Raccoons are among the most common wild animal intruders that property owners across the U.S. have to deal with on a regular basis. For this reason, it’s important to read up on these creatures, to figure out what they want, why they’re coming to your home, and how you can protect your Montana home from those pesky raccoons. This is what we’re going to be talking about in this article.

In the lines below, we’ll talk about some common tips that work well for protecting your home against raccoons, from calling a professional wildlife removal service like Complete Wildlife Removal, to trapping the animal on your own, if necessary.

So, why should you call a professional raccoon removal service?

It might seem premature to call a professional if there are no raccoons actually on your property, but you’d be surprised how useful this one thing can actually be. By calling a professional wildlife removal service like pestcontrolraccoon.com, you’re benefiting from a professional inspection of your property. This way, you get a trained eye to assess the situation and figure out any potential weaknesses, such as attraction points, potential entryways, and so on. It’s important to catch these things before they’ve been there a few months, the time in which raccoons (or any other wild animals) have made a home on your property.

Clean up your act.
The number one reason why raccoons are attracted to human dwellings is, naturally, food. These creatures are attracted by the many readily available sources of food in and around your home, and so it’s a smart decision to minimize these attraction points.

How can you do that?

First, take a look at your trash. Raccoons are attracted by properties with easy to topple or open trash cans, as these provide them with easy access to a hoard of leftovers. So if you want to deter raccoons from approaching, a good first step would be to invest in sealable trash cans that won’t spill if toppled or prodded.

Similarly, you’ll want to pick up any fallen fruit in your backyard, as well as carry inside any pet food bowls before you go to bed at night. You’ll also want to be careful about leaving food plates and containers around the house, particularly if you have a habit of leaving your doors or windows open.

Use a motion-activated deterrent.
Another worthwhile option you should be considering is investing in a motion-activated deterrent. These work with either sound or light, and are, as the name suggests, activated by movement. Since raccoons are mostly active at night, it’s likely that you won’t be there to spot them moving, which is why you’ll need something to keep an eye on things when you can’t.

A motion-activated deterrent will emit lights or high-pitched noises (which won’t bother you or your family) to scare off bothersome raccoons while you’re sleeping. While these can be an efficient prevention mechanism, wild animals may, in time, learn how to avoid the deterrents and still access your property.

Consider a live trap.
This isn’t exactly a prevention method, but rather supposing that the prevention methods have failed. We all know how bothersome raccoons can be, just like any other unwanted wild intruder, but that shouldn’t mean that you resort to violence and cruelty to get the animal off your property.

If you’re having trouble with a raccoon on your property, we suggest looking into humane raccoon removal. This basically refers to options that will trap and remove the animal, without actually harming it. If you’re a DIY enthusiast or confident in your skills, this could mean using a live trap. A live trap is typically a cage that lures the raccoon inside using a bit of traditional bait and then traps it inside by permanently shutting a door behind it. The cage then allows you to transport the raccoon to a safe location where it can’t bother anyone, but where you can release it unharmed.

If that sounds like too much trouble for you, you can always call a professional raccoon removal service. But here, as well, look for a company that specializes in humane, non-lethal removal methods - it’s only fair!