Hey folks,
I’m officially losing the battle with raccoons. They show up every night like they’re clocking in for a shift — wandering around the yard, knocking things over, and staring back at me like I’ma the one trespassing.
I’ve cleaned up food sources, secured the trash bins, and even fixed a loose board in the fence. Still, they keep coming back.
Iike too smart. If they decide your yard is on their nightly route, they’ll keep checking it no matter what.
Motion lights helped a bit for us. They don’t love bright surprises, but after a while they kind of get used to it. Persistent little bandits.
They usually come back if they’ve ever found food there before. Even once. Their memory is ridiculous.
@DecksideTom Same here. It scares them the first few nights, then they start to waddle past like it’s a red carpet spotlight.
Try removing anything they can flip, climb, or hide under. They love little “hangout spots.” Once we cleared those, visits dropped.
I swear raccoons are half-ninja. One climbed my fence, jumped on the grill, knocked over the bird feeder, and ran off before I even made it outside.
If they’re sniffing around for food, they might eventually stop once they realize it’s not worth the trip. But it can take weeks.
Anyone tried sound deterrents? A neighbor swears by them, but I’m skeptical. Raccoons seem like the type that would just shrug and keep walking.
@NightYardWatcher Do they ever try going near your trash bins? That’s usually their first target. If they’re ignoring it, they might just be passing through out of habit.
The only thing that worked for me was consistency — tightening up the yard, eliminating food smells, and making sure nothing interesting is left out. It took patience, but they eventually moved on.