What keeps raccoons out of the attic? (2023)

What will make raccoons stay away?

Spices like cinnamon, black pepper or cayenne pepper bother a raccoon's sense of smell, forcing it to relocate to a more livable area. By mixing cayenne pepper and onion in boiling water, you can create a natural raccoon repellant. You can add hot sauce to the mixture, as well.

The single best cure-all solution to remove raccoons from your attic is to use Raccoon Eviction Fluid. It's a lesser hassle, and more humane, to apply raccoon eviction fluid rather than buying your own trap to set and relocate or euthanizing the raccoons.

Hot pepper, garlic, peppermint oil, onion, and Epsom salt are a few scents used to repel raccoons. Read on to see how you can discourage these pests from entering your house and make sure that they're out for good.

Homemade Raccoon Repellents that can be used

Ammonia - It can be applied or soaked onto pieces of cloth or even kept in small opened bottles. The soaked pieces of cloth can be placed around the house, such as near food sources or around garbage cans and bins. Pine Sol can also be used in place of ammonia.

Soap the yard

Raccoons use their superb sense of smell to forage for food, and some scents are really effective at keeping them away. The ingredients in Irish Spring soap are generally effective in keeping raccoons and other small mammals out of your yard.

As nocturnal animals, most raccoons prefer to stay out of the spotlight. Bright lights that resemble daylight can scare raccoons away.

Mothballs get rid of all kinds of critters

Raccoons dislike the strong smell of mothballs. Buy a box and scatter them around your property to prevent raccoons from taking up residence.

After they are nine months old, the young will set off on their own. At this point, its possible that the mother raccoon will abandon the attic.

Some homeowners have found success with driving raccoons from their nests using strong-smelling products like vinegar or ammonia, along with bright lights and noisy radios, all of which can repel these animals.

What time of day do raccoons come out?

Activity: Nocturnal in nature, raccoons are mostly active at nighttime. They are most active in spring, summer and fall, and will sleep in their dens for most of the winter.

Raccoons should be repelled by the bleach and leave your garbage alone.

Raccoons detest the scent of Epsom salt as it irritates their nasal cavities. You can use this to your advantage by spreading the Epsom salt throughout your yard in areas where you need to keep raccoons away and reapplying once the scent wears off.

Raccoons hate the smell of apple cider vinegar (and so do some humans!). Soak a cloth in apple cider vinegar and place it in an aerated container near the den. The smell will deter them!

Raccoons stay away from animals that are their natural predators. These natural predators include; bobcats, coyotes, the great horned owl. You may have picked up a pattern here- raccoon predators are typically large. They need to be large as raccoons are formidable targets.

A few tablespoons of Epsom salt spread around your garbage cans will deter the raccoons, who don't like the taste of the stuff. Don't forget to reapply after it rains.

Even though raccoons are smart and cunning, these animals can also get easily startled. A sudden, loud sound is all it takes to make them go rushing away into the night. Being wild animals, raccoons also do not like music, so playing loud music in the attic can scare them off and cause them to leave your attic.

These ceilings are relatively vulnerable and are certainly not made to support any weight. If you factor some water damage weakening the tile … be careful. There are times where drop ceilings make it through a raccoon invasion, however, a break-through would be possible.

Main Attraction: Your kitchen waste can includes lots of items that are appealing to raccoons, especially meat and fish scraps. Once raccoons find sources of high-value foods like these, they will make regular visits and be extremely persistent in getting to it.

Once the raccoon is in the house, it can cause further raccoon attic damage by destroying insulation, wiring, and items in storage. The feces and urine they leave behind can also damage items or spread disease to humans and pets.

Will raccoons leave a hot attic?

Raccoons typically spend less time in attics during the hot months unless the weather isn't too hot. Often young raccoons that are starting their journeys on their own will venture back to the attic they were born in as a safe space. The two species that have no issue with the heat of attics are bats and snakes.

If it's just a lone adult squirrel, they can be scared out by bright lights and loud music or driven out by placing vinegar soaked rags around the attic, as they don't like the smell.

Raccoon damage is a type of animal damage that is generally not covered by a homeowners insurance policy, including damage to your home's structure and personal property. Damaged caused by other vermin, such as skunks and opossums, is usually not covered as well.

Mother raccoons can have between two to five babies in a litter, and they will have just one litter per year. Baby raccoons are called kits, and they are typically born in early spring between March and April, but if a mother's first litter does not survive she may give birth to a second litter as late as June.

Raccoons have been known to have multiple dens sites in a residential area. They may leave temporarily but are sure to return, especially if one of their other den sites is disrupted or destroyed.

Where Do Raccoons Sleep? Raccoons are opportunistic creatures when it comes to where they sleep. Most raccoons seem to prefer sleeping in large holes in trees or hollow parts of fallen logs. They also find shelter in abandoned cars, attics, crawl spaces, barns, and sheds.

Trapping – The fastest way to remove a live raccoon is through trapping, often done professionally but also possible through DIY methods in certain cases. This is best used for raccoons that are living places like under a deck or in a den on a property. Professional trapping usually takes a few hours or less.

After they are nine months old, the young will set off on their own. At this point, its possible that the mother raccoon will abandon the attic.

Does Irish Spring soap keep raccoons away?

Soap the yard

Raccoons use their superb sense of smell to forage for food, and some scents are really effective at keeping them away. The ingredients in Irish Spring soap are generally effective in keeping raccoons and other small mammals out of your yard.

Mothballs get rid of all kinds of critters

Raccoons dislike the strong smell of mothballs. Buy a box and scatter them around your property to prevent raccoons from taking up residence.

As nocturnal animals, most raccoons prefer to stay out of the spotlight. Bright lights that resemble daylight can scare raccoons away.

They are raccoons… and, unfortunately, they will not leave by themselves. You've got a problem. You need raccoon control. Your evenings are disrupted by heavy thumping on the ceiling while growling and scratching noises wakes you up at night.