Q: What can you put around your house to keep raccoons away?

• <div>Although raccoons aren&rsquo;t particularly picky regarding food, certain sounds, metals, and smells bother them. You can place these items around your home to keep raccoons away:<ul><li>Place wire mesh screens around and underneath decks and porches to prevent raccoons from nesting. </li><li>Put metal sheeting around the edges of your roof or at the base of trees to deter raccoons from coming close. </li><li>Place a loud battery-operated radio near the raccoon&rsquo;s den to keep them from nesting.</li><li>Keep a bowl of cider vinegar on your deck or porch.</li><li>Remove old raccoon scents by thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting underneath porches and decks.</li></ul></div>

Question 1

Should I hire an animal removal specialist instead of calling my local municipality?

Accepted Answer

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You might be tempted to call your local municipality to remove animals from your property, such as a groundhog burrowing in your yard or raccoons getting into your trash cans. However, they typically only remove domestic animals like dogs and cats from properties, or sick and injured wildlife that pose a public safety risk or health threat, such as a rabid animal. They typically do not capture or remove healthy wildlife.

Animal removal professionals have the tools, knowledge, and skills to trap and remove wild animals adequately and humanely. They also can relocate them correctly.

Question 2

What can you put around your house to keep raccoons away?

Accepted Answer

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Although raccoons aren’t particularly picky regarding food, certain sounds, metals, and smells bother them. You can place these items around your home to keep raccoons away:

Place wire mesh screens around and underneath decks and porches to prevent raccoons from nesting.
Put metal sheeting around the edges of your roof or at the base of trees to deter raccoons from coming close.
Place a loud battery-operated radio near the raccoon’s den to keep them from nesting.
Keep a bowl of cider vinegar on your deck or porch.
Remove old raccoon scents by thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting underneath porches and decks.

Question 3

Where do armadillos go during the day?

Accepted Answer

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Many people only see armadillos at night because the closer the animals are to the city, the more they stay in their burrows during the day to avoid noise. More rural armadillos are more likely to come out during the day when they can warm up in the sunlight and avoid predation by owls and cougars.

Question 4

What is a natural way to repel bears?

Accepted Answer

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Using chemicals with harsh odors is a natural way to repel bears. While the animal’s strong sense of smell is an asset in the animal kingdom, it’s a weakness here. Simply place bleach or ammonia in a bucket and leave it outside day or night. Ironically, bears also dislike the smell of pine, so you can use pine oil or a pine-based cleaning agent. Avoid using cleaning products with fruit or citrus smells, however.

Question 5

What time of day are bobcats most active?

Accepted Answer

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Bobcats are most active from sunset to midnight, and from sunrise to a few hours into the morning. If you see a bobcat acting strangely in hours they’re normally not active, it’s possible they’re sick. The Humane Society recommends contacting a local wildlife professional to find and trap the bobcat in this case.