You’re finding yourself getting woken up in the morning to a trail of tiny footprints scattered around your yard. The trash can is tipped over. Garden is destroyed. And leftover food particles left a mess everywhere.
These clues are not subtle. Your home was probably invaded by a racoon.
Racoons are ingenious and potentially harmful creatures if you don’t keep them at a healthy distance from your home. They will crawl into any opportunity to make your home their new den.
How to keep these pests out of your home:
- Build physical barriers to prevent entry
Build a fence that is high enough to prevent them from climbing over. As a bonus, think about adding a floppy fence above the sturdy one. This is meant for the racoons who start the climb up, but the floppy fence will bring them back down immediately.
Depending on what you are growing in your yard, consider installing additional barriers to entry. You can cover your garden with mesh or netting to keep them from biting on the fruits of your labour, especially your corn and vegetables.
- Close gaps and holes to become less vulnerable
Inspect your home in high-risk areas such as your attic, roof, chimneys for any leaks, holes or gaps. Vents and fan openings are also all-time racoon favourites. Any areas that you leave open become vulnerable to racoon entrances.
- Remove main attractions and tighten the trash cans
Another big area of opportunity for racoons are your trash cans. They can easily remove the lids and rummage through your garbage to make a mess. You may want to consider replacing your traditional trash bin with lids that lock. The easiest method would be to keep the trash cans in your garage for as long as you can.
- Fight their senses: loud sounds and bright lights
There’s a reason why raccoons are nocturnal animals that stray at night. They dislike bright lights and loud sounds.
Set up some bright lights across various entry points around your property. To be energy conservant, set up lights that are motion activated. They’ll only flash on when these critters scurry across your lawn. Some homeowners install radio sets with volumes turned high to trick the racoons that humans are nearby to keep them away.
- Keep your trees trimmed and grass cut
Racoons are wild creatures seeking shelter in the wild. By maintaining your yard, it makes your property a less attractive home for them. Racoons easily climb onto trees from one branch to another, and the eventual onto your roof. Maintain your lawn every so often and you’ve got one less reason for a racoon to hide in your garden.
- Get the support of Wildlife Specialists
Remember, racoons are always looking for vulnerable areas, and any open opportunity to crawl into your home is their invitation. You don’t want to wait too long to take action, and at the same time, it’s important to be cautious of the degree of danger involved. If the infestation grows or is seemingly unavoidable, get in touch with Action Pest Control.
The most proven method of keeping your home protected from these pests are hiring professionals to do it the right way.
Action Pest Control has been serving the Hamilton area for over 30 years and deliver the highest level of service to protect your family, home, and business from pests
