Raccoons troubling a lot!

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LisaHahne

New Member
Has anyone here ever had raccoon problems?
I have a really bad raccoon problem in my neighborhood and I just don't know how to make them go away. They ransack my garbage worse than crows do and they freak me out. Just the other night when I was coming home, a raccoon pushed past me after sniffling through some garbage I left outside. I think we were both equally scared. Anyway, it's been really annoying.
One of my neighbors had a family of raccoons live in their shed. She didn't want to evacuate them because they had babies. I had never seen such a disgusting amount of poop in my life when we walked in there. It smelled strongly of a raccoon. They tore down that shed when the babies grew up.
My last straw was when they destroyed my garden. I built a square foot garden and grew a beautiful crop of corn. I woke up one morning to find stalks and half-gnawed corn everywhere. That was it!
I have heard that raccoons have the same taste buds as humans do so that probably explains their penchant for going through our garbage and garden.
Does anyone here have any suggestions for how to get rid of raccoons? Should I go on and call a raccoon removal service to get rid of it?
 

RonsGarden

Super Moderator
Staff member
Sorry Lisa! Best thing to do is secure your garbage cans...Coons are smart so metal bins are a wise choice with a locking lid! If they do not have easy access to your garbage they will not return.....as to vegetable gardens...it is hit and miss with coons...they do have a sweet tooth! A removal service will not remove coons unless they get into your house....or if the animals are rabid!
You will need to accept them as part of the wildlife in your neighborhood!
 

jamesh5918

New Member
I agree removal isn't the option. Making things uninviting and as hard for the coons as possible is. We had a problem with them pooping in our pool. Apparently they like to go to the bathroom in the water. Our neighbor down the street has a pond and reccomended a fake alligator head that floats and moves around the water. Our gator "Chomp," as we call him, actually looks pretty real and has spooked some of our guests. It stopped the coons from eating his koi. It worked for us and also helps to keep ducks and geese away as well.
 

bob

Administrator
Staff member
Sorry Lisa! Best thing to do is secure your garbage cans...Coons are smart so metal bins are a wise choice with a locking lid! If they do not have easy access to your garbage they will not return.....as to vegetable gardens...it is hit and miss with coons...they do have a sweet tooth! A removal service will not remove coons unless they get into your house....or if the animals are rabid!
You will need to accept them as part of the wildlife in your neighborhood!

Raccoons are funny critters. I now have a motion sensor camera and light on my house. Most nights of the week, the raccoons wander across my driveway. What's really funny is that one of them often comes up on the porch to look for food. I don't have a dog, there is NEVER any food on my porch. But they still like to check I guess. They wander through the yard. My garbage cans are too tall to reach the lid and too slippery to climb, so they never bother them.

I don't mind them, they're not hurting anything and I think they're kinda cute. So I've taken an "If you don't bother me, I won't bother you." approach to them. Like you said, they're part of the neighborhood wildlife.
 


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