How do you make an unwanted Racoon go away?

We live in town so NO I can not just shoot it.

Raccoons are nocturnal, so you shouldn’t see these critters during the day (I’m not sure if that’s what you were describing). If you do, you’re likely dealing with rabies.

The only solution that worked for me was to completely remove the food source. If they occasionally can get into your trash, or if your trash is unprotected overnight on trash day, you’ll have a problem. Just make sure they can never get in your trash, and they will eventually become a non-issue.

Yell at the top of your voice ”DAVY CROCKETT!!”

@hominid Your right about nocturnal , and getting into our garbage has never been an issue they seem to be after the pond and the flower bed for some reason, and we don’t want to give up either, they do get in the neighbours garbage,but not ours.

@ucme If we didn’t live in town I would put a live one right between it’s little eyes, but living in town that is not an option.

@SQUEEKY2 Yeah, so you said, but no Raccoon wants to be made into a hat.
Just the mere mention of the name will have them scarper into the distance…possibly.

I think all you can do is report them to whatever animal control agency is in your area. I doubt they are rabid; racoons may be nocturnal, but it’s not unusual to see them in daylight hours from time to time. But raising that concern will probably be enough for animal control to remove them for you.

”...without harming it… ” Doubtful. You could ask them if they relocate racoons, but why would they do that? It just creates a nuisance for someone else.

adopt them as pets.

Here it is very strasightforward. If I forget and leave my garage door open with a bag of trash inside that contains any kind of animal product… scraps, greasy paper that might have held a barbequed chicken or an empy sandwich wrapper that contained meat, the racoons shred the whole thing and leave a mess. So I keep the door closed. I compost only vegetative matter and my nearest neighbor is ¼ mile away as the crow flies.

Racoons can smell an empty McDonald’s wrapper at 500 yards.

Can Mrs. Squeeky turn off the bubbler at night? It’s a nuisance, I know.

There are Havaharts big enough to trap a racoon, but then you are left with the unpleasant task of driving around with an enraged racoon in its trap in the back of your car, until you find a suitable Racoon protection program, far far away from your yard. My bro-in-law does this with an ever-increasing family of woodchucks weekly during the nice weather. They are attracted to my sister’s vegetable garden.

Don’t even THINK of shooting or poison. Call your local wildlife rescue group and see if they can rent you a humane trap or put you in touch with a trapper to catch and release the raccoons in a more rural area.
Personally I miss my raccoon friends from my old house. I had a mama coon that actually took slices of bread from my hand. Of course she then went back off into the woods and wasn’t destroying anything.

For those urging rehabilitation of these adorable, pesky clowns, I would remind them that urban racoons kill cats for food. These are not animals that should be encouraged to thrive in a city.

Obviously keep edibles out of their reach is number one. Raccoons love grubs and probably why they are in your garden. You could help the wife put grub traps in the garden…or try raccoon repellent to keep the coons at bay.

I’ve had luck with Epsom Salts and Vinegar around my house as raccoon – and other small mammals – deterrent.

Live trapping is the best solution, along with not keeping any pet food or bird seed etc. outdoors. Most local wildlife rescue groups will be happy to advise you on how to critter proof your space.

Live trapping and relocation is why we are plagued with an overabundance of critter pests in my area. Mice, chipmunks, red squirrels, raccoon, opossum, skunks, etc. People trap them in suburbia and let them loose in the wildlife management area across the street. Within a day they are forced out by the longtime resident critters and they move into our houses, barns, attics, cars, wood piles, tractors, and gardens. It is a nightmare for the faint of heart.
I encourage a family of fox to hang around to help with the control problem. We make a nice team.

@LuckyGuy Do you really think people are re-locating hundreds of these critters in that area? Couldn’t it just be you have some prolific wild life around your parts and a few relocations now and then?
Call me crazy but, a few years ago I made friends with a woman here at our local AC facility when I dropped off a stray dog I had found. She was going dropping off a trapped ground squirrel and they were probably going to euthanize it, so I took it home with me and released it on my property.

She brought me several more ground squirrels.
You shoulda seen that squirrel run when I released it.haha

It is an animal, forget about if it is harmed, introduce it to “Mr. Buckshot” and quick.

@Coloma. Yep! We’ve seen them and actually caught some in action. It is ridiculous.

I have been “relocating and converting to fox food” about one per day for over 2 years. My neighbor is about the same. (Do the math. Shocking.) Is that a reasonable number? The squirrels run through the trees destroying bird nests. They raided my bluebird boxes and took the chicks. The hummingbird nests were destroyed. That really pissed me off.
Last year (after a year of control effort) we started getting birds back.
The DEC says we can legally shoot 6 per day because they are such a nuisance.

@Coloma Where I grew up, people would come from the city to “liberate” dogs and cats they didn’t want. I wouldn’t be surprised if rodents were likewise despatched by the cruelty-free set. Really just means a slower death for them.

@dappled_leaves Well…obviously dumping pets is clearly wrong. Peoples mentality is they will find find some idyllic farm life, ignorant of course.
Letting squirrels go on my 5 acres didn’t cause any deaths, unless maybe more food for the hawks and owls and foxes and coyotes.

Put Lestoil on and around the trash cans. They don’t like it on their feet.

Borrow a bloodhound, let nature decide the outcome.

@Jonesn4burgers Ya gotta get a Coonhound for them coons…like these guys…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfLMdAazCAM

Try sprinkling ground red pepper around the pond and flower border liberally. Not so much that you notice it, but quite a bit.

The coons were crapping on my front stoop and it stopped them. I found large bottles at the Dollar Tree. I think it’s worth a try.

#1 post on this question:
“We live in town so NO I can not just shoot it.”

#5 post on this question:
”@ucme If we didn’t live in town I would put a live one right between it’s little eyes, but living in town that is not an option.”

[Mod says] Just because a Question is in the Social section does not make it a free-for-all; responses must still relate to the discussion and not be disruptive.

You know, if the pepper thing doesn’t work, you could still borrow a bloodhound. You wouldn’t have to keep it around, I imagine. Walk the dog(s) around the backyard a few times, let it (them) drink from the pond, and squirt once or twice. That should convince the coons this is not a safe place for them. I like the pepper thing though, if it works. We have squirrels and coons around here which LOVE general’s chicken. I know, because when I have leftovers, they go nuts for it. I doubt any of my critters would be deterred by pepper.
My critters are not rude. They leave the yard to poo, and they ask for their handouts. The squirrels will take food from my hand, but never bother my garbage. I think it’s because I bribe them with table scraps. Perhaps you could combine deterrants around the pool, with putting out some scraps, far enough away so as not to invite them into your yard.

I think the pepper thing works because they’re all about washing and eating with their hands, @Jonesn4burgers. I don’t know how wide of an area @SQUEEKY2 is covering, however.