As fall approaches and the weather starts to slowly cool down, wild animals like squirrels, opossums, and raccoons begin creeping their way closer and closer to New Orleans area homes in search of food, water, and shelter. Raccoons can thrive in urban areas like Greater New Orleans because they have plentiful access to food scraps from trash and other resources. While some people consider raccoons to be cute and friendly-looking, they are the second most common animal to be found with rabies, according to the CDC. Continue reading below for some tips on how you can keep raccoons out of your home and off your property this fall and winter!
Contain Your Trash
As mentioned above, raccoons are able to thrive in urban areas due to their access to resources like food scraps in the trash. For this reason, one of the best ways to keep raccoons off your property and away from your home is to completely cover and contain your trash. Be sure to keep all garbage bags in tightly sealed containers! If you’re dealing with particularly persistent raccoons, you may need to secure your trash cans with a bungee cord for additional security.
Seal Off Entry Points
One of the most common ways for a raccoon to enter a home is through uncapped chimneys, broken vents, and other openings along your roofline. In order to combat this, you should seal off all potential entry points with screens or new vents.
Cut Back Tree Branches
As mentioned above, raccoons often enter homes through holes and cracks on the roof. You can attack this problem at the source by cutting back tree branches and other vegetation so that these raccoons can not get on your roof in the first place. It is best to keep vegetation at least 6 to 8 feet from the roofline.
Move Debris Piles
One more tip for keeping raccoons off of your property is to move any debris piles or firewood stacks off your yard. Raccoons and other small mammals like to use these piles of debris for shelter, especially during the cooler months. Be sure that any firewood stacks are at least 20 feet from your home!
Contact Pied Piper Pest Control!
If you have any questions about raccoon control or have been dealing with a raccoon problem on your New Orleans area property, contact our team at Pied Piper Pest Control! We provide the Greater New Orleans area with pest control solutions for small mammals and a wide range of other pests! Call us today at (504) 366-1333, or fill out the contact form on our website!