Raccoons

Raccoons

Dexterous of paw and hearty of appetite, this ring-tailed, masked marauder strikes at night. An excellent climber, it’s omnivorous, dining on plants, insect, and snails. Raccoons are usually solitary except when mating and raising young.

Target:

Many fruits and vegetables, especially sweet corn and melons.

Damage:

Corn stalks are bent and ears are munched on; melon flesh is scooped out. Lawns may be torn up.

Control:

Sanitation, pruning, barriers, repellents, and trapping.

Notes:

To make your property less appealing to raccoons, harvest crops promptly, bring in pet food at night, and secure garbage cans tightly. To protect the vegetable garden, erect a 5 to 6 foot high chicken-wire fence; then cover the top 2 feet with a band of sheet metal. A low, two-strand electric fence is also effective. To keep raccoons out of trees, prune lower limbs and wrap a 2 foot wide metal band around the trunk, positioning the bottom of the band at least 2 feet off the ground.

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