Raccoon advice?
Anyone have advice how to get rid of a raccoon?
Every night he knocks over my trash can. I run outside, swinging a stick and yelling at him. He takes a cool five or ten seconds to size me up and then saunters away, leaving me to experience my son's dirty diapers all over again. We put all our food scraps in the garbage disposal and worm composter, so I don't know what he's interested in getting out of our trash can.
He's about as big as my son, and probably about as smart, too. I don't really want to kill either of them, so poison and traps are out.
Your thoughts would be appreciated.
Update 3/25/2007: Thanks for all the suggestions. I screwed a hook into the fence, looped a bungee cord through the can handle, and hooked the cord onto the fence hook. There is about an inch of slack in the cord, so pushing over the can just makes it spring back into place. I've heard the raccoon rambling around the trash can, but he hasn't knocked it over since.
Hi,
You might want to read:
http://www.acmehowto.com/howto/pest/racoons-yard.php
There also seems to be a 100%organic product made of Coyote Urine sold here:
http://www.critter-repellent.com/raccoons/raccoons-in-my-pond-pool.php
Good luck in driving out the Racoon and I appreciate that you want to adopt harmless means to do so.
In general, the best advice I've heard is to racoon-proof your gabage can. If they can't get into your garbage, they'll go find one at a neighbor where they can. There are some simple ways you can do it yourself:
http://www.projectwildlife.org/living-raccoons.htm
or you can find commercial versions that have a clever mechanism built-in.
The solution to raccoons raiding garbage pail.
Spray ordinary laundry bleach into the can and around it. This works for me.
We live in Florida and our Community backs onto a conservation area where racoons live.
We are principally a vacation renting community and therefore trash cans are placed curb side most days of the week.
Racoons patrol for food every night , over turning the trash cans and littering our streets with unhygienic household waste.
Our Home Owners Association have found a very simple device for securing the lids of our cans,.
It comprises a spring fastener, attached to the can wall by a bolt and nut, and an anchor bolted to the lid.
It was shown to our waste collection company, Waste Management, ‘ THINK GREEN’ who have approved
it.
I put my can curb side and now see that the raccoon no longer topple it, but look and walk on by because he knows he cannot get in.
We don’t have strewn trash anymore.