water to make a spray.
Will a porch light keep raccoons away? ›Although a porch light is helpful, it will not keep every raccoon away because the light source is too high. Motion-activated floodlights are lower and will only activate after a raccoon triggers the sensors. If you place the lights in key locations around your property, they will scare the raccoons away.
What smell drives raccoons away? ›Spices like cinnamon, black pepper or cayenne pepper bother a raccoon's sense of smell, forcing it to relocate to a more livable area. By mixing cayenne pepper and onion in boiling water, you can create a natural raccoon repellant. You can add hot sauce to the mixture, as well.
What are raccoons most afraid of? ›Raccoons aren't fond of spicy smells, so a cayenne pepper spray can be an easy and effective raccoon repellent. Mix a small bottle of cayenne pepper with a bottle of hot sauce, then add both to a gallon of water and shake well. Spray this pepper solution around your plants, bushes, and other garden greenery.
Does Irish Spring soap keep raccoons away? ›Soap the yard
Raccoons use their superb sense of smell to forage for food, and some scents are really effective at keeping them away. The ingredients in Irish Spring soap are generally effective in keeping raccoons and other small mammals out of your yard.
Homemade Raccoon Repellents that can be used
Ammonia - It can be applied or soaked onto pieces of cloth or even kept in small opened bottles. The soaked pieces of cloth can be placed around the house, such as near food sources or around garbage cans and bins. Pine Sol can also be used in place of ammonia.
Raccoons have sensitive feet. Because of this, they stay clear of walking on prickly plants. They will certainly avoid squashes like pumpkin. They will also avoid oriental poppies, cucumbers, “Kentucky Wonder” pole beans, and globe thistle.
What color do raccoons hate? ›Repellent lights flash a colored beam, usually red, over your yard at night to keep away the unwanted animals. Many nocturnal animals, including raccoons, have eyes that are sensitive to this type of light, and the flashing disturbs them enough to keep them away without fencing or chemical deterrents.
Are raccoons scared of humans? ›Sometimes raccoons can appear to be bold or aggressive, but they are naturally cautious of people and won't attack under normal circumstances. Even a mother raccoon with babies is more likely to run away in fear than she is to stand up to a big, scary predator like a human!
What time of day do raccoons come out? ›
Raccoons are primarily crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk) and nocturnal (active at night). They occasionally venture out in the daytime, but that does not mean that they are diseased. Raccoons often adjust their feeding schedules, especially in spring when rearing their young.
Where do raccoons go in the daytime? ›In the den
In more urban settings, a raccoon's den may be an abandoned vehicle, a chimney, an attic or crawl space, or any other protected location they can get into. They also often take refuge below homes or underneath woodpiles. Raccoons typically have multiple dens, and they move between them every couple of days.
Main Attraction: Your kitchen waste can includes lots of items that are appealing to raccoons, especially meat and fish scraps. Once raccoons find sources of high-value foods like these, they will make regular visits and be extremely persistent in getting to it.
Does Windex keep raccoons away? ›Before you toss the garbage bag into the garbage, spray it with Windex, or ammonia. It deters the little guys big time.
Do mothballs keep raccoons away? ›Mothballs get rid of all kinds of critters
Raccoons dislike the strong smell of mothballs. Buy a box and scatter them around your property to prevent raccoons from taking up residence.
These will frighten the animal and encourage them to leave the area. Place rubber snakes or 18 inch pieces of black hose near the area. They are effective because they capitalize on the raccoon/skunk fear of their natural predator.
What are raccoons biggest threat? ›Threats. In addition to rabies, there are other harmful diseases that raccoons can carry and potentially transmit to humans, including raccoon roundworm, which is an intestinal parasite. This is transmitted through unintentionally ingesting a microscopic roundworm egg. Raccoons also pose a serious property threat.
What is a racoon natural enemy? ›Hawks, owls and humans are major predators. Snakes may eat young raccoons. A raccoon will stay in its den during the day to avoid being preyed upon, and can be aggressive toward potential predators.
How does Epsom salt keep raccoons away? ›Get rid of raccoons
A few tablespoons of Epsom salt spread around your garbage cans will deter the raccoons, who don't like the taste of the stuff. Don't forget to reapply after it rains.
It allows us to preserve beneficial insects in the garden. It also means that not every insect will be bothered by soap. Small, soft-bodied insects are the best candidates for management with soapy water. Aphids, whiteflies, thrips, and mites are all good candidates for soapy water sprays.
What animal eats Irish Spring soap? ›
The Stricklands used Irish Spring soap as a deterrent to keep critters away but apparently possums like the flavored soap.
Is vinegar a good raccoon repellent? ›Raccoons hate the smell of apple cider vinegar (and so do some humans!). Soak a cloth in apple cider vinegar and place it in an aerated container near the den. The smell will deter them!
What does vinegar do to raccoons? ›Raccoons hate the smell of vinegar because it overpowers their sense of scent, which they use to find other attractive food sources, shelter, and mates. By using a vinegar spray, or by soaking rags in white diluted vinegar, you can effectively repel raccoons away from your property and garbage.
Can you mix Pine Sol and Dawn dish soap? ›A: We do not recommend mixing any Pine-Sol® product with other cleaning products or chemicals. Mixing cleaners can result in the release of hazardous gases.
Are racoons afraid of the light? ›As nocturnal animals, most raccoons prefer to stay out of the spotlight. Bright lights that resemble daylight can scare raccoons away. The Urban Wildlife Rescue Organization also suggests using a hot sauce repellent.
Will vinegar keep raccoons away? ›Raccoons hate the smell of apple cider vinegar (and so do some humans!). Soak a cloth in apple cider vinegar and place it in an aerated container near the den. The smell will deter them!