Homeowners who live in highly urbanized areas, or communities near wooded or forested lands, are more prone to nuisance wildlife problems, especially raccoons. One of the most common complaint among these very homeowners is their garbage cans. Because raccoons have dexterous paws that are almost human-like, they can grip, grasp, and pry open many things. This includes garbage can lids, but also includes roof shingles, soffits, siding, doors, and more. Raccoons are extremely destructive as well, causing damage in all sorts of ways. They dig up lawns and gardens, rip off roof shingles and siding, pry open fencing, chew through electrical wiring, rip through screen windows, tear down attic insulation, and soil everything in their path with urine and droppings. These damages can quickly escalate into costly repairs and renovations.

For these reasons and more, it is important to stop a raccoon problem early on before they can cause an exponential amount of damage to your home and your property. You must learn how to protect your home from nuisance raccoons, starting with proper garbage management. Continue reading to learn how you can thwart raccoon activity on your property by managing your garbage cans better.

Garbage Can Tips

There are 4 primary methods that are effective for preventing raccoons from having access to your garbage cans. Each method can be used alone, or in combination with each other. It all depends on what works best for you. Here are the 4 methods we suggest:

❶ Only take your trash out to the driveway on the morning of garbage pickup day. Never leave your trash cans outside overnight when you know there are raccoons present in the area. They will find your garbage, and they will make a huge mess of your driveway before the sun comes up.

❷ Keep your trashcans inside the garage or shed at all times, unless it is garbage pickup day. Leaving your garbage cans outside all the time will let raccoons know they have easy access to your trash. Since raccoons have excellent memories, they will come back night after night for your trash cans.

❸ Use a bungie cord or large cement block to keep the trash can lid secured. By tightly securing your trash can lids, you prevent raccoons from being able to pry them open with their little paw fingers. If they cannot get into your garbage, they will give up after a while and stop coming back to your property.

❹ For those of you who have to keep trash receptacles outdoors, you can string brightly colored outdoor lights around them to scare raccoons off. The bright lights will make raccoons timid, and they will avoid areas that are well lit. You can also try electronic sound machines and motion-sensored lighting, or simply sprinkle some ammonia on the trash bags.

Louisville Raccoon Removal

If you are experiencing raccoon problems, let us help. We offer 24 hour raccoon removal, as well as, raccoon proofing and prevention, minor restorations for raccoon damages, raccoon cleanup, and much more. We are DNR licensed and insured, and provide both residential and commercial raccoon control services. Call our office directly at 502-553-7622 for prompt and professional Louisville raccoon removal you can trust.