Raccoons often live in urban areas and look for food in people’s yards. They are smart and curious, seek out food from easily accessible sources, and can create a mess and cause destruction.
There is no way to keep all raccoons out of your yard at all times, unless you want to install a high, heavy-duty fence. You will have better results if you make some changes to make your yard less attractive so raccoons will look elsewhere for food. Here are some tips on how to remove food sources from your yard to make it less attractive to raccoons.
How to Avoid Drawing Raccoons to Your Yard
One common source of food for raccoons is trash cans. You can keep raccoons out of your garbage by keeping the cans inside your house or garage until shortly before the trash is collected. Strap the lids on the cans with bungee cords so raccoons cannot pull them off. You can also try locks or heavy covers to keep raccoons out of your garbage.
Pet food left outdoors can also attract raccoons. Feed your pets indoors if possible. If your pets live outdoors all the time and you leave food outside, bring it in at night to avoid attracting raccoons.
Bird feeders are attractive food sources that raccoons find in many people’s yards. If you have a bird feeder, you may find that raccoons try to get to the seeds. Put the bird feeder in a high place where it will be more difficult for raccoons to get to it, or consider getting rid of it if that doesn’t work.
If you have a pond with fish in your yard, raccoons can see that as an easy food source. You can keep raccoons out of your pond by putting large gauge steel mesh over or in the pond. The fish will be able to hide in and under it, and it will keep raccoons out.
Have the Raccoons Trapped and Relocated
If you have tried these tactics and they did not work, you may need to have the raccoons trapped and relocated. You should not try to do this yourself because you could get bitten and raccoons can carry rabies.
Call the professionals at Anderson Wildlife Control. We will live-trap and relocate the raccoons to keep them from coming back into your yard. We use humane and environmentally friendly methods and do not harm any of the animals we capture. Contact Anderson Wildlife Control today for an estimate.
