What Products Will Keep Raccoons Out of a Yard?

Garbage Cans

• Open garbage cans can attract more than just raccoons.Photos.com/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  In urban areas where raccoons have plenty of places to scavenge, one of the easiest ways to keep them out of the yard is to make sure they don't have access to anything tasty. If garbage cans are kept alongside the house, the smell coming from them can be too much for a raccoon to resist. Moving the cans into the garage is an easy solution, but if that isn't possible, you can invest in some garbage cans with lids that snap on. When the garbage can doesn't open after it's been tipped over, they'll quickly learn to look elsewhere for an easier meal.
  
  

Fencing

• A pulsating fence will keep out the raccoons while not harming birds.Jupiterimages/liquidlibrary/Getty Images
  
  A regular garden fence made of chicken wire poses little obstacle to a raccoon, who will typically just pull it out of the ground. One fencing product that can be successful at keeping the raccoons out of the yard is a solid wooden slat fence. Be sure to drive the boards into the ground to prevent the raccoon from crawling under, and cut back any overhanging tree branches that might provide an easy way for them to climb in and out. Electric fencing can also be effective at keeping not only raccoons but other pests out of the garden. An eco-friendly way to manage pests is a solar electric fence, which will charge during the day and become electrified at night when raccoons are most active. Be sure to introduce any pets to the fence and teach them to stay away from it; fences that release electric pulses rather than a continuous charge can also be effective.
  
  

Mothballs

• Raccoons have a very sharp sense of smell.Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  Placing mothballs around the areas that are attracting the raccoons can act as a deterrent, and ultimately persuade them to seek food elsewhere. Place a thick border around the areas that are specifically attracting raccoons; mothballs are more effective in close quarters, so a thick protective barrier around the specific areas that are attracting them will be more effective than a thin sprinkling of mothballs around the entire perimeter of the property.
  
  

Scare Tactics

• Raccoons can watch, wait and learn, making them difficult to scare.Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images
  
  Items that are designed to scare raccoons off can have limited success. Loud radios, flashlights or motion lights are typically not effective in urban settings. Raccoons in this type of city environment have been desensitized to these things already -- while it might make them think twice, usually the promise of a meal will be too great. There may be some temporary success when rural raccoons are presented with these deterrents, but it will typically not last. Raccoons are very intelligent creatures, and will soon realize that there are no actual humans where the radio is placed, and there is nothing coming to chase them away when the lights go on.