| Key Takeaways |
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| • Cut off food: Secure trash, and bring pet food and bird feeders in at night. Experts call this the most important step. • Fence your garden: Electric or woven-wire fencing can help keep raccoons away from your crops. • Call a pro for raccoons indoors: Raccoons in attics or walls may have babies in the den, so let a wildlife removal service handle them. |
The best way to keep raccoons out of your yard is to remove the food, water, and shelter they’re after. The wildlife experts we interviewed agree that repellents and gadgets rarely work for long. Lights and sprinklers can help guard a small area, but cutting off food and cover is what makes a raccoon move on.
Raccoons are cute until they tip your trash and dig up your lawn. Here are a few humane ways to evict these grubby little roommates.
Lawn Love’s yard cleanup keeps shrubs neat and debris picked up so raccoons have fewer places to hide.
9 ways to keep raccoons out of your yard
To keep raccoons out of your yard, remove the food, water, and shelter they want, then add deterrents.
Eliminating food is the best strategy, says Roger A. Baldwin, Ph.D., professor of Cooperative Extension at the University of California, Davis. With no food and no hiding cover, “they likely won’t hang out for long in the yard.”
What raccoons want and how to take it away:
| What raccoons want | Where they find it | Fix |
| Food | Trash, compost, bird feeders, pet bowls, gardens, and lawn grubs | Seal trash, bring food in at night, and treat grubs |
| Water | Bird baths, ponds, pools, and pet bowls | Cover or empty water sources at night |
| Shelter | Crawl spaces, thick brush, and yard clutter | Block openings and clear debris |
1. Secure trash cans
Raccoons will tip cans or pry open lids to reach your trash, their top food source.
Keep trash cans tightly sealed:
Buy a lock for the lid
Tie the lid down with bungee cords
Weigh the lid down with cinder blocks
Store cans in a garage or shed
Bag smelly waste, such as raw meat, to contain the odor.
2. Remove possible food sources
Raccoons also find food in compost piles, bird feeders, pet bowls, and under nut or fruit trees.
For compost piles: Use a compost bin with a secure lid, or an electric fence, since raccoons climb regular fencing.
For bird feeders: Bring feeders inside at night, or hang them from a thin pole raccoons can’t climb.
For pet food bowls: Feed pets indoors, or bring bowls in before dark.
For nut and fruit trees: Clean up fallen fruit and nuts daily.
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3. Protect your fruits and veggies
Put a barrier between raccoons and your garden. Sometimes what’s growing in your garden is the only thing drawing raccoons in, says Cory Farnsworth, extension assistant professor and Grand County director at Utah State University Extension in Moab, Utah.
You can’t remove that food source, so block access instead. Baldwin says electric fencing around high-value areas, such as a vegetable garden, can keep raccoons out.
Where it’s allowed, run a single strand of electric garden wire 4 to 8 inches off the ground around raised beds. Be careful, though: an electric fence could be dangerous if you have outdoor pets or small children who play in your yard.
It’s also not bulletproof.
“If the animal is persistent enough, electric fencing won’t always stop the raccoon or other pest from entering,” Farnsworth says.
If an electric fence isn’t an option, Farnsworth suggests an exclusion fence. Use woven wire tight enough that a raccoon can’t get its head through, set slightly below ground to discourage digging, with a woven wire roof, he says.
You can also ring your crops with prickly vines or thorny plants. Just mind the thorns.
4. Block access to hiding places
Raccoons shelter in dark, enclosed spaces, such as crawl spaces under decks, large tree roots, and thick brush.
Clear fallen branches and leaves, block spaces under your home with wire mesh or sheet metal, and trim overgrown bushes. A leaf removal service from Lawn Love can clear the leaf piles raccoons use for cover.
Before you seal a crawl space in spring or early summer, check for baby raccoons first.
5. Eliminate water sources
Raccoons like to dip food in water, so remove their watering holes.
Common yard water sources:
Bird baths
Koi ponds
Swimming pools
Containers that fill up when it rains
Pet water bowls
Cover water features at night, especially fish ponds, since raccoons go fishing.
6. Treat your lawn for grubs
Raccoons digging holes in your lawn are probably hunting grubs, beetle larvae that live in the soil and eat grass roots.
Other signs of grubs:
Yellowing or browning grass
Grass that pulls up with little resistance
A spongy feeling when you walk on the lawn
If you see these signs, learn how to eliminate lawn grubs, and the raccoons may move on.
7. Install motion-activated lights and sprinklers
“Motion-activated sprinklers and especially bright spot lights may have some success in harassing and repelling raccoons from a very localized area,” says David Drake, extension wildlife specialist and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Aim them at the exact spots raccoons visit, such as trash cans or the opening under your deck.
Lights: Drake cautions that motion-activated spotlights may shine into a neighbor’s home at night and disturb their sleep.
Sprinklers: Farnsworth says there’s some evidence sprinklers can work, but you’ll need to move them often. Still, he notes, “if an animal is hungry enough, it won’t stop them.”
Motion-activated light products:
Motion-activated sprinkler products:
8. Apply scent repellents
Scent-based remedies usually don’t work outdoors or anywhere with good airflow, because the smell fades quickly, Drake says. He also warns that in enclosed spaces, or near young animals in a den or nest, some odors can be noxious and even harmful to people and the young animals.
If you still want to try them, here are a few options you’ll find recommended online:
Store-bought deterrents: Garden centers sell wildlife repellent sprays.
Predator urine: Wolf, coyote, or bobcat urine makes raccoons think your yard is unsafe.
Vinegar or peppermint oil: Spray straight or diluted vinegar, or mix several drops of peppermint oil with water.
Ammonia: Set out ammonia-soaked rags. Skip them March to August, since wildlife rehab guidance warns ammonia can harm babies too young to leave dens.
Garlic, onion, or cayenne pepper: Scatter crushed garlic or cayenne, or mix any of them with water for a spray.
Blood meal, Epsom salt, or wood ash: Sprinkle any of them generously where raccoons frequent.
Cucumber plants: Grow them along your garden border for a smell raccoons hate.
Irish Spring soap or pet fur: Scatter soap flakes or dog or cat fur where raccoons roam.
Important to note: Scents wear off, so reapply them every few days. Use them as a short-term fix while you secure trash and clean your yard.
Warning for pet owners: These scents also irritate cats, dogs, and other outdoor pets.
9. Don’t count on noise
Sonic pest repellers emit a high-pitched sound meant to annoy animals. Drake, however, is skeptical of them: “There is no evidence sonic devices are effective for repelling raccoons.”
A radio might deter raccoons from a ripening garden for a few days or nights, Baldwin says, but raccoons quickly get used to the noise.
Warning for pet owners: Sonic repellers also disorient outdoor pets, but the sound doesn’t travel through walls.
How to keep raccoons out of your home
To keep raccoons out of your home, seal entry points, cut off roof access, and never feed them.
Check for babies first
Raccoons give birth in spring, in April and May, or a bit earlier in the South, Drake says. The kits take about 2 months to become fully mobile.
If you seal the entry point while the mother is out, you trap her babies inside. “You definitely do not want to separate the mom from the young,” Drake says.
If you hear chattering or squealing in your attic or chimney during this window, you have two options:
Wait it out: Once the kits are mobile and the family has moved out, seal the entry point.
Hire a pro: A wildlife removal service can remove the mother and kits sooner. Drake stresses that any removal should take every kit and keep them all with the mom.
Seal entrances
Seal or cover these entry points:
Dog or cat doors
Vents
Chimney openings
Holes in the roof or siding
Install a chimney cap, which blocks critters but lets smoke escape.
Close any opening a cat could fit through, since a raccoon probably could, too. Keep windows and garage doors closed at night.
Trim trees
Raccoons use tall trees and poles as a bridge to your roof. Trim back overhanging branches, or check the typical tree trimming cost to hire out the job.
Never feed the raccoons
Feeding raccoons teaches them your home is a reliable food source, so they’ll keep coming back and can become dependent on people.
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Signs you have a raccoon problem
Look for knocked-over trash, lawn holes, tracks, droppings, and nighttime noises. You’re most likely to notice raccoon activity at night, though daytime sightings can be normal.
Common signs of raccoons:
Tipped trash cans: Trash strewn across the lawn points to raccoons.
Evidence of feeding: Look for knocked-down bird feeders, holes in the lawn, and missing pond fish.
Raccoon tracks: Prints look like small handprints with five long toes.
Raccoon droppings: Droppings are tubular with blunt ends, often left in the same spot.
Loud noises: Listen for rummaging, footsteps overhead, or growling at night.
Scratch marks: Look for small scratches on trees, sheds, and woodpiles.
Damaged insulation: Raccoons indoors may shred attic insulation for nesting material.
Torn-up lawn: Holes or lifted patches of grass often mean raccoons are digging for grubs. See how to treat your lawn for grubs.
How to clean a raccoon latrine: Droppings can carry raccoon roundworm, “which can cause illness and even death in extreme cases in humans,” Drake says. While infection is rare, he recommends precaution: use disposable rubber gloves, and if the droppings are dry, wear an N95 mask or wet them first.
Bury or bag the droppings, wash your hands with soap and water, and disinfect any object that touched them, he adds. For feces-soiled decks, patios, and other surfaces, CDC cleanup guidance recommends boiling water.
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When to call a wildlife removal pro
Call a wildlife removal pro when do-it-yourself methods fail, raccoons get inside your home, or you find a mother with kits.
Leave trapping to a professional pest control company or animal control agency to avoid injury or disease.
Cost of raccoon removal
Professional raccoon removal typically runs about $200 to $600, and several cost guides put the average around $300 to $450. Attic or chimney jobs, babies, and multiple raccoons cost more. Cleanup often adds $200 to $500, and damage repairs are extra.
FAQs
Seal every window, vent, and gap in the coop with sturdy metal mesh. Check the coop regularly for new holes or loose spots.
There’s no good evidence mothballs repel raccoons. Skip them and focus on removing the food and shelter that draw raccoons in. For a small area, such as a garden bed or trash can area, motion-activated sprinklers or lights may help keep them away.
It depends on where you live, so check your state wildlife agency first. Relocating wildlife is illegal in many places in the United States, Farnsworth says. It also risks spreading disease, and moved raccoons may starve or find their way back.
Let Lawn Love handle the yard work
Raccoons have less reason to dig when your lawn is grub-free. Lawn Love’s local lawn treatment pros can handle grub control and lawn treatments for you. With a lawn care provider on the job, raccoon-proofing your yard is one less task on your list.
Main Image: Raccoon peeking through deck rails. Photo Credit: Anne / Adobe Stock
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