Question

What can I use to repel raccoons from digging in my plant pots?

Answer 1

Here are a few things that you might try to get rid of the raccoons

 

Place cinnamon, ground dried hot pepper, or ground black pepper around your potted plants. These types of spices irritate a raccoons sense of smell, and they should move on. The spices are safe for potted and garden plants.

A Raccoon repellent spray can be made by boiling several hot peppers, an onion, and one tablespoon of cayenne pepper in 2 quarts of water for about 20 minutes. Strain the liquid and use a household spray bottle to spray it around trash cans, potted plants and other flower beds as well as trees and the outside of buildings.  This is very unpleasant for raccoons.  They will learn to stay way.  Keep in mind that the effects of this spray are temporary.  Reapply every two to three days or after rain.

 

If neither of the above suggestions seem to work, you might try a commercial motion activated noise repellant.  These can be purchased at home and garden stores.

Finally, some type of fencing around the potted plants might also be a solution if none of the other methods seem to work.

Answer 2

Chocolate bars broken up and spread around will help get rid of racoons.  It makes them sick if eaten.  The smell tells them "Run away!"  Naptha flakes or moth balls get rid of them, too.  Ammonia soaked rags in jars gets rid of racoons.

Comments

Dogs will be attracted to this chocolate and they can get very sick or die. The sugar in it will draw ants.

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Do not use chocolate bars or moth balls!! That will kill cats, dogs, birds, etc! Slow, agonizing way to die!! And the chocolate attracts bugs and wildlife, like possums, who eat anything. I hate when people post such thoughtless, ignorant, wreckless advice. People that are not educated about what they comment on should not comment. They cause a lot more harm than good.

Answer 3

how do i get rid of a small skunk that has burrowed down his little tunnel which he has dug under my apple tree?  We would like to get him to move without killing him.

Answer 4

i have raccoons at my hous and they keep sprying my dogs. i want to cach them and take them to a better place. what kind of food shold i use to cach them in my traps.

Comments

if you relocate the raccoons it's unfair to the raccoons where you are moving them to because the new raccoons will encroach on the food and water supply of the place you are moving them to. i have a group of raccoons that i feed every (early) evening. i put out tin plates (separate because they don't eat well together) and put about 5 slices of bread in each one. i buy a huge bag of bread from the local mrs bairds store where they have feed bread (stuff they can't sell for one reason or another - out of date, nearing out of date, tear in bag, etc). it only costs $3.50. if the raccoons have food, they won't get into trouble with your plants or getting into other things.

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racoons don't spray..............skunks spray..............skunks come out late at night.............and eat bugs & small critters.......................

Answer 5

can a skunk climb a wire fence

Answer 6

Is it possible to hang some of those containers from the porch.......also check your lawn for grubs..................keep your trash can inside a shed that it can't open the door....or put them in the garage with the door shut............if you have an electric outlet outside Riddex has a unit that you plug in might help keep them away.........some tried dial or ivory soap............that also keeps deer away.............they are not afraid of people, dogs or cats.  you also might want to check the soil that the plants are in...there might be worms or grubs in there........you could change the soil to the one that has the vitamins in it.....don't use soil from the $ store because it is not sterile, and bugs will grow in soil that is not steriled.  Use ammonia in a spray bottle along the edges of your porch and around the plants..............not on the plants.

Answer 7

what is raecoon and tell me abut their living and ahabities?

Comments

Racoons will eat anything, meat, vegetable or fruits, and they are not afraid of cats or dogs.  They will kill small animals and are very dangerous.  They usually come out at night time but if the sun is not bright they will be seen.  Some of them have rabies.  If things get bad you might need to talk with the wildlife person.  Up here in NE PA it is illegal to feed wildlife as they will expect people to feed them and won't hunt on their own.

Answer 8

Racoons do not spray................skunks spray.

Answer 9

Are you sure its raccoons,its sounds more like squirrels.

Answer 10

Cayene pepper sprinkled around your fence will repel them, however it must be from a feed store or other specialty store that carries it in a stronger strength.

Answer 11

I just heard that racoons don't like mint...........so trying planting mint.........you can dry it and use it in your tea.......or make mint tea.........and keepthose pesty racoons away.........I have several kinds of mint............they even have a chocolate mint...........our chickens will eat some of the mint.  We had a friend in Europe tell us the they had trouble with racoons chewing on their tires........

Answer 12

Not a pleasant smell but ammonia will do the trick on a rag tied or stapled to the pot.

Answer 13

I always cover the surface with rocks - 2" or larger. Sometimes they will still dig a ltitle, but the rocks deter them and they don't end up pulling up the whole plant.

Answer 14

A coon would laugh at a mouse trap! Even if one happened to get a mouse trap stuck on a foot it would just pull it off and go about its business. They are tough and strong. Coons are a problem for folks that maintain bluebird trails. Predator guards work until a coon really wants to get past one. My buddy outfitted his bluebird house poles with rat traps to discourage coons. They learned how to trip them without getting pinched.

They are coming because there is an overpopulation of coons. Ever since PETA drove down the price of fur nobody bothers to harvest coons and we have eliminated most of their predators. 

Every state and in the U.S. and U.S. territory must have a wildlife action plan in order to get federal dollars for wildlife. Because I run a sort of "wildlife organization" I attended one of the early workshops in our state. The morning and afternoon workgroups on reptiles and amphibians called for a bounty to be restored for coons. A herpetologist pleaded for a bounty because he is running out of reptiles and amphibians to study.

They may be cute, but they are overpopulated and carry a number of diseases that can be transmitted to humans. The best thing that you could do for yourself and the balance of nature in your area would be to take care of the problem yourself or hire a licensed animal control agency to do it for you. I checked your state laws and it would be fairly easy to handle on your own.

Answer 15

I'd love to know this myself as two racoons got into my pots last night and totally destroyed my corn! I love the little guys but not when they think my potted garden is their playhouse. Please someone, if you have any ideas please let us know! I'm tired of buying seeds and trying to regrow my potted garden over and over again.