The raccoon usually visits the yard because it is looking for something to eat. With these expert instructions, you can try to put a stop to the visits.
Did the berries in the backyard suddenly disappear during the night? Did you notice in the morning that the waste left in the yard has been tonged? A raccoon may have visited the yard.
The raccoon is a nocturnal predator that comes to the yard of a home or summer cottage, most often with food in mind. During the day, the raccoon is not easily seen.
The animal can be drawn to the yard by, for example, small mammals, frogs, berries, fruit, fish roe, waste, eggs and birds, which it likes to pop.
“The raccoon is an omnivore, that is, it eats anything that is edible”, game planner at the Finnish Game Center and project manager of the Helmi guest carnivores project Kari Karhula tells.
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What harm does a poodle do in the yard?
While looking for food and eating, the poodle can spread garbage in the yard. It can go and eat berries from the bushes.
The animal usually uses the food on the surface of the earth.
“The raccoon rarely digs the ground, unless it finds something particularly good to eat under the ground, close to the surface,” says Karhula.
A raccoon can make a nest under a house or a cabin and be there when nesting, a nuisance to the house’s residents.
The animal may appear in the yard in early autumn
August-September is the most common time when you can encounter a raccoon in the yard. In this case, the raccoon puppies leave the nest and move. If the raccoon dog lives with her puppies near the yard, visits can also happen in July.
There are a lot of supikos in settlements with small forest areas.
“Since the raccoon is a nocturnal animal, it is observed significantly less than the number of visits to the yard in reality.”
There is no exact information on the number of raccoons living in Finland. Quantity estimates are based on catch statistics.
“The annual catch is about 200,000. There are probably many times more supikos in Finland compared to the catch.”
How can you prevent a raccoon from coming into the yard?
So that the raccoon doesn’t go looking for food in the yard, it’s a good idea to move the garbage out of their reach.
You can try fencing so that the poodle can’t get to the berry bushes or the waste compost.
Predators, such as foxes, are prevented from finding bird nests by pouring soap around the nests, so that the nest does not smell like food.
Distraction with soap can work to some extent for a raccoon.
“If, for example, soap spills on waste, it can happen that the strong smell of the juicy waste overcomes the smell of the soap, in which case the soap is of little help,” says Karhula.
According to Karhula, the raccoon usually disappears by itself from the yard to its own hiding place.
Even if the raccoon is tamed, it is still so afraid of humans that it will not stay in the yard for a long time.
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Hunting for a raccoon it’s better to leave it to an expert
If you want the raccoon completely out of the yard, hunting is the only option.
Karhula stresses that it is not worth going out to catch a poodle yourself. He recommends contacting an expert who has a proper understanding of the matter.
“Hunting help can be requested from a local hunting club or game management association. Termination of soup dogs must be very appropriate. Animals must not be caused unnecessary pain or suffering.”
Source: kotiliesi.fi