How to get rid of raccoons

So you’ve got raccoons and now you want to know how to get rid of them? The tips offered below are some solid home protection strategies that will work for all wildlife trying to enter your home, not just nuisance raccoons. If you need to hire the big guns, always consider AAAC Wildlife Removal for your raccoon removal needs.

get rid of raccoon tampa
Getting rid of Tampa Raccoons is never easy

Close up your home or yard

Keeping raccoons out of your home, attic, or yard can be a challenging prospect. Physical boundaries around your property are the best way to keep them out.

Seal openings

Raccoons have an incredible sense of smell that they use to discover food, and they won’t hesitate for a second to wander inside your home if they can smell and easily access their next dinner.

Seal up any openings you find around the siding, foundation, or roofline of your home. Any outlet that is three inches wide or bigger can be scratched open by a raccoon, making an ideal passageway for them.

Locating all of these yourself can be a big challenge, and you may want to consider hiring expert Wildlife Control Professionals, like AAAC Wildlife Removal

Build a tall fence

So, first up, Raccoons are amazing climbers. They can easily scale most fences without too much trouble.

So why the recommendation?

Well, solid fences can actually be quite effective if you do a couple of things.

  1. Don’t let any tree limbs hang over the fence. Raccoons can easily scale trees, so it isn’t much trouble for them to “go out on a limb” so to speak and clear your fence.
  2. Keep bushes, brush, and woodpiles off of your fence. These things are basically raccoon step ladders, so if they’ve got a good reason to be in your yard, you can bet that they will use them to scale the fence.

Use screens around vents and gardens:

Wire mesh is one of the best ways to keep greedy raccoon paws off of precious plants and out of your house. Consider using fine mesh screens to secure your garden box.

Raccoons will be able to look and not touch (or eat), meaning they will quickly lose interest and move on to easier food sources. This logic applies to things like vents around your home.

Those openings are vital for your home, but they are extremely inviting entry points for woodland creatures. Adding fine wire mesh lets those openings stay open while keeping raccoons out.

As intelligent and maddening as raccoons can be, they are still prey animals at the end of the day. While they might be bold about approaching your home and breaking inside, they will quickly retreat once they sense they are in peril.

You can try to deploy a few scare tactics to ward off these critters. Be warned, these strategies usually only work in the short term, as raccoons can quickly figure out if something is a real threat.

If you keep seeing them return, consider calling AAAC Wildlife Removal to trap and remove them.

Motion-sensor gadgets

Movement triggered sprinklers, lights, and ultrasonic devices are generally accessible with movement sensor technology and can help drive away raccoons when they’re set off. A sudden bright light, sound, or stream of water will definitely set them off running.

Sudden noises

If you’re home and you see a raccoon drawing near through a window, you can scare it away with a speaker, blow a horn, or even your voice by shouting at it.

Pets

Raccoons have been known to battle with felines and little canines. However, you can bring it outside to stare down the raccoon and ward it away. Be careful though, a rabid raccoon can transmit rabies to your pet if they come in contact.

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Chris Wirt

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