how to prevent raccoon invasion garden

How to Prevent Raccoon Invasion into your Garden

Raccoons could appear cute and furry but they harbour countless issues such as destroying your garden, fish ponds and poses threat to your pets. Depending on where an individual lives, raccoons could access passages into your patio or crawlspace. Unlike the minute rodents such as mice or rats, killing raccoons by traps or poison present a serious challenge. The animal could die in a concealed section, which is hard to access leading to stinky problems. The following are a few suggestions on how to prevent raccoon invasion into your garden. However, the ideal approach to prevent raccoon infestation is to use integrated measures.

 

Deterrents 

Deterrents are the best mechanisms for preventing raccoon infestation. The best deterrent is having a pet roam the compound. Owning a dog is a good deterrent. As they roam your compound, dogs shed their hair constantly. This would deter raccoons from accessing your backyard. If raccoons have infested your yard and are creating problems then, interspersing your dog’s hair around the compound will discourage it. Remember, once you spot a raccoon, exercise caution and never send your pet to pursue it. Raccoons are typically aggressive and could attack your dog. If an individual does not own a dog then, the use of scare devices would work. For instance, motion-sensitive lights and sprinklers are ideal.

The second and most effective deterrent mode of preventing raccoon invasion is removing attractants. Attractants are all items, which attract raccoons into your garden. Raccoons raid your garden looking for food materials. Discourage them from invading your compound by making it less desirable. Avoid littering your compound with food remains. Thus, ensure you do the following:

  • Remove trash.
  • Secure your garbage bins.
  • Clean and remove fallen fruits, and barriers.

This should also include cleaning up all food leftovers, drinks, and pet food. This would significantly solve the problem of raccoon invasion.

Your raccoon invasion prevention mechanism should comprise effective control methods. However, this should follow an elaborate identification of where the raccoon frequently visits your compound. This would allow the adoption of the right control method. Remember, having measures that are more preventive increases the chances of ridding raccoon menace. You can use a live raccoon entrap. This is ideal since it would allow for manual removal of the raccoon and even relocation of the animal is possible. Most of the traps available are simple to use:

  • Wear gloves before positioning your trap properly.
  • Bait the trap. This would ensure complete entrapment of the animal as it steps on the prompt plate.
  • Set the trap and keep checking it frequently. After capturing the animal, do not keep it entrapped for long.

Finally, fencing is another effective approach for those searching on how to prevent raccoon invasion into your garden methods. However, many people detest this approach thinking that it is not an appealing approach. On the contrary, this method is quite effective in controlling raccoon invasion. Regular maintenance of your fence by trimming the surrounding weeds and grass is inevitable. Besides, remember to test and check fence weaknesses periodically. It is important since raccoons are intelligent animals and would climb over, unlatch conventional gates, and even dig under the fence.