time for some target practice.

Racoons are great climbers.... if you block them in one spot they will get in another. Try your local hardware store for "Critter Ridder" , a deterant that might help.
Good Luck Janice

Ianna, I sympathize, I have seen a raccoon open a fridge....select green grapes...and close the fridge, repeating it's selective behaviour the following day! They are smart and have to be outwitted, maybe one of those intruder lights would help or a dog barking tape, good luck M

Try a cattle electric fence, battery powered, and run it just along your side, out about an inch or so with the insulators.

My neighbour purchased a device from England that emits ultra high sound waves that humans cannot hear, but dogs, cats, squirrels, racoons can. It runs off a 9 volt batter setup he devised. He has NO problems anymore. Even dogs don't like to go for walks in front of his housem much preferring to cross the street as they traverse along the road.

Blood meal works on racoons as well as on the squirrels. The only problem is that it needs to be reapplied after every rain or watering. I used to buy goldfish for my little pond, water hyacinths and oxygenating plants and rocoons ripped the plants up and ate the goldfish.

Raccoons hate the smell of ammonia. We had one in our attic, and the only way we got him out was with ammonia soaked rags tossed into the attic and the soffit where he was getting in. You may try tying some rags to the fence and spraying with ammonia (available in cleaning section of grocery store), or spraying around your beds. You'll have to do it again after it rains. Hope this helps. Oh..they also don't like heavy metal music and strobe lights, but you may annoy your neighbours if you try that!

I'll give anything a try...except annoying my neighbors and cats. Thanks for the tips. This thing just did another 'dumping'. It just stinks.

Ianna, Try chilli powder or cheyenne powder. Racoons have very sensitive hands and constantly smell everything. I would just sprinkle some along the top of the fence. Robb

Everyone, I was informed of a rather nasty parasite that are prevalent in raccoon scats. It's called baylisacarisprocyonis - or raccoon roundworm which is parasitic. Even roofers and chimney sweeps are well aware of it. There was a case of a young child who got infected while playing in a sandbox with dried raccoon scat. The parasite got into his brain. Apparently the spores of this parasite remain alive for months.
Now I am frightened and there is some urgency for me to deal with this problem. I tried to remove this stuff over the summer, my husband also tried to do this, my family also going outside and playing nearby. None of us used masks when cleaning up the mess. Not to mention my neighbor who shares this fence with me. We may all have been exposed to some of this nasty stuff. I'm just a tad bit frightened by it all.

Here's a website to check for those interested.

http://dhfs.wisconsin.gov/communicable/communicable/factsheets/Baylisascarisprocyonis.htm

Ianna

Actually your chance of becomming infected is *very, very* small. You need to eat the eggs. That means eating raccoon poop or eating or chewing on something that has been pooped on :-)

There have only been two documented human infections from this parasite in North America (one was the child you mentioned - he ate some bark from contaminated firewood).

BUT - raccoons are still dangerous! Firstly they are a wild animal, and are capable of inflicting a serious bite or scratch. They can kill or seriously injure cats and small dogs in territorial fights. Most importantly is that they can carry raccoon rabies. Raccoon rabies didn't exist in my neck of the woods until a few years ago, but it's here now, and it's also well established in southern Ontario.

Some municipalities will trap and remove raccoons, particularly if they exhibit odd behaviour (being out in the day or aggression), but that might not solve your problem, since a new raccoon will quickly move into the vacated territory. You might even find you have more raccoon problems as there will be competition from several raccoons for the territory.

What you need to do, is remove anything that's attracting them. Ensure your trash is sealed in raccoon-proof trash cans (or keep it indoors). Don't put trash out early. Compost bins may need to be simillarly secured. If you know they're nesting on your property, you can block off access to the nest, or remove it. Treat any lawn with grub problems because that attracts them too.

Neighbours can be a problem if they don't take these steps too, but if you make your yard very uninteresting to the raccoons, they'll prefer to bother your neighbours :-)

It really is impossible to keep them out of your yard unless you can completely enclose it. Some things might deter them for awhile, but if you have something that's attracting them they'll be back.

I had a raccoon actually come inside this spring! It scared the crap out of us (how do you get it out?)! We made sure that there was no trash at all (even in trash cans) out back for a month, and I stored all new compost I generated in zip lock bags inside a bin for a few weeks as well. There were signs he'd been back to check things out, but he never became a problem visitor.

BP

Someone else in the Old House forum suggested wood snakes from the dollar store. I could find only plastic snake from the dollar store so I tried it last night. My husband said that he heard very fast movement by a raccoon. Maybe it worked for me.

The snakes did work for the time being.. until my neighbor decided to have another vegetable garden. So now it's back to where we began - it's pooping on the fence again. Actually the solution is so obvious to me now but is it worth the trouble... I only have to take a plank and set it atop the fence on an incline. The racoon couldn't possibly get an even foothold that way. However... alas.. I am planning to move homes so is it worthwhile to take this action? -- hmmmm just maybe for the heck of it.

Speaking of moving homes.. I would appreciate feedbacks on how to take your favorite plants with you into your new place. I'll set up a new thread and hope for responses.

ianna

I have one raccon who waswalking around my back yard..no tail on the poor thing,lol..But he never ate anything from my garden..was surprized at this.I have a skunk around as well o yes we know he is here,woofffff I went to Home Depo..MOTH BALLS 3 boxes ..put them all around my house and outisde garden area..even after the rain it still works and no spell of moth ballS..

Please DO NOT USE Moth Balls.... they are deadly to children. When my daughter was a toddler, she put one in her mouth (from a neighbours garden) and we didn't see. She was soooo sick! We had to take her to emergency. They said if she had of swallowed it, she would have died!. I've often seen store owners who have these down low.... children put everything in their mouths, and these look like white candies.

Coffee grounds will deter raccoons, but like blood meal, the grounds need constant reapplying. I have strawberries but this year I have not eaten a single one! The raccoons have learned to wait until they are just ripe. I actually thought my husband was out picking them in the morning before I got up - lol. The raccoons always trample the same places in my small garden, so this year I gave up and tried to accommodate their desire to wallow in the thickets of my daylilies, phlox, and daisies. Leaving open spaces for them seems to minimize the damage they do.

true, mothballs are dangerous around children, but like any other poison, it needs to be handled properly so children don't get their hands on it. It's particularly effective against moles too. Perhaps what one can do is to put the mothballs in socks or some netting that is not visible to kids. In mole holes for example, one can put the balls in stockings so these can be thrown into the hole and removed easily from the hole.

BTW - I banned my parents who live with me, from ever using this stuff indoors. It's a known carcinogen. My parents once put it indoors because they brought something in that let loose moths in my house. Well my entire house started to stink up especially since the vents picked the scent up and distributed it all over.

I do not suggest using any traps or chemicals. You could try a scarecrow sprinkler instead which acts as a repeller with just a automatic spray of water. Ingenious and very simple to use. We love them!

Here is a link that might be useful: Raccoon Deterrents