With their black beady eyes, raccoons look out at the world as if they couldn't murmur a little water. Nevertheless, the cute fellows are sly old dogs. If they get into the house from the garden, the furry predators cause considerable damage. This guide gets to the heart of how you can scare off omnivores without harming them.

Raccoons may be cute, but they wreak havoc

Excrement as an early warning system

Once a gang of raccoons has taken up residence in your attic, the vandals are difficult to evict. Therefore, when working in the garden, pay attention to visible signs of the presence of the predators. Scratch marks on trees or fallen, looted garbage cans are the first symptoms. A sure sign of raccoons in the garden is the droppings. These are similar to the droppings of small dogs and are always deposited in latrines in the same place.

Garbage can and compost heap attract raccoons

If raccoons have chosen your garden as their territory, the omnivores look for food waste. By making these enticing hotspots unattractive to predators, they are discouraged and turn to other regions. That is how it goes:

  • Equip garbage cans with a stable lock
  • In addition, place the bin in a locked crate between emptying
  • Do not dispose of leftover food and vegetable waste on the compost

With all the precautions, please keep in mind that you are confronted with clever, trainable predators in your garden. For a long time now, raccoons have not been deterred from plundering by heavy stones on the garbage can lid.

Eliminate climbing aids at the house - this is how it works

As long as raccoons stay in the garden, they won't do any significant damage. However, the clever climbers are constantly trying to get into the house and into the attic. By disabling possible climbing aids, you protect your home from an infestation. How to keep raccoons out of your home:

  • Cut back trees and shrubs adjacent to buildings
  • Shorten so that there is a minimum distance of 100 cm
  • Wrap around tree trunks near the house from 60 cm in height with 60 cm long metal sleeves
  • Cut branches hanging down to the ground to a height of 100 cm

Don't use barbed wire to equip trees to climb-proof. As practice has shown, neither raccoons nor martens are deterred. In the worst case, the animals will be injured, which is not the aim of these measures. On the other hand, the furry acrobats are powerless against smooth surfaces.

By the way, with the recommended measures you kill several birds with one stone. Where a raccoon can't get in, cats, martens, badgers and other nocturnal vandals can't get in either.

tips

In contrast to other animal garden dwellers, such as martens, hedgehogs or moles, raccoons do not immediately flee. In the event of an unexpected encounter, please do not be tempted to touch the undoubtedly cute raccoon. You are dealing with a predator that can react aggressively and cause painful bite injuries.

Category:

Animals in the garden