How To Get Rid Raccoons From My Yard Quickly & Safely

Do you want to know how to get rid of raccoons from your yard quickly and safely? Getting rid of raccoons means using smart methods like removing things that attract them, putting up barriers, and using deterrents. Sometimes, if the problem is big or raccoons are living inside your house, you might need professional help. The best way to solve a raccoon issue is often to use several techniques at once and focus on keeping them away for good.

Raccoons can be cute, but they can cause real problems in your yard. They knock over trash cans, eat garden food, damage property, and can even carry diseases. It’s important to handle raccoon problems in a way that is safe for you, your family, your pets, and the raccoons themselves. This guide will walk you through effective raccoon removal methods focusing on humane raccoon control and long-term solutions.

How To Get Rid Raccoons From My Yard
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Signs of Raccoons Living Near You

Finding out if raccoons are the actual problem is the first step. Raccoons are nocturnal, meaning they are most active at night. You might not see them during the day. But they leave clues behind. Knowing these signs of raccoons helps you confirm their presence.

Visual Evidence

Tracks: Raccoon tracks look like small human hands. They have five long toes. Front paws look like tiny hands. Back paws look more like a foot print but with long toes. Look for them in mud, sand, or soft dirt.
Droppings: Raccoon poop can look different depending on what they ate. It’s often tube-shaped. It might contain seeds or other food bits. Raccoons often leave droppings in specific spots, sometimes on raised areas like decks, roofs, or logs. These spots are called “latrines.” Be very careful around raccoon droppings as they can carry harmful parasites (raccoon roundworm). Wear gloves and a mask if you need to clean them up.
Seeing the Animal: The clearest sign is seeing a raccoon. This is most likely to happen at night. They might be near trash cans, bird feeders, or water sources.

Property Damage

Knocked-Over Trash Cans: This is a classic sign. Raccoons are strong and smart. They can easily tip over cans to get to food waste.
Damage to Fences or Decks: They might climb fences or decks, sometimes causing damage. They might tear screens or find ways under structures.
Damaged Bird Feeders: Raccoons love seeds and suet. They will try hard to get to bird feeders.
Disturbed Gardens or Lawns: Raccoons digging in yard for grubs, worms, or planted bulbs is a common problem. You might see patches of sod rolled back or small holes dug.
Damage to Structures: Raccoons might try to get into attics, sheds, or crawl spaces. Look for torn vents, damaged soffits, or entry holes.

Sounds at Night

Scratching Noises: If they are trying to get into or are already inside structures like attics, you might hear scratching or thumping sounds at night.
Chattering or Growling: Raccoons communicate with various sounds. You might hear chattering, growling, or even screaming noises, especially if there are young raccoons (kits) present.

Knowing these signs helps you figure out if raccoons are the problem and where they are spending time in your yard. This makes it easier to plan your removal and prevention steps.

Why Raccoons Are Coming to Your Yard

Raccoons visit yards for the same reasons any animal does: food, water, and shelter. Your yard might be a perfect buffet and safe haven for them.

Attractants in Your Yard

Food Sources:
- Trash: Unsecured garbage cans are the number one draw. The smell of food waste is like an open invitation.
- Pet Food: Leaving pet food outside, even dry kibble, is a strong attractant. Raccoons will happily finish your pet’s meal.
- Bird Feeders: Seeds, nuts, and suet are high-energy food for raccoons.
- Gardens and Fruit Trees: Raccoons eat fruits, vegetables, and even some types of nuts and grains you might be growing.
- Compost Piles: Open compost bins with food scraps are another easy food source.
- Grubs and Insects: As mentioned, they dig in lawns looking for tasty bugs.
Water Sources:
- Pet Water Bowls: An easy drink.
- Bird Baths: A convenient watering hole.
- Ponds or Water Features: Provide both water and sometimes food like fish or frogs.
- Standing Water: Even puddles can attract them.
Shelter:
- Under Decks or Sheds: Offers a safe, dry place to rest during the day.
- Hollow Logs or Trees: Natural den sites.
- Brush Piles: Provide cover.
- Attics, Chimneys, Crawl Spaces: These offer secure den sites, especially for female raccoons raising young.

If you want to get rid of raccoons, you must deal with what is attracting them. Removing food, water, and shelter makes your yard less appealing. This is the base for all effective humane raccoon control.

Humane Raccoon Control Methods

The goal of humane raccoon control is to encourage raccoons to leave your yard and prevent them from coming back, without harming them. This often involves making the area unpleasant or hard to access.

Removing Attractants: The First Step

This is the most crucial part. If you don’t do this, other methods will likely fail.

Secure Your Trash: Use heavy-duty garbage cans with tight-fitting, locking lids. You can also secure lids with bungee cords or ropes. Keep cans inside a garage or shed until pickup day. Rinse out containers before throwing them away to reduce smells.
Bring Pet Food Indoors: Feed pets inside or pick up outdoor food bowls immediately after they are finished eating. Do not leave pet food out overnight.
Secure Bird Feeders: Use feeders that are hard for raccoons to access. There are pole-mounted feeders with baffles (round or cone-shaped barriers) that raccoons cannot climb past. Clean up spilled seed under feeders daily. Consider taking feeders down at night.
Protect Gardens and Crops: Fencing is effective. An electric fence (low voltage) can be a good deterrent around gardens. Simple netting can also help deter them from specific plants.
Manage Compost: Use enclosed compost bins. Avoid adding meat, dairy, or greasy foods that create strong smells.
Remove Water Sources: Empty pet water bowls at night. Maintain ponds or water features to make them less accessible or appealing. Fix leaky pipes that create puddles.
Clean Up Fallen Fruit: If you have fruit trees, regularly pick up fruit that falls to the ground.

Using Raccoon Deterrents

Once you’ve removed attractants, you can use deterrents to make your yard uncomfortable for raccoons. Deterrents work by using things raccoons dislike, such as certain smells, sounds, or lights.

Smell Deterrents

Raccoons have a strong sense of smell. Certain smells can keep them away.

Capsaicin (Hot Pepper): This is an active ingredient in many commercial raccoon repellent spray products. Raccoons dislike the smell and taste. You can spray areas they frequent, but be careful around pets and children. Reapply often, especially after rain.
Ammonia: Some people use ammonia-soaked rags placed near entry points or trash cans. The strong smell is said to mimic the smell of a predator’s urine. However, this method’s effectiveness varies, and ammonia fumes can be harmful. Use with caution.
Predator Urine: Products containing the urine of raccoon predators (like coyotes or bobcats) are available. The smell signals danger to the raccoon. Place these near entry points or areas they visit.
Mothballs: While sometimes suggested, mothballs are often ineffective against raccoons and contain harmful chemicals. Avoid using them.
Garlic and Pepper Flakes: Spreading garlic or pepper flakes around garden areas can sometimes deter them, but this needs frequent reapplication.

Sound Deterrents

Sudden or strange sounds can scare raccoons.

Motion-Activated Alarms: Devices that make a loud noise when motion is detected can startle raccoons and make them leave. Raccoons are smart, though, and might learn to ignore repetitive sounds over time.
Radios: Leaving a radio playing in an area (like a shed or garage) where they are trying to get in might make them uneasy. Use talk radio, as music might not be as effective.

Light Deterrents

Raccoons are nocturnal, so bright, sudden lights can make them uncomfortable.

Motion-Activated Lights: Installing motion-sensor lights in your yard is a good way to startle raccoons when they enter. Bright LED lights work well. Place them near trash cans, gardens, or potential entry points.

Physical Deterrents

Making it hard for raccoons to get where they want to go.

Exclusion Fencing: A fence can keep raccoons out of specific areas like gardens. A fence needs to be at least 3-4 feet tall and ideally have an overhang or be angled outwards at the top, as raccoons are good climbers. Bury the bottom edge of the fence (about 6-12 inches) or use L-shaped wire mesh laid flat on the ground leading outward from the fence base to stop them from digging under.
Securing Structures: Close off openings under decks, sheds, or porches with sturdy wire mesh (like hardware cloth or welded wire, 1/2 inch or 1 inch openings). Make sure the mesh is buried a few inches or bent outwards at the bottom to prevent digging. Repair damaged vents, soffits, and chimneys. Put caps on chimneys. This is key to prevent raccoons from coming back to den in these areas.

Combining Deterrents

Using a mix of deterrents often works better than using just one. For example, combining motion-activated lights with securing trash cans and using a repellent spray in specific spots creates a less inviting environment from multiple angles.

Raccoon Removal Methods: When More Is Needed

Sometimes, deterrents and removing attractants aren’t enough, especially if a raccoon has already made a den in your home or is causing significant damage. In these cases, you might consider active removal.

Trapping Raccoons

Live trapping is a common raccoon removal method. However, it comes with important considerations and potential issues.

How to Trap a Raccoon

Get the Right Trap: You will need a large, sturdy live trap designed for animals the size of a raccoon. Check local laws regarding trap size and type.
Placement: Place the trap on a flat, stable surface in the area where you see raccoon activity (near trash cans, entry points to structures). Place it away from areas where children or pets play.
Baiting: Use appealing bait. Canned fish (like tuna or sardines), dry pet food, marshmallows, or corn are often effective raccoon baits. Place the bait at the back of the trap, behind the trigger plate.
Setting the Trap: Carefully set the trap door mechanism. Make sure it’s stable.
Checking the Trap: Check the trap often, at least once in the morning. Leaving an animal in a trap for too long causes stress, dehydration, or heatstroke.
Handling a Trapped Raccoon: This is the most dangerous part. Never reach into the trap. Raccoons can be aggressive when scared. Cover the trap with a blanket or tarp to help calm the animal.
Release or Relocation: Crucially, relocating trapped wildlife is illegal in many areas because it can spread disease or stress the animal. If it is legal in your area, relocation must be done properly. The animal needs to be released in a suitable habitat a few miles away (check local regulations for distance). Just moving it a short distance means it might just come back.

Problems with Trapping

Legality: As mentioned, relocation is often illegal or requires special permits. Check your state or local wildlife agency laws before you trap.
Disease Risk: Handling traps and trapped animals increases the risk of exposure to rabies, distemper, parasites (like raccoon roundworm), and other diseases. Always wear thick gloves and eye protection.
Stress to the Animal: Trapping is very stressful for raccoons.
Separating Mothers and Young: Never trap a raccoon if there’s a chance it’s a mother with young kits nearby. You could leave dependent babies to die. The best time for removal is usually outside of breeding season (spring/early summer). If you suspect young, a professional raccoon removal service is strongly recommended. They can find and handle the young properly.
Catching the Wrong Animal: You might accidentally trap a pet or another type of wildlife.
Simply Removing One Animal May Not Solve the Problem: If the attractants (food, water, shelter) are still there, other raccoons will likely move in.

Given these challenges, trapping is often best left to wildlife removal services or used only as a last resort and in accordance with all local laws.

Using Lethal Methods

Some areas allow lethal control, but this is generally not considered humane raccoon control and is often not necessary. Lethal methods can be dangerous and are strictly regulated. They should only be considered by trained professionals if other methods fail and it is permitted by law. This guide focuses on humane and safe ways to remove and prevent raccoons.

Professional Raccoon Removal Services

For many people, the safest and most effective way to deal with a raccoon problem is to hire a professional raccoon removal service.

When to Call a Professional

Raccoons are Inside Your Home: If raccoons are in your attic, chimney, walls, or crawl spaces, removal is complex and potentially dangerous. Professionals have the tools and knowledge to safely remove animals from structures.
Suspected Young Animals: As mentioned, separating a mother from her kits is inhumane. Professionals are trained to find and remove young animals along with the mother.
Aggressive Raccoons: If a raccoon appears aggressive or sick, do not approach it. Call a professional or your local animal control.
Large Infestation: Dealing with multiple raccoons can be overwhelming.
You are Unsure or Uncomfortable: Wildlife removal can be stressful and requires specific knowledge. If you don’t feel confident, call an expert.
Persistent Problem: If you’ve tried deterrents and exclusion without success.

What Professionals Do

Wildlife removal services offer a range of services:

Inspection: They will inspect your property to find out where raccoons are living, how they are getting in, and what is attracting them.
Removal: They use humane methods like one-way doors (allowing raccoons to leave but not get back in) or safe trapping. They know how to handle animals, including mothers and young.
Exclusion: They will identify and repair entry points to prevent raccoons from coming back. This might involve sealing holes with sturdy materials, installing chimney caps, or reinforcing weak areas.
Cleanup: They can safely clean up droppings and nesting materials, which is important because of disease risks.
Advice: They can give you specific advice on how to make your yard less attractive to raccoons in the future.

Hiring professionals might cost money, but it often saves you time, stress, and ensures the job is done safely, legally, and humanely.

Prevent Raccoons From Coming Back

Getting rid of raccoons is only half the battle. The most important part is taking steps to prevent raccoons from coming back. This involves making permanent changes to your yard and home.

Long-Term Prevention Strategies

Continue Securing Food Sources: This is an ongoing task. Always use locking trash cans. Keep pet food indoors. Manage compost properly. Clean up fallen fruit promptly. Secure bird feeders or remove them.
Maintain Barriers and Exclusion: Regularly inspect your home and yard for potential entry points. Check that wire mesh is still secure under decks and around openings. Make sure chimney caps are in place. Repair any new damage quickly. This is key to preventing raccoons from finding new ways in.
Manage Water Sources: Keep water sources limited or remove them if possible.
Reduce Shelter Options: Trim back bushes or trees that provide cover close to your house. Store firewood away from your house and off the ground. Seal off access to crawl spaces.
Consider Ongoing Deterrents: While deterrents might not work forever on their own, using a combination or rotating different types might help keep wary raccoons away from specific areas like gardens or trash cans. Reapplying raccoon repellent spray as needed can be part of this.
Educate Neighbors: If your neighbors also have attractants, it makes your prevention efforts harder. Talk to them about securing trash and other food sources. A community-wide effort is more effective.

Addressing Specific Issues: Raccoons Digging in Yard

If you have raccoons digging in yard, they are likely looking for food, usually grubs or worms in the soil.

Treat Your Lawn for Grubs: Using beneficial nematodes or grub-killing products (check local regulations and environmental impact) can remove their food source, making your lawn less appealing.
Secure the Area: Temporarily cover affected areas with chicken wire or netting laid flat on the ground until the grubs are gone or the raccoons move on.
Combine with Deterrents: Use motion-activated lights or sprinklers in the areas where they are digging. Raccoon repellent spray labeled for yard use might also help make the soil smell bad to them.

Remember that addressing the root cause – the food source – is usually the most effective long-term solution for digging problems.

Humane Considerations and Local Laws

When dealing with raccoons or any wildlife, it’s vital to act humanely and follow the law.

Why Humane Control Matters

Humane methods aim to solve the problem without causing unnecessary suffering to the animal. Raccoons are wild animals, but they deserve to be treated with respect. Lethal methods are often unnecessary and can sometimes even worsen the problem by creating a void for new animals to fill. Humane raccoon control focuses on conflict resolution through prevention and exclusion rather than just removing individual animals.

Checking Local Regulations

Wildlife laws vary greatly depending on your city, county, and state. Before you attempt any raccoon removal methods, especially trapping or relocation, you MUST check with your local animal control, wildlife agency, or police department.

Are you allowed to trap raccoons?
Is relocation permitted? If so, where and how far away?
Are there rules about the type of trap you can use?
Are there specific regulations about handling potentially rabid animals?
Is it legal to kill a raccoon on your property? (Often only allowed in specific circumstances or for licensed pest control operators).

Breaking wildlife laws can result in fines or other penalties. Licensed wildlife removal services will be aware of and follow all local regulations.

Overview of Raccoon Management Options

Let’s summarize the main raccoon removal methods and control strategies:

Method	Description	Pros	Cons	Best Use
Remove Attractants	Secure trash, pet food, gardens, water.	Most effective long-term solution. Addresses root cause. Humane.	Requires ongoing effort. May not provide quick results on its own.	Essential first step for any raccoon issue.
Deterrents	Lights, sounds, smells, physical barriers.	Humane. Can be quick to deploy.	Effectiveness varies. Raccoons can get used to them. Need frequent reapply.	Use after removing attractants to make areas less inviting.
Exclusion	Sealing entry points to structures.	Permanent solution for keeping them out of buildings. Humane if done right.	Requires physical work and repair skills. Needs regular inspection.	Preventing denning in attics, sheds, under decks.
Trapping	Using a live trap to catch the animal.	Can remove a specific animal.	Often illegal to relocate. Stressful/dangerous for animal/handler. Risk of catching wrong animal. Doesn’t solve cause.	Last resort if legal, attractants removed, and professional not an option. Avoid if young suspected.
Professional Services	Hiring licensed wildlife removal services.	Safe, legal, humane methods. Finds den sites. Handles young. Permanent exclusion repairs.	Costs money.	When raccoons are in structures, young are present, problem is large, or you are unsure.

Mixing different methods often gives the best results. Start with removing attractants and using exclusion/deterrents. If the problem is severe or inside your home, call a professional.

Final Thoughts on Getting Rid of Raccoons Safely

Dealing with raccoons in your yard requires patience and a multi-step approach. Starting with humane raccoon control by removing food and shelter is always the best first step. Adding raccoon deterrents and physical barriers helps reinforce the message that your yard is not a safe or easy place for them.

If raccoons have moved into your home or are causing significant damage, getting help from professional raccoon removal experts is often the most efficient and safest option. They have the knowledge and tools to handle these situations humanely and effectively, and they can ensure that entry points are sealed to prevent raccoons from coming back.

Remember to always check local laws before taking action yourself. By taking away the things that attract raccoons and securing your property, you can resolve conflicts and enjoy your yard again, safely and effectively.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Will a raccoon repellent spray work on its own?

A: Raccoon repellent spray can help make specific areas less appealing due to smell or taste. However, it’s usually not enough on its own if strong attractants like open trash or pet food are still available. It works best as part of a larger plan that includes removing food sources and securing your property.

Q: Can mothballs repel raccoons?

A: Mothballs are often suggested but are generally not effective for repelling raccoons in outdoor areas. They also contain chemicals that can be harmful to pets, children, and the environment. It’s better to use methods known to be more effective and safer.

Q: What should I do if I see a raccoon during the day?

A: Seeing a raccoon during the day doesn’t automatically mean it’s sick. Raccoons are sometimes active during the day, especially if they are mothers needing extra food for their young or if a food source is readily available. However, if the raccoon looks ill (stumbling, acting disoriented, aggressive without being provoked), keep a safe distance and contact your local animal control or a professional raccoon removal service immediately, as it could have rabies or distemper.

Q: Is it safe to clean up raccoon poop myself?

A: Raccoon droppings can contain harmful parasites (raccoon roundworm). Cleaning them up yourself is possible but requires caution. Always wear disposable gloves and a mask. Use a shovel or scooper to put the droppings in a plastic bag. Clean the area with hot water and disinfectant (like a bleach solution). Seal the bag and dispose of it properly. For large amounts or droppings in sensitive areas like attics, hiring a professional cleanup service is recommended due to the health risks.

Q: How high can a raccoon climb?

A: Raccoons are excellent climbers. They can easily climb fences, trees, and even drainpipes. A fence needs to be at least 3-4 feet high, and ideally include features like an outward-angled top or electric wire, plus buried sections, to effectively deter them.

Q: Can raccoons damage my home structure?

A: Yes, raccoons can cause significant damage. They might tear shingles, soffits, or vents to get into attics or walls. They can damage insulation and wiring once inside. They can also damage decks, porches, or foundations by digging underneath or chewing. This is why sealing entry points is a vital step in raccoon removal methods and prevention.