Raccoons are not scared of much. They are very strong and intelligent animals, and they know they can defend themselves. Prior to the 1970's, most raccoons in the USA avoided humans, and would run from people or dogs. But then they started to become more urbanized, and they lost fear of people, in much the same way as some wolves lost fear of people as they turned into dogs. I get phone calls and emails almost every day about a raccoon on the property that has no fear of humans. But, if you want to keep raccoons away from your home, property, pets, or yourself, there are some things that can scare raccoons. So, what scares raccoons?
- YES - A large aggressive dog can do the trick - but beware, the raccoon can also attack!
- YES - An aggressive person with a broom or clanging loud pans - but never get close enough for it to attack.
- YES - A water hose will often drive them away - even a motion sensor sprinkler might do the trick.
- YES - Very loud noises like firecrackers or a gun shot might make them run away, but not always.
- YES - Hot pepper spray, like human mace or bear mace can do the trick.
- NO - Those high pitch ultrasonic sound machines do nothing.
- NO - Bright lights or flashing lights do not scare raccoons.
- NO - Any kind of odor repellent, like mothballs or wolf urine will not scare them.
- NO - A cat, or gentler dog will not frighten a raccoon.
To many people, raccoons can appear very cute, but they also can be quite destructive. This is the reason why a raccoon problem needs to be handled as soon as it arises. As most people say, prevention is better than a cure, and making sure that raccoons don’t get to your property is the best way to abate the situation.
The raccoons have masked faces and bushy trails that are ringed. They also have the endearing trait of rinsing their food. It is also a very intelligent and clever animal. When cornered, the raccoon can actually bite and there is the possibility of disease and parasite transmission. Raccoons can also cause a lot of damage to property and homes. If you notice this animal visiting your property, you need to discourage it.
The animal is nocturnal and it prefers darkness as it hunts. You may discourage it using lights as well as loud sounds. Porch lights may not be enough, but motion activated floodlights may do the trick by startling the animal, which can be very stubborn. You can also set a radio near the trash cans or other areas that the animal may frequent. However, these may not offer a long-term solution.
What are raccooons afraid of? Repellents, especially the simple ones, are thought by some to discourage the raccoon, but the very stubborn animals or a female with babies may not really mind. If a female has babies, you can use eviction spray which is made using male raccoon urine. That's one thing a female raccoon in the attic is afraid of. Read more about Raccoon Eviction Fluid.
Raccoons are omnivorous and they eat a wide variety of foods. Their diet comprises of small mammals, birds, eggs, fish, amphibians, insects, worms, nuts and even fruits. If the raccoons find out that they can find food very easily in your property, they will most definitely help themselves. Leaving your pet food outside will definitely attract the animal and so will garbage that doesn’t have locking lids. Bird feeders need to be cleaned daily or taken down at nightfall. When the situation is bad, you may have to invest in an electrified fence so as to discourage them.
Dealing with raccoons on the property is one of the most challenging and common issues that a homeowner has to deal with when these animals are around. Getting rid of raccoons on the property is never an easy project. Often the best method is trapping and removal. Read my Raccoon Trapping Tips. The greatest problem about raccoons in the attic or any other part of a house is that most of the time they are nursing mothers with young ones and getting rid of them can be a very tricky affair.
The young ones are usually quite helpless and they cannot handle life by themselves. In the absence of the mother, the baby raccoons cannot survive. Also, there is no way you can trap the baby raccoons at all. You need to remove them by hand. You can choose to handle the task yourself or ask a professional to do it for you. Also, the baby raccoons can be used to trap the female quite easily, and this makes it easier to relocate them together. Before you start trapping raccoons, it is important that you find out any laws governing such trapping and relocation in your locality.
The first step is to go into your property and find the baby raccoons and then remove them. If you are not able to locate them, sit for half an hour and listen for any kind of chatter. Always handle the young ones using thick gloves.
You now need to get hold of the female. Here you have some options. You can mount a trap at the entry hole and try scaring her into the cage. You can also choose to use a snare and then cage the female. If you get the pups out in the absence of the mother, you can use them as live bait.
Where no pups are involved, the normal procedure can be applied. This is where you look for all entry and exit points and seal them out, leaving only one. You can then use the one way exclusion door or place a trap.
When all the raccoons are out, you should clean up the property and disinfect it so as to avoid any kinds of infection. When this is done, you should seal out the remaining exit points and raccoon proof your home. But what frightens raccoons? Not much. The best answer is usually prevention! If you've already got them, and I assume you do, then trapping and removal is the best option. But you can try to scare away raccoons with the tactics at the top of this page. Just be aware that they aren't afraid of much.
Read more articles:
What Are Raccoons Scared Of
What to Do If You Are Bitten By a Raccoon
Do More Raccoons Live in Urban Areas, or Wild Areas?
What Do Wildlife Rehabilitators Do with Raccoons?