Excrement as an early warning system
Once a gang of raccoons has settled in your attic, the vandals are difficult to drive away. Therefore, when working in the garden, pay attention to visible signs of the presence of the robbers. Scratch marks on trees or overturned, looted garbage cans are the first symptoms. A sure sign of raccoons in the garden is the excrement. These resemble the droppings of small dogs and are always placed in the same place in latrines.
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Garbage cans and compost heaps attract raccoons
Once raccoons have chosen their garden as their territory, the omnivores look for food waste. By making these tempting hotspots unattractive to the predators, they are discouraged and turned to other regions. That is how it goes:
- Equip the garbage cans with a sturdy lock
- In addition, place the bin in a locked crate between emptying
- Do not dispose of leftover food or vegetable waste on the compost
Please keep in mind with all precautions that you are confronted with clever, adaptive predators in your garden. Raccoons have not been deterred from looting by heavy stones on the garbage can lid for a long time.
Eliminate climbing aids on the house - this is how it works
As long as raccoons limit themselves to staying in the garden, they do not cause any significant damage. However, the clever climbers constantly strive to get into the house and the attic. By disarming possible climbing aids, you protect your home from infestation. How to keep raccoons out of the house:
- Cut back trees adjacent to buildings
- Shorten to the extent that there is a minimum distance of 100 cm
- Wrap tree trunks near the house from a height of 60 cm with 60 cm long metal cuffs
- Cut off branches that are hanging down to the ground up to a height of 100 cm
Do not use barbed wire to make trees safe for climbing. As practice has shown, neither raccoons nor martens can be deterred by it. In the worst case, the animals will be injured, which is not the aim of these measures. The furry acrobats, on the other hand, are powerless against smooth surfaces.
By the way, with the recommended measures you will kill several birds with one stone. Where a raccoon can't get in, they will find Cats, Martens, badgers and other nocturnal vandals do not have access.
Tips
In contrast to other animal gardeners like marten, Hedgehogs or moles, raccoons don't run away immediately. In the event of a sudden encounter, please do not be tempted to touch the undoubtedly cute raccoon. You are dealing with a predator who can react aggressively and cause painful bite injuries.