Help with Raccoons

[sauna1701]

Looked out this morning into the back yard and my lawn is all dug up.
I think its raccoons looking for food underneath the grass.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to get rid of the bastards.
Will spreading mothballs or Cayenne Pepper help ??

I'm pulling my hair out and my head looks like my back lawn right now.

 

[Vixens]

Looked out this morning into the back yard and my lawn is all dug up. I think its raccoons looking for food underneath the grass. Anyone have any suggestions on how to get rid of the bastards. Will spreading mothballs or Cayenne Pepper help ?? I'm pulling my hair out and my head looks like my back lawn right now.

Worse than raccoons, you probably have grubs. The raccoons are likely tearing up your grass to get at them and they can be a real bitch to get rid of. We had them a couple of years ago and they destroyed our yard. It was really, really bad. Within a few weeks our yard was dirt and weeds. Killed all the grass. There are enzymes and stuff you can buy to help control them but I'd recommend calling in a company to try and control them and overseed like a crazy person. Good luck!

Steph

 

[james t kirk]

You have grubs as posted above. It's that time of year, though the problem will end when the grubs become June bugs, or whatever they turn into.

They are like oysters to racoons and they (the coons) can smell them a mile away and they love them. (They will go into your bin and dig out a little hot sauce usually to put on their grubs.)

I had the same problem when I sodded a few years ago. Every morning I'd come out and the coons had flipped the sod over hunting for grubs. I went to a nursery and asked for some grub killer and I was told it was too late to eradicate them that you had to catch them at a certain point in their gestation cycle and I had missed it, plus, Toronto no longer permits the use of such pesticides. The guy in the nursery said, "it may seem hard to believe but the racoons are doing you a favour and they (the coons) are more effective than any pesticide and they will ultimately save your lawn."

Seriously.

 

[richaceg]

was driving last night and 'coons are out in full force, they have opened 4 green bins (compost bins) and scattered all the garbage in my block. I always tell my neighbors to take out the compost bin in the morning but hey, it was just a suggestion.

 

[whitewaterguy]

was driving last night and 'coons are out in full force, they have opened 4 green bins (compost bins) and scattered all the garbage in my block. I always tell my neighbors to take out the compost bin in the morning but hey, it was just a suggestion.

Raccoon trap. Put a few chicken bones or chicken carcass inside. You will trap them all. Maybe I should set up a trap rental business. Trap them then set them free in another neighbourhood then rent the trap to the next victims

 

[TeasePlease]

Get some CCI .22LR Quiet ammo and make sure you have a clean kill shot.

 

[Starsearcher]

Live traps will work from a hardware store such as home depot.

 

[danmand]

It is normally skunks that tear up the lawn looking for grubs.

 

[Ben Hogan]

Mothballs might keep them from coming back temporarily. I was told to crush them and spread them around the perimeter to keep them out of your yard. Unfortunately the Ont. government banned the preferred chemicals to kill the grubs. Nematodes might work when it gets warmer. As someone suggested, you may have to call in a lawn mgmt. company.

 

[Insidious Von]

Could be skunks as well.

I used to trap them, I'd use peanut butter on toast it worked like a charm. However there is an element of danger, if you trap a cub the mother can be just as protective as a bear. As I set up the ladder to retrieve the little fella, mama started hissing at me from the adjacent tree and was ready to pounce. So I went to the last resort and got rid of vineyard, problem solved.

 

[AdamH]

I love racoons

 

[sauna1701]

It is normally skunks that tear up the lawn looking for grubs.

I never even thought of skunks. I only suspected raccoon because one showed up the afternoon.
Skunk or raccoon, its destroying thousand oof dollars of lawn. A friend suggested laying poison food in lawn but I would hate if a cat or bird ate it.

 

[AdamH]

It could be a fox digging for moles/voles under the ground. Obviously getting rid of the moles/voles is the way to stop this. I had a neighbor who used to go around with a propane tank and a hose and gas any holes he could find.. His lawn was immaculate every year.

I also heard (from a hardware store owner up north) that you can leave small bits of juicy fruit all over your lawn.. The voles/moles eat it, it gets stuck in their digestive tract, and they eventually die.. Any other animals (racoon, dogs, cats) would eat it and crap it out (so you won't have to worry about killing your neighbors pets).

 

[Terminax]

Live traps and a good solid water barrel - the ones they've been selling in Toronto as part of greening up the city are pretty sold Refurbish plastic food barrels. Trap, dump the trap in the barrel and walk away for an hour. Problem solved and you can put the remains in with the rest of the garbage.

 

[Why Not?]

Someone once told me a trick. It's really only practical for a small back yard though. Lay down some chicken wire on the grass and pin it in place with something like large fence staples.

The grass will grow up through it but the coons will hurt their paws if they try to dig.

I have never tried this to confirm that it works.

 

[OddSox]

I never even thought of skunks. I only suspected raccoon because one showed up the afternoon.
Skunk or raccoon, its destroying thousand oof dollars of lawn. A friend suggested laying poison food in lawn but I would hate if a cat or bird ate it.

If it is grubs and you/raccoon/skunk don't get rid of them, your lawn will be destroyed anyway.

 

[wetnose]

Get some CCI .22LR Quiet ammo and make sure you have a clean kill shot.

Get caught and it'll be expen$$ive for you.

 

[gar]

Raccoons are territorial, the old style amonnia spread around your fence would mark your lawn. However the amonnia you typically get now is low odour and not as effective.

 

[james t kirk]

The raccoon or skunk is just foraging for food. That's what they do.

You sick fucks who advocate hurting an animal for no good reason are just that - sick fucks.


As pointed out, the guy has grubs in his lawn and he needs to deal with the grubs, not by killing coons, or killing skunks, or leaving out poison. Get rid of the grubs and the problem will be solved.

 

[rfinch]

I had the same problem. I got something from Home Depot, I think it was called Grub Out. Hook the bottle up to a garden hose, spray the lawn, repeat in the fall.

Easy peasy