Why are Raccoons in Your Garbage?

Are you outside refilling your trashcans because some pesky raccoons pillaged your garbage again last night? Well, there is a very good reason why this continues to happen. In fact, there are several. Read on to learn why you have raccoons in your garbage, and what you can do to put a stop to their nuisance behaviors.

Louisville Raccoon Removal and Control 502-553-7622
Louisville Raccoon Removal and Control 502-553-7622

▷ Raccoons are Omnivorous

Raccoons are omnivores, like us, which means they eat all food groups, including meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy, legumes, and more. Informally, raccoons are what we call “opportunistic feeders”, which means they will basically eat anything, as well as, do whatever it takes to gain access to discovered food sources. This includes your garbage.

▷ Raccoons are Bad at Hunting

Although raccoons are incredibly intelligent mammals with excellent memory, dexterous paws, and excellent climbing abilities, they are actually very bad at hunting. So when they find a worthy and reliable food source, they stick with it for as long as they can, or until it is gone. When raccoons know your garbage cans are a free, nightly buffet, they will remember and revisit for as long as the garbage is there.

▷ Raccoons Can Open Lids

As mentioned, raccoons have dexterous paws and claws, which give them the ability to grasp, pull, and pry. So when you think your trashcans are safe because they have lids, think again. Raccoons can easily climb trashcans, open them up, and pull out as much garbage as they can reach. They can even open latches and locks, untie ropes, and achieve other simple feats that only require a little tampering.

What You Need to Do

All you have to do is stop leaving your garbage cans outside. Furthermore, wait to put your garbage cans at the curb for pickup on the morning of trash collection day. Raccoons are nocturnal, so you are handing over your trash by putting out your garbage the night before. If you must leave your trash receptacles outside, invest in some quality lid locks. You can find these at your local home improvement store or online.

Still Have Raccoon Activity Around the House?

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 in Louisville, Kentucky and throughout its surrounding areas. Call us directly at 502-553-7622 to request a free estimate or advice, today.

Louisville Raccoon Removal and Control

How to Keep Raccoons Away From Your House

Due to the overwhelming increase of new housing developments and subdivisions, raccoons have been indirectly forced out of their natural habitat. This causes a higher population of raccoons in residential areas. To make matters more challenging for homeowners, raccoons are very clever and have excellent memory retention, which means they are fully-aware that suburban areas are easy sources for food and shelter.

If you have noticed some increased raccoon activity around your home, now is the time to take action before they can create a habit, or cause any costly damage. Continue reading to learn what you can do to keep raccoons away from your house without harming them in any way.

Raccoon Removal and Control 502-553-7622

Raccoon Removal and Control 502-553-7622

What They Want From You

Raccoons are interested in anything they can get their paws on, literally. They are naturally very curious and clever mammals. So if there is something around your property that will attract wild animals, then you will certainly attract raccoons.

First and foremost, raccoons are looking for food and water. Many homeowners have outdoor storage areas, such as sheds, garages, barns, and similar edifices. And if items like pet food, horse feed, non-perishables, or any other possible food sources, are left in these areas, raccoons will do whatever it takes to access it all.

To thwart raccoon activity altogether, you must remove all food and water sources, including pet bowls, bird baths, and certain plants. If you have a garden, then utilize fences, chicken wire, and even homemade raccoon repellent to prevent raccoons from stealing your crops. Raccoons are also known to dig up lawns in search of grubs, so if you have a grub problem, you might also get a raccoon problem.

Raccoons are also on the lookout for shelter. Things like log piles, playgrounds, dumpsters, hollow trees, voids beneath decks and porches, tree houses, pet houses, and sheds are common target areas for raccoons to shack up. Be sure to address these areas before winter arrives, to stop any infestations from occurring.

Mind Your Garbage

Another common habit that homeowners have is taking out their garbage cans the night before trash pickup day. Although this habit is likely more convenient, it is not worth walking outside to a front yard that has all of last week’s rubbish scattered everywhere.

Raccoons are nocturnal and they go searching for food at night. Unsuspecting garbage cans are often times their favorite targets. So be sure to take your garbage out the morning of your scheduled trash pickup day to prevent scavenging raccoons.

When Nothing Seems to Help

When you just can’t seem to get a nuisance raccoon problem under control, it is time for some professional help. Contact a licensed and insured Louisville raccoon removal and control company for help raccoon-proofing your property. They have the skills, experience, and resources to safely resolve a nuisance raccoon issue at a fair price.

Louisville Raccoon Control Solutions

Louisville Raccoon Removal

Louisville Raccoon Removal 502-553-7622

Call 502-553-7622 for professional Louisville raccoon removal services today. We offer a wide range of services for residential and commercial properties, including raccoon removal, control, prevention, proofing, cleanup, attic restorations, and more. Call 502-553-7622 to request a free estimate or information about Louisville raccoon control, today.

The Cheapest Options for Raccoon Control

When it comes to getting rid of pesky raccoons, most homeowners are looking for an effective, but inexpensive option. Fortunately, this is possible with the right knowledge and materials. Continue reading to learn which options are the cheapest for raccoon control.

Louisville Raccoon Removal and Control

Louisville Raccoon Removal and Control 502-553-7622

Environmental Modifications

The absolute cheapest method of non-professional, do-it-yourself raccoon control is environmental modification and monitoring. This entails nightly observations and daily logs to record when and where the raccoon activity is taking place on your property, followed by making changes to the surrounding environmental to thwart raccoons from returning night after night.

Basically, you must find out what it is that’s attracting nuisance wildlife to your yard, and then eliminate what that may be. Most likely, it is food and water, such as pet bowls, water dishes, bird baths, squirrel feeders, accessible garbage or compose piles, and any other possible forms of food, water, or shelter.

A costlier, but still affordable, method of environmental modification is to install motion-sensing lighting, automatic sound machines, or premise fencing. You can also place a small stereo or radio in the area that has the most activity, and leave it on a talk station, overnight. This can trick raccoons into thinking there are humans around, in which case, they would steer clear.

Homemade Raccoon Repellent

Another highly effective and affordable option is to make your own homemade raccoon repellent spray. You may not even need to buy supplies if you have them at home already. All you need is a plastic spray bottle, some water, and a few household spices or essential oils. Raccoons hate cinnamon, cayenne pepper, black pepper, chili powder, eucalyptus, menthol, spearmint, peppermint, and similar strong scents and spices.

Simply mix these with water and spray the perimeter of your property. Apply your solution more generously in areas where raccoons hang out the most. Just be careful with pets that wander outside since the spray can also irritate their nose, mouths, eyes, and throat.

The Importance of Raccoon Removal

If you have raccoons in the attic or other area within your home, you cannot put a price on safety and comfort. Not only are raccoons incredibly destructive, they are known carriers of several infectious diseases that can be passed onto people and pets. So regardless of how expensive it is to resolve a raccoon infestation, it must be done without questions. The massive mess will only continue to get more expensive as time goes on, so the best route for saving money when it comes to a raccoon infestation is to tackle the problem right away. The longer raccoons are living in your home or building, the more damage will occur, making the restoration project more expensive.

Louisville Raccoon Control

Louisville Raccoon Removal

Louisville Raccoon Removal 502-553-7622

Call 502-553-7622 for DNR licensed Louisville raccoon control services that are both safe and humane. We never harm or kill raccoons, and neither should you! Instead, enlist the services of our licensed wildlife rescue contractors for non-lethal raccoon exclusion and control. We don’t just get rid of raccoons, we also provide cleanup services and minor attic restorations from raccoon damages. Request a free estimate, today.

Garbage Can Protection for Nuisance Wildlife

Louisville Raccoon Removal 502-553-7622

Louisville Raccoon Removal 502-553-7622

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:

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.

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.

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.

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

Louisville Raccoon Removal

Louisville Raccoon Removal 502-553-7622

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.