Are you looking for practical ways to get rid of raccoons trapped in your attic and other areas of your property? Your reasons are genuine.

Raccoons come with a lot of risks. One of the most common is rabies which can easily transmit to your pets.

Apart from rabies and other communicable diseases, raccoons are also known as vandals. They will cause significant havoc when their activities are left unchecked.

We seek to show you just how to get rid of your raccoon problems. This article contains several such wildlife control methods.

Are Raccoons Dangerous?

Raccoons aren’t only known for the damages they cause. The diseases they carry can be easily spread to humans, especially through their poop. Hence the need to first identify these.

The most common of these is rabies. However, several others exist. They include Canine Distemper, Raccoon Roundworm, Giardia Lamblia, Salmonella, Tularemia, and Tetanus.

Others are Rickettsia rickettsii, Leptospirosis, and several more. Some of these can be fatal, while others aren’t. Focusing on the source is the most effective way to get rid of the problem.

What Raccoons Feed On

To get rid of a pest problem, nutrition is one of the things to be taken into consideration.

Raccoons are omnivorous. This makes them very adaptable to human surroundings. Your garbage presents a perfect spot for raccoons to gorge themselves on.

Getting rid of them requires first identifying these food sources. Secondly, you’d have to eliminate them. Proper sanitation is one of the ways this can be achieved.

Common Damages Caused By Raccoons

Raccoons are a risk to have around. They cause significant damage to homes.

But to be more specific, such damages will include extensive damage to insulation. This can be very dangerous because fires may result. Ventilation systems are also targeted by raccoons.

Generally, your home suffers significant damage whenever raccoons are around.

How to Identify the Presence of Raccoons

You need to know if raccoons are nearby first. This needs to be established before any approach is adopted. First, raccoons are nocturnal creatures. This means most homeowners will hardly notice their presence. But all hope isn’t lost. There are several ways to know.

One of the easiest is through their tracks. Raccoons leave footprints that look similar to humans (babies). This is just one way to identify. A lot of damage is left behind too!

These include damage to air duct systems, chewed electrical installations, gnaw marks around entry points, attic insulation damage, etc.

These and more are signs of raccoon presence. On the other hand,  a pest technician can help with the inspection. These are well-trained and experienced professionals who understand raccoon behavior.

So how do you scare away raccoons?

Best Ways to Get Rid of Raccoons in Your Yard for Good

There are so many ways to take back full control of your property. This section will discuss some of such methods.

The methods you choose are entirely up to you. You may also decide to use a combination of any as long as it gives you lasting relief.

  • Seal your Garbage Securely

When raccoons aren’t up in your attic, garbage is their next meeting point. Once in, they scavenge the trashcans in search of food. This creates an eyesore as the contents are scattered about.

But this doesn’t have to so do it? You can prevent this by securing your trashcan.

Raccoons will try their best to unlock your garbage. They are so creative about doing this. But locks will get the job done. An additional way to secure your garbage can is by pouring some ammonia on the lid.

Doing this will break their persistence.

  • Build a Fence Round your Property

Building a fence around your property may be the solution. But… raccoons are great climbers. So what do you do?

Well, it depends on the type of fence you build. Such fences will have to be smooth and slippery as well as tall enough. Doing this makes it even more difficult to climb over.

How about raccoons digging under your fence? There’s a strong possibility of that happening. Hence the need to provide a countermeasure. This will involve making your fence go deep enough into the ground.

How deep is enough? At least a foot deep. This acts as a barrier to stop them from gaining entrance to your home.

You can also add rollers at the top of your fence. This makes it even more difficult to gain entry. If raccoons can climb to the top of your fence, it will roll them off!

  • Install an Electric Fence

This is another fence type you can install. But electricity shouldn’t be strong enough to kill raccoons. It should only be strong enough to jolt them off.

There are cheap electric fences in the market. You can easily choose what fits your budget.

  • Trim Off Tree Branches

Low hanging tree branches around your home provide a perfect ladder for raccoons. These will need to be trimmed off to keep raccoons at bay. There should be enough space (at least 6 feet) between your roof and trees.

Trees also shed a lot of fruits. Such fruits are delicacies for raccoons. These would need to be cleaned up to make your surroundings uninviting.

  • Use a One-Way Door Raccoon Excluder

This is one creative way to get rid of raccoons. But to do this, you’d have to find the raccoon’s entry point into your attic. This works by allowing the raccoon out but not in.

So, for instance, if a raccoon goes out to scavenge for food, such modified openings will allow it only to go out.

A popular one-way door raccoon excluder is the Tomahawk Excluder sold on Amazon.

It has been designed to be easily installed. That way, you can get rid of your raccoon problem. But certain situations may come up. One of which is the presence of a baby raccoon in your attic.

Under such situations, you’d need to physically get in to remove them. You’ll need to wear a protective covering while doing so. This will include gloves and boots to avoid touching raccoon droppings.

  • Use of Raccoon Traps

Traps are effective ways to rid your home of raccoons. To be more specific, such traps must be humane traps.

Traps are only effective when you know the paths and entry points used by raccoons. You also need bait. Raccoons are omnivorous and would feed on almost anything. But what if your trap ends up catching a cat?

The best way to avoid this will be to use certain baits. Cats shouldn’t find such baits attractive. The best bait we recommend is marshmallows.

For those interested in how to scare raccoons off a roof, you can set traps for them at strategic points.

  • Sealing Up All Entry Points

After removing raccoons from your home, there’s the need to seal off all such entry points. This is necessary because removal alone is likely to be a short-lived solution.

You need to diligently search out such openings. These should be properly sealed to help prevent the problem from continuing.

Using Natural Homemade Raccoon Repellents

There are additional ways to rid your home of raccoons. These include natural home remedies. Such methods are largely safe as well as cost-effective. But above all, they are effective in getting rid of the problem.

A few of these natural remedies for raccoons include;

  • Homemade Soap

Homemade soap is a simple raccoon remedy you can easily deploy with great results. You need a liter or 2 of water to make this. But first, you’d need to blend your soap.

The blended soap is mixed in the water and poured into a spray bottle. The contents should be sprayed around your garden. This has a repelling effect on raccoons.

You can spray this as often as necessary for the best results.

  • Get a Dog

Bringing dogs into the picture is a cost-effective way to take back your home from raccoons. An even better alternative is trained dogs.

Such dogs can be unleashed on raccoons. These are trained not to injure raccoons but to scare them away.

This, coupled with the methods listed above will give a marked improvement.

  • Epsom Salt

Epsom salt is an effective home remedy to use against raccoons. Plus, this salt is highly beneficial to plants. All you need to do is spread this around your yard or garden. But you should be specific about identifying and applying to the most used raccoon paths.

How does it work? Raccoons hate its smell. They would rather keep it off than have to live with it.

Despite its efficacy, its effects are short-lived, especially during the rainy season. As such, you’d have to reapply whenever the rains are over.

  • Garlic

Garlic has a strong pungent smell. This is detested by raccoons and can be used to get rid of them.

Get some garlic powder and sprinkle it around your garden or yard. Garlic is non-toxic and won’t pose harm to your pets or kids.

These are some of the efficient ways to get rid of raccoons naturally. They are also non-toxic as well as cheaper alternatives compared to other extermination methods.

Hire Raccoon Exterminators

Do you know you can remove raccoons for free?

If you feel all the above strategies are overwhelming consider putting a call to pest control companies. They go about their job with the utmost professionalism.

This begins with inspection. And followed by the treatment proper. You only need to state the problem.

Here are the average prices they charge for raccoon removal.

Several raccoon removal solutions have been proffered and the best recommendations are shared in the options above. Looking for how to get rid of raccoons? There you have it.

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