# Will Miracle-Gro kill a raccoon? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 8, 2009, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-miracle-gro-kill-a-raccoon/499088 "2009-06-08T13:58:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-miracle-gro-kill-a-raccoon/499088/1 "2009-06-08T13:58:36Z")
The little Bandit couldn’t get through Mr. K’s Fool-proof Impenetrable Raccoon Repellant system on our “garbagy garbage” can, so he went for the Omaha Steaks styrofoam box that I keep my powdered Miracle-Gro in. It appears he ate about half of a container’s worth. Is he going to die? I don’t want him to die!! Yes, I’m moving it to a better container…but how harmful is this stuff? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-miracle-gro-kill-a-raccoon/499088/2 "2009-06-08T14:32:50Z")
Unless I am missing some kind of cinematic reference, or this is a comment on the culinary predilections of raccoons, I am assuming this was intended for GQ instead of Cafe Society. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-miracle-gro-kill-a-raccoon/499088/3 "2009-06-08T15:17:47Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Unless I am missing some kind of cinematic reference, or this is a comment on the culinary predilections of raccoons, I am assuming this was intended for GQ instead of Cafe Society. > > Colibri > General Questions Moderator Hi…I put it in Cafe Society because I thought it was a good spot to draw the gardeners, but you’re the boss! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Furious\_Marmot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dfb087/32.png) [@Furious\_Marmot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Furious_Marmot)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-miracle-gro-kill-a-raccoon/499088/4 "2009-06-08T15:17:52Z")
How much did he eat? Half an Omaha Steak container is not an easily convertible unit. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-miracle-gro-kill-a-raccoon/499088/5 "2009-06-08T15:21:17Z")
> [@Furious\_Marmot](#): > > How much did he eat? Half an Omaha Steak container is not an easily convertible unit. Ooops…I guess that wasn’t clear. Half a Miracle-Gro container that was stashed in the Omaha Steaks box. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-miracle-gro-kill-a-raccoon/499088/6 "2009-06-08T15:22:32Z")
> [@Furious\_Marmot](#): > > How much did he eat? Half an Omaha Steak container is not an easily convertible unit. Wadda you mean? That equivalent to .734 of a Dannon. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-miracle-gro-kill-a-raccoon/499088/7 "2009-06-08T15:27:13Z")
I clicked on this for the title. I was about to say that if you put the Miracle-Gro in a steel can, and tie a tether to it, you could conceivably swing the can hard enough to knock the little bugger’s head clean off. Then I read the thread, and realized that you weren’t looking for pest control advice. Lemme see if I can find a toxicity report on the stuff. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-miracle-gro-kill-a-raccoon/499088/8 "2009-06-08T15:38:29Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > Ooops…I guess that wasn’t clear. Half a Miracle-Gro container that was stashed in the Omaha Steaks box. Still not entirely helpful – how big was the Miracle-Gro container – a couple of ounces? a pound or more? ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-miracle-gro-kill-a-raccoon/499088/9 "2009-06-08T15:46:04Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Still not entirely helpful – how big was the Miracle-Gro container – a couple of ounces? a pound or more? It was about 1/4 gone, and it’s in a cube-shaped container, roughly 5" x 5" x 5". ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-miracle-gro-kill-a-raccoon/499088/10 "2009-06-08T15:59:40Z")
I don’t know if this is much help but here’s some toxicity info for Miracle-Gro: [http://hpd.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/brands?tbl=brands&id=19026021](http://hpd.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/brands?tbl=brands&id=19026021) Doesn’t sound highly toxic but I’m no expert. OTOH if you see 10 foot tall raccoon next spring you know the stuff works better than expected 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-miracle-gro-kill-a-raccoon/499088/11 "2009-06-08T16:09:19Z")
Okay, the MSDS for Miracle-Gro really only discusses the presence of powdered urea in the preparation. It gives an LD50 of about 8.5g/kg of body mass in rats. But it also says that the manufacture has declined to state how much of the powder is urea. I’m not comfortable making any assumptions about the concentration of urea in the product. But if you can find that out, ballpark would be one to three ounces (given an average raccoon size of 3.5 to 9 kg) of urea might kill half of the raccoons who eat that much. That said, the MSDS suggests a low toxicity of the product (well, for humans, who tend to outweigh raccoons and rats). I’d say Li’l Bandit might get a belly ache, but it shouldn’t be life-threatening. If you happen to come across him in the garden in some distress, you may wish to bring him into a vet to get him sorted out. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-miracle-gro-kill-a-raccoon/499088/12 "2009-06-08T16:11:04Z")
> [@Valgard](#): > > I don’t know if this is much help but here’s some toxicity info for Miracle-Gro: > > [http://hpd.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/brands?tbl=brands&id=19026021](http://hpd.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/brands?tbl=brands&id=19026021) > > Doesn’t sound highly toxic but I’m no expert. > > OTOH if you see 10 foot tall raccoon next spring you know the stuff works better than expected 😃 Thanks for that info! I’m not too worried…but I will keep an eye out for “big game” in the yard!!