Depending on the location, every household gets confronted with some challenges that have to be dealt with to be able to call that place a home. When it comes to raccoons, you’ll want to find a raccoon repellent pretty quickly and get them out of there as they can really cause you trouble. With that in mind, we put together a guide to help you live your life without unwanted furry friends.
Do you know that rustling sound that you hear near your garbage cans at night? Next time when you think that’s only a random wind gust, think again, because your yard may just have become the favorite feeding spot of your neighborly-friendly raccoon. While they seem cute, they can be bothersome to homeowners and can even carry diseases so be mindful around them.
Seal Off Your Home and Yard
When it comes to raccoons, it’s wiser to try to prevent the situation from occurring altogether. Physical barriers around your property or the specific areas that you want to protect can eliminate the entry points and even deter them from trying to get in.
Step one would be to seal any holes you can find. Raccoons have a great sense of smell and they won’t hesitate to dig their way inside your house if they can sense their next meal is in there. Any hole that’s around three inches wide or larger can be scratched open by them, and they’ll pretty much pop out of nowhere. You can use things like wood, concrete or caulk to cover the holes.
Also, keep in mind that raccoons are natural climbers that often use the trees to their advantage. Therefore, a regular fence might not always get the job done. What you can do is make a great investment and get an electric fence, which is a great solution for your unwanted furry guests and any other wildlife.
Furthermore, make use of barrier screen to cover up the purposeful openings that exist in any house. These can include your chimney opening, side house vents and even the space that is leading up to your crawl space. Use simple materials like mesh or screen to place a barrier over those openings and save yourself a one-on-one meeting with a raccoon when going for a snack.
Scare Tactics
Saying that raccoons are smart and resourceful is not an overstatement by any means. Be that as it may, however, they are still wild animals. While not afraid of coming close to humans or human dwellings, they’ll run for the hills if they sense any kind of danger. Even if they prove to be diehard fans of “Never back down” and they keep coming, make sure to switch up these tactics to keep them scared.
A motion-sensor device like sprinklers, lights or ultrasonic devices can help in routing them off your property. Since raccoons are not stealthy animals by any means and the sensors will activate at the first hint of moving, a good scare from your devices can be enough to make them flee.
Noise is also a powerful tool in your arsenal. If you can actually see the raccoon approaching through a window, you can scare it off by yelling at it or using something like a speaker or a blow horn.
If you have any pets, they can also be of help against the intruder. Even though raccoons have been known to fight small cats or dogs, a larger one can easily intimidate it. If you own such a dog, bring it outside to face down the furry burglar and scare it away.
Treatment Methods
Another important step in removing the raccoon-ish threat is fixing the consequences of their actions. They are always scavenging through the trash and leaving a mess behind them, while also not afraid of picking up fights with your pets.
Unlike other “predators” such as opossums or skunks, raccoons are also fond of getting into your basements or attics. Therefore, the potential damage they can do far exceeds that of the other two. If they do pay a nightly visit to your home, you’ll probably hear scratching noises while they’re awake and searching for food.
Make sure you address the root cause of what’s drawing the raccoons to your place or you’ll just have a puncher’s chance to stop them from returning. You have to be careful never to have overflowing trash cans and that they are properly sealed, with no cracks or holes.
If you ever have a barbecue outside or any other activity that involves food, promptly clean and dispose of any evidence that might draw the nocturnal visitors that you are so struggling to avoid. Also, if you own any birds or fish you might need to invest in some protection for them as raccoons are also attracted to their food and might even hunt the fish if they are hungry enough.
Trapping
If they aren’t finding much food, raccoons will eventually move on from your property. But if your message still does not get through to them, you might want to look at some trapping options. Cage traps are a surefire way to remove them if you have the heart for this, even though you’ll still need to pair this measure with the preventive ones.
Before buying a trap take your time to look into your state or country’s regulations regarding animal safety and containment, as you may need to obtain a permit or there might be a specific way you’re allowed to catch and release a raccoon.
A pro tip would be to place any kind of ball or pet toy inside the cage so that the raccoon can release its stress with it and not get injured trying to escape the trap. Until you figure out what to do with it, a less stressful environment is still the decent thing to do.
If the animal is making abnormal noises or has extreme moods, such as very lethargic or very aggressive, call a professional immediately to help remove it from your property and give it the help it needs. These signs can indicate the raccoon might have rabies, which is very dangerous for anyone unlucky enough to be bitten.
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