How to Racoon Proof Your Home in 5 Easy Steps

Are raccoons wreaking havoc in your home and garden? If so, don’t worry – there are steps you can take to protect yourself from these pesky critters. Raccoon proofing your home is a must if you want to keep them out for good. Continue reading to learn five easy steps you can take to ensure that your property stays raccoon-free.

Call 317-535-4605 for Indianapolis Raccoon Control Services
Call 317-535-4605 for Indianapolis Raccoon Control Services

A 5 Step Raccoon Proof Guide Anyone Can Do

1. Remove food sources: Raccoons are scavengers and will find any available food source they can. Make sure to keep garbage, pet food, bird feeders, and gardens out of reach. Secure lids on bins so that raccoons cannot access the contents and store all outdoor pet food indoors at night.

2. Secure or cover compost bins: Compost bins can be a great temptation for raccoons due to their easy access to rotting foods. To prevent an infestation, secure your compost bin with a heavy duty latch or cover it with a tarp when not in use.

3. Seal entry points: Raccoons are incredibly dexterous animals and can fit through holes as small as 4 inches. Inspect your home’s foundation and walls for entry points, then seal them with caulk or metal flashing. Make sure to check around windows, doors, chimneys, vents, and any other potential entry point.

4. Trim trees close to the house: Raccoons are excellent climbers and will use tree branches as a bridge to get into your attic or upper levels of your home. Be sure to regularly trim branches from trees that are within 10 feet of your roofline.

5. Install a motion-activated sprinkler: If raccoons have already taken up residence in your yard, consider installing a motion-activated sprinkler system to scare them away when they approach unwanted areas of your property.

Raccoon Proofing Tips You Can Use Year-Round

By following these five steps, your home will be greatly protected from raccoons and any other animals that may try to invade your space. Remember, prevention is key for successful animal proofing so make sure to regularly check around your home for potential entry points and keep food sources stored securely. With the right precautions in place, you can rest assured that your property stays raccoon-free!

Choose Professional Raccoon Removal and Control Service

Now that you know how to raccoon proof your home in 5 easy steps, why not contact a local professional for additional help with raccoon abatement? Professional raccoon control in Indianapolis offer humane methods of trapping and exclusion, as well as advice on preventing future infestations. They also provide cleanup services that can help restore your home’s safety and cleanliness. Contact a local wildlife removal service to remove any existing raccoons in your home and protect it for the long-term from future intruders. Not only will raccoon proofing keep your property safe, but it will also safeguard your family from potential diseases that raccoons can spread, such as rabies, distemper, roundworm, and leptospirosis.

Are you ready to get rid of raccoons safely and protect your property from future nuisance animal problems? Contact Indianapolis Raccoon Removal at 317-535-4605 for prompt and professional Indianapolis raccoon control services you can trust.

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How to Determine if You Have an Infestation of Raccoons in Your Home
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Why Raccoons Are Attracted to Your Property Each Night

Raccoons are one of nature’s most clever and adaptable mammals. They retain some superlative survival skills, including excellent climbing and grasping capabilities. Several attributes and comforts around a home or business can be very attractive to local raccoons.

Effects like land over-development, inclement weather, damaged habitats, strong breeding, and pure curiosity are all reasons why raccoons are choosing urban and suburban areas for sources of food and shelter.  With all of these factors at play, it is no surprise that nuisance raccoons have become a problem in so many communities around Indiana.

If you are currently experiencing a raccoon problem on your property, continue below to learn what it is that may have attracted them there in the first place, plus what you can do to get rid of raccoons safely.

Indianapolis Raccoon Trappers 317-535-4605
Indianapolis Raccoon Trappers 317-535-4605

Raccoons Love Your Property Because It Offers:

Accessible Pet Food

Raccoons are most motivated by food, just as any other wild animal.  When homeowner’s leave food sources outside or in their garage, raccoons are sure to sniff it out.  They are great at hunting down meals, especially easy ones.  Edibles such as pet food, garden produce, bird feed, and even dirty grills can all be desirable snacks for raccoons and other wild animals alike.  If you have any of these items on your property, it may be the cause of your late-night visitors. 

Outdoor pets like dogs and cats should be fed indoors or garages.  This prevents the need to leave pet dishes full of food, outside.  Raccoons love dog and cat food; it is tasty and provides nutrition and protein.  If feeding a pet indoors is not an option, try securing the food dishes at night when raccoons are most active, then replace them in the morning.  On the same topic, gardens should also be secured to prohibit entry by raccoons, rabbits, and other garden nuisances.

Outdoor Garbage Containers

Trash and garbage cans are another potential food source for raccoons.  Many people prefer to take their trash out at night before the morning of pickup.  Although this saves a few extra minutes in an otherwise busy morning, it can be a main attraction for nocturnal wildlife.  Raccoons have dexterous paws and long claws that allow them to clasp and grab very well.  They can easily open up garbage lids and rummage through leftovers, litter, waste, and other compost.  This not only leaves a mess for homeowners to clean up in the early hours of the morning, but it creates a rift among fellow neighbors that dislike the unsightly garbage spread all across their curb.

Generous Garden

Gardens are a great source of nutritious produce right at your fingertips. But at night when they are unattended, gardens are like a free buffet for raccoons and other omnivorous animals. Not only are they intelligent and can remember where food sources are located, they have human-like paws that can prick, pry, pluck, and more.

Open Access

Another main attraction for raccoons is open access to shelter.  Cracks and crevices in rooftops are easy entry points for raccoons.  They can gain access to attics, garages, crawl spaces, and outdoor sheds and storage spaces.  This easy access is a wide open invitation for raccoons to come inside.  As mentioned before, harsh weather conditions and breeding season both encourage raccoons to seek shelter in dens, or in residential properties.

Raccoons will remember where reliable food and shelter sources are and will return to them night after night.  In order to get rid of raccoons from trespassing onto your property, you need to figure out what is attracting them in the first place.  These areas above are a great place to start.  Next, contact a local wildlife removal company to safely and humanely capture and release nuisance raccoons from your property.

Are you ready to get rid of raccoons safely and protect your property from future nuisance animal problems? Contact Indianapolis Raccoon Removal at 317-535-4605 for prompt and professional Indianapolis raccoon control services you can trust.

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Top 3 Products for Humane Raccoon Abatement

If you are having problems with nuisance raccoons on your property, but hesitant to take action in fear of harming the animals or surrounding environment, this may be the solution you’ve been waiting for. Continue reading to learn the top three products you can buy and use for safe, humane, and 100% non-lethal raccoon abatement.

Indianapolis Raccoon Removal and Control 317-535-4605
Indianapolis Raccoon Removal and Control 317-535-4605

Live Trap Cages

In the professional raccoon removal and control industry, the best practice is to always use safe and humane, non-lethal methods. Furthermore, it is important to always adhere to all local, state, and federal regulations that govern wildlife abatement. Live trap cages are one of the most common pieces of equipment approved by set laws, and utilized by professional companies when raccoon extraction and relocation is necessary. These traps come in all different shapes and sizes, and work by allowing a raccoon to enter, but not exit. Absolutely no harm is caused to the raccoon, and the cage itself protects the user from any raccoon contact.

Granular Animal Repellents

It is highly inhumane to use toxic chemicals or solutions to rid a property of raccoons. Not only is it harmful to the raccoons themselves, it is also dangerous to non-target animals and the surrounding environment. For these reasons, several manufacturers in the animal abatement industry have developed organic repellents as a humane and non-toxic alternative. Common ingredients include tastes and sensations that raccoons hate, such as black pepper, menthol, and capsaicin. These repellents come in granular form, and can be easily dispersed around the perimeter of a property. Common ingredients include tastes and sensations that raccoons hate, such as black pepper, menthol, and capsaicin.

Spray Animal Repellents

An addition to granular repellents, you also have the option of purchasing spray repellents. Scientifically developed and concocted based on the same principles of granular formulas, spray animal repellents work by thwarting raccoon activity in concentrated areas. You can also choose to make your own spray repellent by combining olive oil, water, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and red pepper together, and then applying it to the perimeter of your property. Just be sure to keep pets away from treated areas since the pepper can irritate their eyes and nose.

Trusted Indianapolis Raccoon Control

Call 317-535-4605 for Indianapolis raccoon removal and control you can trust. We are DNR licensed and insured nuisance wildlife removal contractors who offer a wide range of 24 hour raccoon removal and control services, including raccoon cleanup, raccoon proofing, minor restorations for raccoon damages, and more. Call 317-535-4605 to request a free estimate or emergency service, today.