Raccoons may look like cute, furry masked bandits, but they can cause a lot of damage if they gain access to your home. Once they’ve taken up residence, the creatures are hard to get rid of. Thankfully, there are several simple things you can do to deter raccoons from entering your property. Try using these five methods for raccoon control.

Use Lights and Sounds

Raccoons are naturally nocturnal, so they prefer dark, quiet spaces. While it doesn’t always work, it’s a good idea to make your yard unappealing to raccoons. Install floodlights or lights with motion-activated sensors to keep the animals away from your house. It can also be helpful to make sure your property gets a lot of loud foot traffic. 

Plant Cucumbers

Raccoons are notorious vegetable garden bandits, so it may sound strange that planting cucumbers is often an effective deterrent. The animals hate the smell of cucumbers and won’t come near them, so planting this vegetable along the side of your house is a good way to keep raccoons out. It’s also a great strategy for keeping the creatures out of your garden! Just be sure to plant cucumbers along the edges of the garden.

Protect Your Garbage

Raccoons often forage for scraps of food left in trash cans, and once they find a reliable source of food, they will keep coming back for more. It’s best to keep the animals from discovering that there may be scraps of food in trash cans. If possible, keep your trash cans locked up in a garage. If this trick isn’t feasible for you, try installing a lock on the trash can or keep a heavy object on the lid. This strategy may be effective even if a raccoon has already gotten used to eating out of your trash can.

Keep Dog Food Inside/Away

Pet food is an easy meal for a raccoon. Instead of leaving food outside for your pets, try to feed them exclusively inside. If this isn’t an option, consider watching your dogs while they eat so you know no food is left over. Raccoons are capable of climbing fences so even feeding your dogs in a fenced-in backyard is no guarantee that raccoons won’t find the food. If you eliminate the food source, you can deter raccoons because it isn’t easy for them to score a quick meal.

Cover Water Sources

All animals need water to survive. Many creatures rely on lakes, ponds, rivers and creeks for hydration, but some animals look for alternative sources of water. If you have water troughs for livestock or leave out water for outside cats and dogs, you may be supplying raccoons with an easy water source. You can remedy this problem easily by making sure that any sources of water around your house are always covered when they are not under your supervision. It isn’t feasible to cover a creek that runs through your property, but you can easily eliminate buckets of standing rainwater.

Call a Professional for Raccoon Removal

If you’re already sharing your home with a furry roommate, it’s hard to convince the raccoon to leave. The creature has easy access to food, shelter and warmth, so it won’t want to leave and could inflict thousands of dollars worth of damages if allowed to stay. It’s never a good idea to try to remove a raccoon yourself because either you or the animal is likely to get hurt. Trust the experts at Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control to get rid of the raccoons without harming them. We have the skills and knowledge required to perform effective wildlife removal in Richmond Hill without harming any animals. Contact us today to schedule an appointment.