Home Remedies To Get Rid Of Raccoons

Despite their “cute” appearance, raccoons are never pleasant guests on your property. So, you’re right to want to get rid of them as quickly as possible.

Raccoons are intelligent and have learned to survive in urban environments with their crafty abilities. These capabilities make them a threat to you, and if not controlled and removed, they can become an unwelcome housemate, making a mess of your property.

The best way to get rid of them is to call in a professional to remove the raccoons for you, but if you aren’t ready to do that, here are some home remedies that might help in the meantime.

Top 6 Tips for Getting Rid of Them

Getting rid of raccoons in your property entails more than yelling and attacking them. In fact, these are risky, time-consuming and an inhumane method of removing these pests. So, what are the best home remedies to get rid of them now? Here are 6 simple tips that can help:

1. Make Use of Ammonia
2. Use Pepper and Chili Solution
3. Maintain As Much Cleanliness As Possible on Your Property
4. Using Garlic and Cucumber
5. Install Motion-Activated Sprinklers
6. Make Use of Sounds

Tip #1: Make Use of Ammonia

Raccoons have sensitive noses, and their sense of smell is the most vital aspect of their physiology. They can use odors to detect danger, food, and their relatives. Similarly, using scents that they dislike is a simple way to get rid of them.

Ammonia smells like urine, and raccoons find this quite irritating. So, it makes it hard for them to stay if you use ammonia around your property.

Start by soaking 2-3 lawn tennis balls or more if your home has multiple raccoon hiding locations. These balls absorb ammonia efficiently, and all you have to do is throw them in the sections of your house where you fear these animals have created a home.

If you don’t have these balls or are certain there are no raccoons inside your house, pay attention to your trash bags or cans. Raccoons typically assault trash, making a mess in their search for food. If an unpleasant odor surrounds the trash bag, it can prevent them from getting close to it.

If you don’t have raccoon-repellent trash bags, soak an old rag in ammonia and toss it inside the garbage bag. You can also place a small basin filled with ammonia near your garbage bag. This increases the strength of the odor, causing raccoons to flee.

You can use a liquid sprayer for spots within the house or surrounding areas where these animals may be hiding. This will keep them out of your yard.

Tip #2: Use Pepper and Chili Solution

Pepper or chili solution can be effective in getting rid of raccoons. Because of their acute sense of smell, anything unpleasant acts as a repellent, sending out warning signals that keep these animals at bay.

Raccoons dislike the smells of pepper and chili much as they dislike the smells of ammonia and mint. The good news is that making a pepper solution doesn’t require a lab or chemical solutions. All you’ll need is a trip to the kitchen, some spices, and a liquid sprayer bottle.

Boil Cayenne pepper and Habanero chilies for a few minutes, then cool them down before adding them to the spray bottle. Add some dishwashing liquid to make it stick to any surface sprayed on, give it a good shake, and it’s ready to use.

You should spray this around any location you’ve sighted raccoons, trash bags, and any opening leading into your home, particularly the attic, because raccoons in the attic are pretty common.

You can also spray this liquid on your walls if you believe there are raccoons in your walls or openings large enough for these animals to enter through.

Tip #3: Maintain As Much Cleanliness As Possible on Your Property

Even if you use a pepper and chili solution or your house smells like ammonia, your efforts will be vain if you don’t keep your surroundings clean. It becomes nearly impossible to prevent raccoons when your property is marked as a food source where there is always something to eat.

As a result, cleaning your home and keeping your surroundings neat isn’t only important; it’s essential for successful raccoon removal. If you have fruit trees in your yard and don’t clean up fallen fruits, it’s time to start.

If you have pets such as dogs, cats, or birds and feed them outside, make sure you clean the area where you feed them daily. It’s best to clean it twice a day – in the morning and before retiring for the night.

These measures are crucial because if raccoons don’t find something to eat in your yard, they will most likely leave your property in search of “greener pastures”. On the other hand, if your yard has everything they’re looking for, it’ll be an invitation for them to break into your house and wreak havoc on your food storage, pool, attic, and any other area they can get into. 

Tip #4: Using Garlic and Cucumber

Cucumber is food for humans and certain animals, yet it is one of the foods that raccoons avoid. They dislike its odor and will typically not approach an area where cucumbers are grown. As a result, if growing cucumbers is another surefire strategy to keep raccoons at bay you have a garden in your yard or even one in your house.

Garlic also repels raccoons. These plants have a pungent odor that raccoons despise, so you can use garlic to suppress them successfully. You can also add some chili powder and grab an empty bottle sprayer.

Fill the container halfway with water and add the garlic and chili. Spray on surfaces inside and outside the house and in your garden. You should spray it on anything that could attract these raccoons.

Tip #5: Install Motion-Activated Sprinklers

Despite their craftiness, raccoons get terrified quite easily. You can leverage this weakness of theirs to get rid of them by using motion-activated sprinklers. With a blast of water, you can send them scurrying away from your property. Raccoons will not linger around motion-activated sprinklers, just as people would be startled if they were snooping around and suddenly there was a blast of water from all directions.

When you do this regularly, they’ll stay away from your yard, and if it’s impossible to walk through it without getting wet, they’ll find it difficult to get into your house, and you won’t have to fight raccoons.

Installing standard sprinklers gives you a steady supply of water throughout your yard. The downside, however, is that this will translate to high water bills at the end of the month. Also, if a raccoon tries to enter your yard a couple of times, your plants may become overwatered, killing them.

With motion sprinklers, on the other hand, this is controlled, and the sprinklers only work when it detects motion in your yard. One helpful aspect of this sprinkler is that you can preset it to come on at night when raccoons are most active. You can also set the sprinkler to a raccoon target level, and install it in an area where you often see these animals. 

Tip #6: Make Use of Sounds

Raccoons can be deterred by sounds, just as unpleasant odors can deter them. If possible, use sounds of known predators, such as a dog barking. Otherwise, you can buy ultrasonic speakers and broadcast these noises at a frequency that only these animals can hear. This will keep you out of trouble with your neighbors for causing a disturbance.

Conclusion

While these methods can help you get rid of raccoons, sometimes, the raccoons are trapped within the house and cannot leave. There are also cases where they simply keep coming back. It is better not to attempt to remove them on your own as they can be hostile, especially if they feel physically threatened. They also carry infections that are harmful to your health.

Your best bet is to use the services of a professional wildlife control company with raccoon removal experience. SIA Wildlife Control services is an efficient wildlife control company with extensive expertise in removing raccoons from your property. We will help you get rid of raccoons permanently and in the most humane manner possible!

Let us help you. Contact SIA Wildlife Control services today.