How to Keep Raccoons From Digging Up Plants? – 8 Easy Ways

It’s always been troublesome for me to have raccoons destroying my Garden. Is it to you too? It’s because raccoons are attracted to the plants, vegetables, fruits, and even pests that they can see in your Garden!

Raccoons have also soon get into the suburban and urban areas. And that’s because of the higher availability of food and shelter in these places.

It’s fun to see these raccoons almost everywhere. However, it may not be fun seeing them destroying your Garden.

Here’s a guide on how to keep raccoons from digging up plants.

8 Effective Methods to Get Rid of Raccoons

Method 1: Eliminate any Food Source in your Garden

This method is the easiest one. If you haven’t known yet, raccoons are explicitly omnivores. They can eat everything as long as it is not something they dislike.

When you remove any food sources in your Garden that they are drawn to, such as insects, pet foods, and even kitchen waste, they will most likely not return to your yard again.

However, you must know that raccoons always find a solution to their problems. They are capable of opening garbage plastics and lids.

So you should consider securing the lids that would make it impossible for them to break and secure the pet foods inside your home.

You must also clean the food remains found in your Garden and plants on a regular basis to stop them from coming back.

Method 2: Get Rid of Grubs

Killing grubs in the soil is another way to keep raccoons out of flower pots. Raccoons eat pests, which is why they devour your plants and dirt.

There are a variety of ways how to remove grubs, both natural and conventional. The usage of Neem Oil, which comes from the Neem tree, is one natural way.

Another option is to use beneficial nematodes, these are non-segmented roundworms that can kill grubs, and you can find these online or at garden stores.

However, it is worth noting that nematodes are photophobic, meaning they are sensitive to bright lights, which makes them less effective when exposed, so try to use them at the appropriate time.

Alternatively, you can apply conventional insecticides like Carbaryl and Trichlorfon to plants. Their effectiveness in killing bugs lasts for a maximum of 14 days.

Using Lawnbox Grubout is also recommended because of its ability to kill bugs and is purely organic.

Try out these methods and see which ones work best for your plants.

Method 3: Install a Motion-Activated Water Sprinkler

The raccoons don’t want to get startled by the water. When they get sprayed with water, their initial response would be to run away from your garden.

So installing a Motion-Activated Water Sprinkler would be a big help to deter raccoons that would want to destroy your garden.

In addition to this, it is a good thing for your plants to get extra sprayed with water, especially during summertime.

Method 4: Use Bright Lights and Radio in your Garden at Night

Another thing about the raccoons is that they are nocturnal animals, which means they are most active at night.

Since they dislike being exposed to the sun, bright lighting in your garden at night may deter them from visiting your yard.

You can also turn up the radio and play noisy music such as rock, electronic music, or heavy metal. Raccoons dislike loud noises, so these techniques can help scare them away.

Method 5: Plant Herbs that they Dislike

Plants and fruits are also favorites of raccoons. These are one of the things they consume from your garden. However, there are some plants that they don’t consider eating, which is excellent news if you want to keep your plants safe.

There is no problem if you want to plant certain herbs that you like. However, there are some herbs that raccoons are naturally drawn to, such as corns, grapes, and berries.

If you want to grow these herbs, you can use homemade repellent instead to keep them away.

To find out what homemade repellents are recommended and how to make them. Take a look at the next method.

Method 6: Create Homemade Repellent

What to prepare:

If raccoons dislike certain plants, they also dislike certain odors. It upsets their sense of smell, so if you cover your garden with foul odors, they will cease coming to your yard in search of food.

What scent will keep raccoons away? Epsom salt is one of the most effective scents for repelling these raccoons, and it’s also a good fertilizer for your garden.

Hot pepper and crushed garlic are also good deterrents since their scent is powerful enough to pass through the raccoons’ noses and irritate them.

A combination of onion and hot pepper can also be used. A mixture of two strong-smelling compounds can produce an even stronger odor that will repel them.

Just remember to sprinkle or spray these things around your garden on a regular basis to reduce the likelihood of raccoons returning.

Method 7: Install a Chicken Wire Fence

What to prepare:

Another great approach to stop animals digging up plants, particularly raccoons, is to install a chicken wire fence around your plants.

By installing a fence, it would be impossible for a raccoon in your garden to dig under the soil or jump over your plants’ fence. You just have to ensure to build up your fence deep into the ground and properly set it on high.

Follow these procedures to make a chicken wire fence:

Read more: Ways to keep chickens out of flower beds.

Method 8: Install an Electric Wire Fence

What to prepare:

No one has ever been glad to get electric shocked by an electric wire. Even the raccoons don’t appreciate it.

To make an even more effective fence, consider installing an electric wire fence around your plants to stop raccoons from digging up your garden.

Using an electric wire, you can startle a raccoon attempting to pass through your fence to dig up your plants.

By doing this, they will most likely never want to return again to your yard.

Follow these steps to build an electric wire fence:

Conclusion

Getting rid of raccoons might be tiring, especially if a new family of raccoons has arrived in your yard, but you must be more patient if you care about your plants.

Start with simple tactics, from removing any food source, including the grubs in your garden and plants, then progress to building an electric wire fence.

Try these methods listed above to find the best way on how to keep raccoons from digging up plants. Hopefully, by utilizing these measures, you’ll be able to keep them away. Thank you!