I know, faint hope. But they keep digging up my garden, and I am fed up.
Important background: I live in San Francisco in a house with zero lot line, so the only access to the back yard is through the 5 neighboring back yards (counting the two corner yards). There are fences all around, but of course raccoons laugh at fences. Side fences are chain-link, about 5 feet tall. Back fence is composed of these redwood fence panels installed at ground level (no room under fence to crawl through) and about 6’ tall. The yard slopes down from the house so it is in terraced levels. There is a deck one story above the yard, and there are decks in easy reach on either side.
A couple of days ago I had the bright idea of installing plastic carpet runner, with the prongs up, in the places where the raccoons seem to like to walk (along the top of the back fence, on top of the deck railing). The idea was not to hurt them but to make walking there unpleasant. Didn’t seem to have much effect, the raccoon tracks have been there every morning right over the prongs (and why do raccoons always have such dirty feet?).
I have sent away for an ultrasonic thingy that is supposed to be unpleasant to small animals. However, I am suspicious of things like that, how do I know if it is functioning or not?
So, other ideas? I supposed I could trap them, but then what to do with them? Note: there are three feral cats being fed next door and while I am happy to keep them out of my yard too, if possible, I can’t do anything that might hurt them. I don’t really want to hurt the raccoons either, although if they died suddenly of natural causes I wouldn’t cry.
You could always just feed them but that might not be cost effective. Unless you put up electric fences I can’t imagine anything else that works on them.
SOME raccoons will steer clear of yards that they even think might have large dogs, so coyote urine (available at larger garden centers) will deter them.
Other raccoons don’t seem to care. (And I’ve heard some people complain that coyote urine attracts coyotes, so if those are a problem in your area, you may have neither raccoons nor feral cats.)
You can’t keep raccoons out by trying to outwit them with silly contraptions. They are at least as smart as most monkeys, stubborn, determined and excellent problem solvers. They can easily beat whatever material defenses you put up without even really trying. I have seen some that defeated large, heavy trash bins with locked chains around them like they weren’t even secured at all.
Your only hope is to keep them away with a brave dog with guarding instincts. Some raccoons are brave enough to confront dogs face to face but they will generally move on to more hospitable locations if you annoy them long enough. It doesn’t need to be a large dog but it does need to be a territorial and aggressive one when the time calls. A miniature poodle won’t cut it but a Jack Russell Terrier would but that might make the cure worse than the disease.
Years ago I had a problem coon that kept investigating my roof and I was worried he was trying to find a way into the attic where all hell would have broken loose. Because of Alaska work I had a can of bear repellant that I’d kept handy in case of an intruder, aggressive dog, etc. One afternoon I found him again making his way along my arbor toward the roof and I gave him a full shot from about ten feet away. In the years that I continued to own that house I never saw him come snooping around again. Ever.
It didn’t permanently harm him but for about 20 minutes after he caught the blast he retreated along the path he’d come, although this time seemingly feeling his way as much as anything, all while trying to deal with copious amounts of coon snot that he sneezed along everything in his path. He then climbed to the top of a palm and from there continued to distribute more snot in a large arc upon the surrounding vegetation in a twenty foot circle. When I tired of watching he’d still not run out of his snot stores.
Your instinct about the ultrasonic doohickey is correct; there is no evidence those sorts of things work.
Cayenne, or any other hot pepper, is effective against most mammals. It’s unpleasant, but won’t cause any permanent harm. Big, cheap containers of it are available at Costco and most Asian grocery stores. Dump it liberally on your garden, I mean make visible drifts of the stuff, go to town with it.
ETA: same active ingredient (capsaicin) as the bear spray mentioned above.
Good luck. I remember one time many years ago, when a neighbor’s large german shepherd came out the loser in a confrontation with a raccoon.
And we did extended battle with some coons who were determined to get at our birdseed container in the back yard. We ended up devising a tight chain with threaded couplings at the end. Those damned things are smart, bold, dexterous, and have nothing but time to figure out whatever you throw at them.
Using spiky things or an electric fence will probably get you in big trouble with the city. Generally speaking, they are illegal in urban areas, unless you have permits (if even allowed) and must meet strict controls (If allowed). Don’t even go there.
Don’t attempt to shoot or poison them. Again, check the law.
What’s left is to contact animal control for advice, but don’t count on a quality response. Using coyote urine or cayenne pepper might work. A dog might work, but has already pointed out, raccoons are smart, and a big raccoon can kill even a large dog.
You could throw food into your neighbor’s yard and try to get them to go there instead.
Try running out the door screaming like a banshee, waving your arms, etc., when you see them in the backyard. That will work precisely three times, then they will ignore you.
Basically your mission isn’t to defeat the raccoon it’s to make another house more attractive than yours.
Since you’re allergic to dogs you lose access to the most effective method.
So unfortunately we move to the more evil method. Oh not to the raccoon - you’re not going to beat him anyway. To your neighbours. Preferably the ones at least 2-3 yards away.
How stealthy are you? Can you toss kibble unobtrusively a few yards away?
This is it really. Persistent annoyance and making sure that your residence is less raccoon-friendly than others nearby is the best way. Raccoons also range very widely on their forage patrols, they will always visit, just try and make sure they aren’t taking up residence.
You may have to give up some garden hobbies. Bird feeder? Fish pond? Forget it, these are just raccoon-bait.
I’m not seconding the kibble on the neighbor’s yards and rooftops suggestion…not at all…nope, wouldn’t think a second about how effective that is…
I don’t think we even got 3 times out of it. Clearly remember my wife coming back in the sliding door after she ran screaming at the coon, and “He just looked at me.”
Cute little buggers, aren’t they? NOT!
What exactly are they digging up? Veggies? Flowers? We’ve had problems with squirrels and skunks digging, but not coons. Your best bet would likely be not planting whatever it is that they find attractive.
I’ve heard that planting pumpkins or vining squash throughout the garden (or maybe around the perimeter) will repel them. Supposedly they don’t like to come in contact with the prickly hairs on the vines. My dad tried that last year and they actually got some sweet corn to show for it.
