Nonetheless, there are still preventative measures you can take. deep and a foot (30+ cm.) Your best bet for getting rid of raccoons is through appropriate fencing. Raccoons can cause a lot of damage if you aren't careful. This can help keep raccoons out of your barn and is a natural deterrent to them because of … Drill a 1/8-inch diameter pilot hole through each mark. The raccoons shouldn’t be hanging out with the animals anyway, as they typically hide in safe areas to avoid predators. We've had a raccoon prob for a wile now. The trapezoid should have 12-inch diagonal sides, with a short top about 3 inches longer than the trunk circumference. Ball up the towel and place it at the base of the plum tree. Keep pet food indoors. The developing fruit on your fruit tree make a tasty meal for hungry raccoons, no matter how much you would like to keep the fruit for yourself. Raccoons will den in hollow trees/logs, brush piles, barns, etc. They also can't help themselves when we leave food out in the open and leave our yard and garden unprotected. It comes in a spray bottle and can be found at some home centers and on the Internet. out from the fence. Main Attraction: Raccoons are omnivores, meaning that they eat all kinds of plants as … A few feet away is a chain link fence at the back of my property, and beyond that is a greenbelt and raccoons live out there. In the wild, raccoons are adept tree climbers, and won’t be deterred by your gate’s height, while their babies can easily squeeze through small spaces. A former cake decorator and competitive horticulturist, Amelia Allonsy is most at home in the kitchen or with her hands in the dirt. Commentator Julie Zickefoose duct-taped a yard funnel to her peach tree to keep raccoons away. … ANSWER: Because raccoons will eat just about anything, your fruit tree is an easy food source. How to Keep Raccoons Out of Your Garden: This is a tough one, because raccoons are so intelligent, strong, and crafty. The developing fruit on your fruit tree make a tasty meal for hungry raccoons, no matter how much you would like to keep the fruit for yourself. In cartoons, raccoons may seem cute and even friendly. Various methods can be used to frighten these animals away—some of which include the use of radios, flashing lights, scarecrows, windmills, pie pans, etc. The only way to prevent the raccoons from accessing your fruit tree is by trapping and removing the populations in your area. Up lighting around trees is another good way to keep raccoons off your property. As an alternative, you can simply place a strand or two of electric fence around your garden’s perimeter, keeping the bottom strand within 6 inches (15 cm.) Raccoons can’t resist trash, so you’ll need multiple strategies in this area. Have tight-fitting trashcan lids or wire the loose ones shut. For instance, simply cleaning up the surrounding area can help. Raccoons can be particularly difficult to remove in areas that have a lot of clutter. Not only will this keep squirrels out of your yard, but it will help to eliminate other pests like chipmunks and raccoons from taking up residence. Here are a few things you can do to repel raccoons from your home, yard, and garden. Once trapped, he takes them to the woods and releases them there. I want to attract birds to my yard but keep the coons out. Raccoons are clever climbers, so it’s easy for them to access your home’s roof by climbing trees, downspouts, vines, or any other structure near the house. Protect the Garden. Secure … Coyote urine. After identifying the tree in question and removing any existing raccoons, you can then make the tree inaccessible and prevent future attempts to inhabit it. A raccoon’s nose is always on alert for interesting scents while his eyes are on the lookout … If raccoons do not get into your yard, they cannot eat your pears. To keep raccoons out of your pear trees, you should discourage them from your yard. (Keep in mind some raccoons may weigh in excess of 20 pounds.) She received her Bachelor's degree from West Virginia University. 3. File the edges smooth after cutting. Cut any low-hanging branches from the fruit tree, removing any that an adult raccoon could grab onto while standing on its hind legs. To make it raccoon proof, you’ll need to add a strand or two of electric fencing at least 8 inches (20 cm.) Getting rid of raccoons can be as easy as cleaning up the area or as drastic as the use of traps. Last year they climbed over the fence when I was sleeping late at night and stole every single apple off my tree the exact night before I was going to pick them all. How to Keep Raccoons out of a Fruit Tree 1. Got raccoons? Traps can be baited with anything from fresh fruits to canned fish-flavored pet food. Removing woodpiles, overgrown shrubbery, and other debris can help. Drill three more 1/8-inch diameter pilot holes through the marks at the opposite end of the sheet metal. Make one pilot hole about 1 inch down from the top, 1 inch up from the bottom and another in the center. Making your yard unattractive to uninvited fruit eaters and triggering their fears of predators will discourage them from eating your trees' fruit before you can pick it. Protect your trash. You can also wrap it around the base of the tree. If trapping, use a cage type, heavy gauge trap that’s at least 10 x 12 x 32 inches (25 x 30 x 81 cm.). He told me that some towns will lend traps to their residents. Soak an old towel in ammonia. Put a net over your fishpond, if it’s small. Feb 18, 2015 - How to Keep Raccoons out of a Fruit Tree. He uses peanut butter as the bait. If raccoons can't gain traction on the trunk, they can't access the fruit, so installing a metal collar around the trunk keeps the raccoons out of the fruit tree. The end with the pilot holes should overlap the opposite end. Her work has been published in the San Francisco Chronicle and on other websites. To keep raccoons away from your yard, it’s a good idea to invest in motion detector lighting around the house – particularly near your roof line. The division has these suggestions for consumers to reduce temptations for raccoons in residential areas: Bring your pet food and water bowls inside at night. Place the sheet metal two feet above ground in order to discourage the raccoon from jumping over it and latching onto the tree. out to prevent digging. Sign up for our newsletter. Check your property for hollow tree trunks or holes into an attic or shed. If you are using our modular Advanced Pole System (photo at right), one baffle can protect many feeders at the same time. Keep Raccoons Out Plant a circle of cucumber plants around the base of the tree. There are steps you can take that will help you keep these animal pests under control. Hi Esther, My neighbor uses traps to catch possums and raccoons. 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You also want to make sure you rake up and remove any berries or nuts that have fallen from your trees to keep squirrels from being lured into your yard by the scent or sight of the food. However, this is probably better left to a professional, as hemmed up coons can get mighty feisty, posing a threat to the homeowner. Cover the joint of the two collar ends with duct tape. Secure the lids of nearby trash cans to prevent the animals’ rummaging. Open structures should be closed in, perhaps with screening, and overhanging tree branches should be pruned back to prevent the animals from gaining access to nearby rooftops. Therefore, it’s a good idea to secure garbage lids or trashcans so these animals cannot open them. Once it has been removed successfully, you need to make sure that your tree is inaccessible to it in future. But in … How to Deter Raccoons with Fencing Drive 1-inch long, 1/8-inch diameter wood screws through the pilot holes and into the tree trunk, using a power drill with a 1/8-inch diameter drill bit. Video of the Day Volume 0% Since they have a natural aversion to light, try putting out motion sensor flood lights to disrupt their night time raiding. Trapping raccoons is yet another technique used. File the edges with a flat file so they are not so sharp. Reduce Clutter. Also, keep any pet food put away at night when raccoons are most active. Barrier Screens As we’ve already mentioned, raccoons don’t discriminate with food, and your prized plants may be a nutritious food source for them. Wrap the funnel-shaped collar around the tree trunk and drive 1-inch wood screws through the pilot holes and into the tree. Wear thick leather gloves to avoid cutting your hands on the razor sharp edges. According to veggiegardeninfo.com, raccoons hate the smell of cucumbers and do not like their prickly plant vines. Open structures should be closed in, perhaps with screening, and overhanging tree branches should be pruned back to prevent the animals from gaining access to nearby rooftops. You can also try a motion sensitive water sprayer, or trapping and relocation to keep raccoons away for good. © Copyright 2020 Hearst Communications, Inc. You might achieve success against the raccoons with only one of the protective options: the straight collar or the funnel-shaped collar. Be aware though that it may be illegal to release raccoons into parks and federal land. Mark a rectangle on a piece of sheet metal that measures 36 inches long and about 3 inches wider than the tree trunk circumference. Find more gardening information on Gardening Know How: Keep up to date with all that's happening in and around the garden. These cute but mischievous critters can wreak havoc around your home and garden, especially in high numbers, but learning how to keep raccoons away from a garden doesn’t have to be a trying task. Clean up! Garden Beds. First of all, you must understand the nature of raccoons. No surprise here – raccoons … This can easily be turned on at night and left off during the day if desired. Sign up to get all the latest gardening tips! To keep raccoons off your roof or out of fruit trees, wrap a strip of 2-feet wide sheet metal around the base of the tree trunk. Push a marker through each pilot hole to mark the opposite end of the sheet metal. Start by cutting off any branches that are hanging low. Play loud noises in the attic. They keep raccoons, squirrels, and heavier birds, like magpies, away from the birdseed. Planting cucumbers around your fruit trees acts as a … Cut any low-hanging branches from the fruit tree, removing any that an adult raccoon could grab onto while standing... 2. You should make sure that an adult raccoon cannot be able to reach any of the branches even if they stand with the hind legs. The tree naturally contains chemicals that deter most insect and herbivore pests. They come and dump out our trash, eat peanut butter that is for the birds, steel my wire bird feeds and eat everything in it, and poop under our deck. … When you use the two together, you gain added assurance that the raccoon will not access your fruit. If these chemicals have been bred out of the tree, its fruit is more likely to be eaten by squirrels, raccoons, opossums and even rats that can easily attack at night, when they are active and people and roaming dogs are not. However, these only work for a short while, if at all as the raccoon will get use to them quickly. Raccoons will den in hollow trees/logs, brush piles, barns, etc. Wrap the sheet metal around the tree trunk, starting with the side that doesn't have pilot holes. Understand How Raccoons Look For Food. of the ground. Measure the circumference of the tree trunk to find the size needed for the collar. You could also bury the fencing at least 6 inches (15 cm.) Wrap a funnel-shaped chimney pipe storm collar around the tree trunk, just above the 36-inch trunk collar. Wrap the sheet metal around the tree and line up the two sets of pilot holes. The storm collar should be slightly larger than the diameter of the tree trunk and extend about 12 inches, sloping down like a lampshade. Proper placement is important, so ask us for details. How Do I Keep Raccoons Out of My Home? These may include tracks, droppings, and crop damage (like hollowed-out melons or half eaten corn). This will make the highly reflective sheet metal much less obvious in your garden. Removing woodpiles, overgrown shrubbery, and other debris can help. Since they are adept climbers (and diggers), ordinary fencing is not enough. A raccoon's reach depends on its size, so remove any branches that hang within 36 inches of the ground. Raccoons enjoy a nice, dark place to sleep, especially if it’s close to an easy food source. Measure the circumference of the tree trunk to find the size needed for the collar. Related: Keep Raccoons Out of Trees. Regularly check your property so you can close off any easy homes for raccoons. Raccoon proof the tree. There was a diagram of a metal baffle or metal wrap, the kind you see around LA to keep rats from nesting in the Beverly Hills palms. If the storm pipe collar has a flange with pilot holes, this step is not necessary. The easiest way to prevent the raccoons to enter your garden is by installing the … You may not always see them, but raccoons will certainly leave behind some evidence of their visit, especially in the garden. Although the tree is trussed up like a turkey, a few peaches still glimmer among its leaves. My friend pulled out her How to be Nice but Still Discourage Critters 1 manual and flipped to raccoons — raccoons and fruit trees. To be truly effective, … You can set up spotlights there to scare them when they trip the motion detector. Mark and drill three 1/8-inch diameter pilot holes on one of the 36-inch sides of the sheet metal rectangle, set about 1 inch in from the edge. Mark the collar in three or four places spaced evenly around the tree trunk. Only a real, heavy duty fence will do the trick. from the ground and 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm.) While you may normally come across their mischievous activities in the garden, raccoons will also get into garbage cans or your pet’s food. The best way to protect fruit trees from squirrels, raccoons and birds is to use a combination of repellents, scare tactics and barriers. Cut the branches back to a branch union. Cut the rectangle from the piece of sheet metal, using a pair of tin snips. 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