Following tips can help to keep raccoons away from becoming a pest problem.
Raccoons are attracted to gardens or homes because they offer a food resource and potential den sites. Efforts to reduce available food can include using metal garbage cans with secure lids. To prevent raccoons from tipping over garbage cans, place the cans in a rack or tie them to a secure post. Pet food left outdoors should be removed before nightfall. Pick up fallen fruits and nuts frequently. Never intentionally provide food for raccoons, and discourage your neighbors from this practice as well; it only attracts more raccoons
Frightening
A variety of materials, gadgets, and devices designed to frighten raccoons and other wildlife are on the market. These include flashing lights, sound-producing devices, and water-squirting units, all of which can be activated by motion detectors. In addition, radios, scarecrows, and flags and windmills that spin or flutter in the wind have been used. Unfortunately, none of these are very effective and, at best, may frighten only for a few days, after which the raccoons seem to ignore them, having learned that they present no real threat.
If possible, remove woodpiles or other materials raccoons can den in or under. Thinning out overgrown shrubbery will reduce cover. To reduce access to the roof, tree branches that overhang rooftops should be cut back if possible, leaving a gap of at least 5 feet between the roof and the tree. Trellises and arbors attached to homes may facilitate access to the roof and consideration should be given to their removal. While habitat modification is often helpful, it is rarely a total solution.
Exclusion
Exclusion is the key to eliminating den sites
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Electric fences deliver a painful but harmless jolt of electricity to raccoons seeking to enter your property. To set up an electric fence, you will need electric fence posts, which are usually iron rods about 1/4 inch (6 mm) in diameter, plastic insulators, electric fence wire, and a charger. The fence is set up around the entire perimeter of the property you wish to protect, the first wire strung onto the insulators at a height of about 6 inches (25 mm) and the second wire about 12 inches (50 mm) off the ground. Never connect an electric fence directly in household current. Either use a solar battery or an approved step-down transformer to power the fence. Some states and cities require that you attach a plastic warning sign to the fence.
Never handle dead or live raccoons or their unwashed cages with your bare hands.
Never hold a raccoon with your bare hands. Be sure to rinse traps with hot water and detergent after every use, especially before they are put away for storage.