Many
of you know that raccoons are known to adapt very easily
to a changing environment
that is why
many people
have problems with the damages caused
by these creatures. Raccoons
have inherited a bad habit: they
vandalize garbage cans, fish ponds
and also your very own kitchen pantry due
to the fact that many houses
( especially
in United States ) have a pet door which
for a
raccoons is like an invitation.
Besides this,
raccoons invade attics, chimneys, porches and other similar locations,
not to mention that
the cities and suburbs offer these creatures a developed underground roadway system
for those intelligent animals who use these storm sewers. These raccoons not only invade your privacy but also they cause damage, for
example, they
can get into crops or
just by simply occupying your chimney they make annoying little
sounds that eventually
will drive
you crazy.
The first
thing you should do is to find out
if you are truly having problems with raccoons because many people have
the tendency to
affirm that raccoons are
the ones to blame for
the damages but
in reality, the ones who
should be blamed for
causing these problems are dogs, cats or other friendly animals.
If
you dont have the possibility to observe these animals directly the best
thing you could
do is to identify their
tracks. In order to do this you should use the following :
flour, nontoxic powders and also
cornstarch, these will help you to check out footprints
on hard surfaces. A useful
tip : raccoons which use chimneys or
attics usually begin to make noise
when it is getting darker and they stop
doing this in the morning, when the sun makes
its appearance.
The sounds that raccoons make when they are moving can help you detect them more easily.
Also, if you
hear purring noises then you should know that young cubs are present. Usually, you will hear these noises when their mother comes back to the den.
A wise thing you could do if you have problems with raccoons is simply wait; in other words, many
of the problems made by raccoons ( for example: occupation of a building ) resolve themselves within a few
weeks or if you are lucky, in a few days.
If cubs are also causing you problems then you should know that they wont leave your
attic until they are nine weeks of
age because until then, they cant
take care of themselves
so they wont venture in an unknown environment where they will be helpless.
When it comes down to chimneys and attics if yours is
uncapped then raccoons will probably use it for denning but also for giving birth and raising cubs. If you
assume that after a while they will leave, the best thing you should is that you might
try using some
harassment techniques
so that you could hurry their departure. Also, you might as well leave the attic lights on or
place a radio tuned to a talk-show and leave it a high volume.
Once you are certain that you got rid of all the raccoons, the first thing you should do is install an approved chimney cap so that in the future, raccoons wont be
able to invade your privacy. A very important note is that you shouldnt use fire or
smoke to make the animals come out of the chimneys because by doing
so, you will most likely kill the youngsters as they arent able to
evade on their own.
When it comes down to yards and gardens, in order to discourage garbage
vandalizing you should place cans at the curb when the day of garbage pick-up has arrived. Another thing you could do is that you should secure the lids using bungee cords or weights. Dont
forget that raccoons are often attracted by birdseed and suet and they usually cause a lot of damage to garden
fruits and also
vegetable gardens , especially corn and grapes. Garden vandalizing will often occur when the foods are
ready to be picked so you should be more attentive during those periods.
All in all, raccoons can cause a lot of problems so some safety precautions should be taken in order to avoid these problems which can become very annoying if ignored for a longer period of time.
Summary:
Getting rid of raccoons can become a very frustrating thing to do if you dont take the best decisions. Patience and clever thinking are a must when confronting with such a
delicate situation.
Angelina
Diaz has been dealing with raccoon issues for years. You can visit
http://www.coonhuntinginfo.com to find the
latest tips &
tricks about
how to get rid of raccoons but also very useful coon hunting info.