What Attracts Raccoons to Your Home?

Raccoons may look cute, but you want to keep them away from your home because they can create a mess in your trash and may even cause property damage.

Remove Pet Food: If raccoons find a food source near your home, they will want to come back, so don’t leave bowls of your pet’s food outside. This also includes birdseed. Also, keep your yard clean of any fallen nuts and plants from trees. Raccoons will eat pretty much anything.

Remove Water Sources: Raccoons need water to survive and they will drink from decorative fountains and ponds, leaky pipes, puddles, and pets’ water dishes. In addition to keeping food away, remove sources of water for them. This will make them uncomfortable and not want to be in your yard.

Protect Your Trash Cans: Raccoons tend to get into trash cans, tear open the bags, and make a mess. If you can, store trash cans in a safe location that isn’t accessible to raccoons and other animals, such as a garage. If you must store your cans outside, use lids that lock or place bricks on the lids to prevent raccoons from getting in.

Take Care of Raccoons in the Home: If you think raccoons have made it into the garage, crawlspace, or attic, check to see any entry points. Even an adult raccoon only needs a hole with a four-inch diameter to be able to get into the home. If you have spotted the entry point, stuff it with newspaper and wait to see if it has been moved. If so, that is the entry point raccoons are using. Call a raccoon removal service and then get to work repairing the damage and removing the access point. You can’t cover any access points until a raccoon exterminator removes them, or else you are stuck with raccoons in your home.