How to Prevent Racoons From Entering Your Home
How to Prevent Racoons From Entering Your Home
Raccoons are cute, cuddly creatures that love to eat anything they find. Unfortunately, they also love to enter homes and cause damage.
If you live in an area where you expect raccoons, you should know how to prevent them from entering your home.
Raccoons carry diseases such as rabies and salmonella. They also have parasites and bacteria that can cause illness.
In addition, they can cause property damage if they get into your attic or crawl space.
To keep raccoons out of your home, here are some ways to deter them.
Don’t Leave Food Outside
You may think that leaving leftovers is harmless for raccoon prevention, but this encourages them to come inside.
When raccoons see food, they will naturally go after it.
This behavior means that raccoons will likely try to take advantage of it when you have leftover food lying around.
To avoid attracting these unwanted visitors, make sure that all foods are stored away from sight.
Keep Garbage Cans Closed and Away From the House
When trash cans are open, raccoons often look at what’s inside. Once they realize there’s something edible, they’ll start looking for more.
So to discourage raccoons from coming near your trash can, close it whenever possible.
Make sure to shut any trash cans located near windows during daylight hours. You can even put up signs warning people not to throw trash out of the window.
In addition, shiny objects like car parts attract raccoons in Atlanta streets, so don’t let those items accumulate near your front door.
Use Motion-Activated Lights
Motion-sensitive lighting systems work by turning light bulbs off when no one is nearby. These types of lights use infrared sensors to detect movement within a certain distance.
These lights aren’t just useful for keeping raccoons out; they’re great for security too. Motion-sensing lights turn themselves on automatically when anyone enters or leaves a room.
This mechanism also helps ensure that burglars won’t sneak into your home while you sleep.
Install a Screen Door on Your Porch to Keep Raccoons Out When You’re Not Home
Screen doors protect against pests and animals. An adequately installed screen door keeps insects and small animals out without letting larger ones through.
A well-made screen door requires little maintenance. All you need to do is clean it regularly and replace screens every few years.
As a result, screen doors are especially effective at preventing raccoons from entering your home.
Keep Them Out
To summarize, the best way to stop raccoons from invading your home is to install a secure fence along the perimeter of your yard.
Make sure that the fencing extends beyond the edge of your property line. Also, consider installing spikes or other deterrents along the top of the fence.
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Once you’ve secured your backyard, check your roofline. Many raccoons climb trees to reach places where they can access roofs.
Keep tree branches trimmed back to reduce opportunities for climbing. If necessary, cut down overhanging branches to prevent raccoons from accessing rooftops.
Raccoon repellents also exist. Some products contain toxic chemicals that repel raccoons. Others rely on loud noises to scare them away. Still, others emit unpleasant smells.
While these methods might seem extreme, they could prove helpful if you find yourself dealing with persistent raccoons.
Try out a few of these if you have a raccoon problem. Hopefully, you’ll soon see results!
Do you have any trouble with raccoons?
Let me know, til then—cheers m’deres!
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Nancy Polanco is a freelance journalist, lifestyle content creator, and editor of Whispered Inspirations. She is a proud Mom to Gabby and Michaela and partner and best friend to Darasak. Having worked as part of a health care team for almost a decade, Nancy is happy to be back to her passion. She is a contributor to the Huffington Post, TODAY’s Parents, and an Oprah Magazine Brand Ambassador.