Electric fencing - but at the house - raccoon issue. Open to all other ideas as well.

[endlessclimb]

I live backed up to a Forest Preserve, and I have a raccoon problem. The next door neighbors have about a million bird feeders. While I love all the species of birds, I don’t love the raccoons using the back of my shed as a communal latrine.

I have a 6’ privacy fence that they have no problem breaching. My concern is that my dog will manage to corner one and get into a fight she can’t win.

I have trapped one and dispatched it. It’s like pissing in the wind, though. They’re just going to keep coming. In addition, I am not a good killer/hunter/whatever and I cried when I shot him, followed by nightmares through the night.

My questions:

-I have no trees in my yard. Are they just scaling/climbing the wooden privacy fence? I don’t see any dig spots under the fence.
-Will a single strand of electric strung about 4" from the top of the fence on the outside be enough to deter them? I don’t want to put one low if I can help it because the neighbors have a puppy, but can have that discussion if need be.
-Any other raccoon deterrent tips? I have no food or gardens in my backyard (just bought the house, working on landscaping as I go). I have a really thick tough strap on my trash that they are unable to penetrate. Why are they coming into my backyard when it is fenced and has no food for them?

Thanks in advance.

[Simkie]

Yeah, they’re probably coming right over the fence. I’d look at coyote rollers before an electric fence, though. More of a set and forget, probably less expensive, and no risk of shocking the neighbors.

I’ve also had good luck with something like this for woodchucks. Cheap enough to try for your raccoons!

[Where_sMyWhite]

Talk to your Fish & Game/DOW.

I can see a problem with running electric wire on top of your fence as the coon (or anything) will need to be grounded to get shocked. Maybe a few strands of wire at the base of the wood fence on the outside?

[trubandloki]

I wonder if they are grounded well enough to get a shock if you run a strand at the top of a 6’ fence. The wood fence they are clinging to might make them well enough insulated that they will not get shocked.

[endlessclimb]

@Where’sMyWhite and @trubandloki , good point about the grounding, I hadn’t thought of that.

@Simkie , I have never heard of coyote rollers. Those look pretty neat. I’m going to do a little more research on those and the deterrent (though the deterrent says it’s for dogs, too, haha).

I don’t want to kill the buggers, as they’re doing what a critter does - particularly if the neighbor feeds them even if by accident. I just need them to stay outta my yard, there’s nothing there but trouble for them. I get up for work at 3:15am when they are active, and I’ve already had a few close calls as far as scuffles with my dog. I’ve spotlighted them to get a look - it appears to be a mom and some adolescent/nearly adult babies.

And, next year when I try for a veggie garden, they need to leave it the heck alone.

[avjudge]

I’ve used an electric fence charger to deter raccoons from climbing a bird feeder post, and I think an electric strand on your fence should work. However, as been pointed out, you’d need to provide a ground configured such that the raccoon will touch it at the same time as the charged wire. My first thought - though it would be affected by how much looks matter - would be to staple a strip of hardware cloth or chicken wire to the fence (I’m assuming a wooden privacy fence) just a bit below the charged wire, and ground that. The whole assembly can be well above the reach of a puppy. The grounded wire should be wide enough that a climbing raccoon will definitely have one foot in that area when it reaches the charged wire.

In the case of my bird feeder post, it was the opposite - I put an approx. 1’ section of pipe insulation around the metal post, and a strip of wire (I think it was chicken wire?? maybe 10" wide) around that. I charged the chicken wire and grounded the post, and a raccoon could not pass from one section to the other without getting zapped.

[anon6003733]

We also get the odd raccoon but we’re lucky (fingers xx may it continue) in that so far the barking dogs send them scurrying. They must be a little less bold than yours.

How about a motion light back there?

Also there are some easy sounding recipes online that you can spray around the area/bottom of the fence. Hot sauce/cayenne pepper and water. Sounds not to pricey and apparently they really don’t like it.

[4horses]

If you have a fence, I would set the electric on the perimeter if your neighbors will allow it. Put a couple strands at ground level to keep them from climbing up the fence. But they do climb trees so they may travel into your yard through the trees. I’m not sure how you can prevent that, if that is the case. A couple big outdoor dogs?

You could also do multiple strands of electric going up the fence.

[carman_liz]

What about those runs of temporary electric netting? Stake it a few inches before your privacy fence. Most come with a little solar charger that you can have with a battery backup. Yes the dog and neighbors puppy may hit it but dogs are smart. They will hit it once, yelp oh sh!t, and then leave it alone. If it does not stop the racoons, though I bet it will, you can always either resell it or use it for around your planned garden to keep deer and other critters out.

[endlessclimb]

@anon6003733

We also get the odd raccoon but we’re lucky (fingers xx may it continue) in that so far the barking dogs send them scurrying. They must be a little less bold than yours.

How about a motion light back there?

Also there are some easy sounding recipes online that you can spray around the area/bottom of the fence. Hot sauce/cayenne pepper and water. Sounds not to pricey and apparently they really don’t like it.

I do have power back in the shed for battery tenders and the like, I’m sure I could work out a motion light. It looks like the previous owner had one but it’s not working now. There is a motion light on the driveway, as well as the corner and back of the garage. I’m on about a half acre though, so the lights don’t illuminate the whole yard.

I can try some deterrents, though from what I’ve read these city-fied raccoons don’t really care much, unlike their more wild counterparts.

Heck, even the deer just sit and look at you from 5 yards away without running.

@anon6003733 my dog is a good girl, I can recall her off of anything - bunnies, deer, even the coons. But I don’t want to have to personally patrol a yard every morning at 3am to scare them off before letting her out to go potty. I also will have a dog door here in a couple weeks, and don’t want the … excitement of a raccoon in my house. :lol: I also had no idea their feces carried a handful of diseases, so they can’t be pooping on the paver pile that’s back there. So gross!

@4horses I don’t have any trees in my yard, just a couple stumps that I need to grind out. The neighbors have trees though, so perhaps they’re using them to get to my fence? None of the trees hang particularly close though.

I’m going to borrow a few trail cams from friends and try to get a view of them breaching the fence so I know how they’re doing it. Stinkers.

Thanks for all the advice!

[endlessclimb]

@carman_liz

What about those runs of temporary electric netting? Stake it a few inches before your privacy fence. Most come with a little solar charger that you can have with a battery backup. Yes the dog and neighbors puppy may hit it but dogs are smart. They will hit it once, yelp oh sh!t, and then leave it alone. If it does not stop the racoons, though I bet it will, you can always either resell it or use it for around your planned garden to keep deer and other critters out.

I will totally be using the netting for the veggie garden. It is cost prohibitive for the entire yard though, as I’m on 1/2 acre. If they’re coming in only in one area, I could definitely do that - I just hope it’s not on the puppy side. I don’t mind my dog getting zapped once, but don’t want to have to have that conversation with my neighbor haha.

[Simkie]

If the neighbors are willing, another option would be to add hot pepper to the bird seed. Birds can’t taste it, and it’s actually good for them, but the raccoons will find it distasteful.

[mmeqcenter]

What about spikes?

https://birdspikes.store/product/rac…SABEgLyI_D_BwE

https://www.amazon.com/Original-Solu…a-900449456844

[endlessclimb]

@mmeqcenter

What about spikes?

https://birdspikes.store/product/rac…SABEgLyI_D_BwE

https://www.amazon.com/Original-Solu…a-900449456844

Oh I can totally use these for their latrine area! They would work perfect. Maybe if their poop-zone is gone and they’ve been chased out a bunch of times, they will quit even coming in. That would be the ideal scenario!

(I’d love to get rid of the bricks and pavers period, but they match the house and I’ve been told it’s best to keep them in case I need to do a repair. Ugh. I hate piles of junk sitting around. When I bought the house, I took 3 ratchet-strapped truck loads of crap off the property - finding MANY snakes along the way. Junk harbors pests!)

[endlessclimb]

@Simkie

If the neighbors are willing, another option would be to add hot pepper to the bird seed. Birds can’t taste it, and it’s actually good for them, but the raccoons will find it distasteful.

These guys are super nice, they might be willing! I bought the house a few months ago. They like me, because I’ve been taking the junk off the property, and recently cleared the side of the garage on their side which was full of weeds taller than I am (I have soooooo much poison ivy from that job…). They do make their own suet and stuff, so they could add the pepper to that easily.

Do you just shake some cayenne pepper on it? Or does it have to be liquid so it “sticks” to the seed?

[Simkie]

@endlessclimb

These guys are super nice, they might be willing! I bought the house a few months ago. They like me, because I’ve been taking the junk off the property, and recently cleared the side of the garage on their side which was full of weeds taller than I am (I have soooooo much poison ivy from that job…). They do make their own suet and stuff, so they could add the pepper to that easily.

Do you just shake some cayenne pepper on it? Or does it have to be liquid so it “sticks” to the seed?

I think you can just add pepper, but they do make hot birdseed, just for this!

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Wagner-s-5-lb-Hot-Pepper-Wild-Bird-Food-62075/206413900

Wouldn’t want to add liquid to dry birdseed, it would just rot.

[Equibrit]

This may be worth a shot; http://scientificwildlifemanagement…iction-liquid/