By
eHow Home & Garden Editor
Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Things You’ll Need:
- motion detection sprinkler or lighting
- portable radio
- stinky socks
- plastic mesh or chicken wire
- plastic mesh
- beneficial nematodes or soapy water
Step1
Play a radio in your garden at night. Raccoons are stealthy creatures and will shy away from noisy areas. Select an 'all-talk' station. Keep the volume low so you don't disturb your neighbors.
Step2
Surround vegetable gardens with a 6 foot fence made of loose plastic mesh. The mesh should be tight at the bottom and loose near the top so that it drapes slightly. Raccoons will be unable to climb the mesh because it will collapse under their weight.
Step3
Keep all pet food indoors at night. This includes water bowls. Raccoons are fastidious creatures and love to wash their hands in fresh water.
Step4
Use motion detection sprinklers or lighting in the garden or near fish ponds. A burst of water or light will frighten raccoons, at least temporarily.
Step5
Leave articles of human scented clothing in the garden, the stinkier the better.
Step6
Drape fine plastic mesh over garden plantings, especially melons, strawberries and squash. To harvest, simply lift off the mesh.
Step7
Cover compost piles with a layer of fine plastic mesh or a chicken wire frame.
Step8
Eliminate grubs from your lawn by applying beneficial nematodes or soapy water. Raccoons dig for grubs that live just under the turf near the roots. Grubs will eventually pupate into destructive beetle insects. You are actually doing your garden a favor by making this important step.
Step9
Keep the dog outside at night.
