Whether you think they’re cute or see them as pests, raccoons can cause a great deal of damage to your property if left to their own devices. The following tips and tricks can help keep them out of your yard without causing them any harm.

1. Keep your property clean

A clean and tidy yard serves to ward off raccoons. Cleaning your property by removing garbage bins, food and fallen berries or fruit will help reduce its appeal.

Keeping garbage in closed bins helps reduce any odors that may attract these critters. Washing the bin regularly also helps keep the smell in check. If possible, store bins in the garage, the shed or a specially designed structure so as to further offset the attractiveness of your garbage to raccoons.

2. Use strong odours to repel pests

Hot spices repel raccoons

Raccoons hate hot spices, and a mixture of water, hot sauce, cayenne pepper and dish soap can be used to repel them. The soap makes the spices rise to the surface of the water, increasing the spice concentration in the mixture. Simply pour the mixture into a spray bottle and spray it around your house, flowerbeds and bushes. The strong smell will have any raccoons scurrying to another yard.

Mothballs get rid of all kinds of critters

Raccoons dislike the strong smell of mothballs. Buy a box and scatter them around your property to prevent raccoons from taking up residence.

3. Use water to scare off raccoons

Installing a sprinkler system with motion detectors is another way to keep racoons at bay. Generally speaking, sprinklers equipped with a motion detector will drive off most wild animals, including racoons.

While these techniques aren’t guaranteed to work, there is a good chance that raccoons will choose a neighbouring property over yours simply because your efforts have made your yard less interesting.