While these furry little bandits may seem adorable on sight, they have the potential to cause a lot of damage and may even pose a danger to yourself, your family, or your pets. For this reason you would not like your compound to be overrun by them, so below is a brief and hopefully helpful list of Raccoon control – DIY Methods.
The first method is by cleaning up your environment, and removing all traces of anything that might attract them. Ensure that all matter that can decompose is out of sight and out of reach. Ensure your garbage bins have lockable lids and they are not easy to tip over. Finally, clean the area around the bins to minimize the smell of food which will attract them to your compound. Ensure that this is a daily routine because after all, prevention is better than cure.
The second method is to find all possible entry routes into your house an seal them, as they will come indoors if they cannot find or access any food outside. Find any holes and cracks that are bigger than 3 inches as this is ample space for their entry, and check for broken windows and vents. Try and ensure that all or at least the majority of entrances are inaccessible so that they have a hard time trying to get into your home.
If you already have a few resident raccoons, soak up some tennis balls with ammonia and toss them into the area where they are living, making sure to seal all avenues into the place after giving them ample time to leave that so they do not return. The smell of ammonia will repel them and make them move out along with their young if any, as they find it very offensive and it is readily available in most stores.
To keep them away from your home, boil some habanero chillis and cayenne pepper in water, let this cool, and then pour it into a spray bottle. Spray around potential entryways such as doors, vents, windows, and areas in your fence they might crawl in through so they will be repelled when they smell this mixture and keep out. Take care when handling pepper and chilly; wear gloves and do not touch your face or sensitive areas, and wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water after you are done.
After going through this you are now probably able to deal with a raccoon problem before it becomes an infestation, and all with a few ingenious methods and implements that do not have to cost a ton or take a lot of time, and are also good for the environment to boot, so stay raccoon-free!