Tired of those mischievous raccoons raiding your deer feeder like it’s an all-you-can-eat buffet? You’ve come to the right place!
Look, I love raccoons. I think they’re cute and cuddly. But this doesn’t change the fact that they get on my nerves every time I see them near my deer feeders.
The problem with these furry bandits is that they eat a lot, so much so that they often leave no food for the deer. That’s not to mention the mess they leave behind.
If you’re ready to say goodbye to raccoons and hello to more deer at your feeder, stick around as I’m about to share a few handy tips on how to raccoon-proof your deer feeders.
1 – Consider Trapping the Raccoon
One of the first ideas that people look into when they have problems like this is to go ahead and trap the raccoons. If you can trap the raccoons and relocate them to another area, you might be able to get this problem taken care of fast.
From my experience, trapping a raccoon shouldn’t be overly difficult, and there are quite a few different types of raccoon traps out there that you could explore.
Some people will even build their own traps, but you can make it easier on yourself by buying commercial traps meant for small animals such as raccoons.
The only real issue with this is that you need to check your local laws before you move forward. There might be laws against harming or relocating local wildlife species, and this could prevent you from doing what you want to do without getting into trouble.
At the very least, you should talk to the proper authorities before you decide to go through with trapping the raccoons.
You want to be given the green light before you do anything, and it makes sense to want to do things within the confines of the law to avoid fines or other issues.
2 – Hunting Raccoon
Hunting raccoons is likely something that will come naturally to you if you’re using deer feeders as a hunting tool.
While this isn’t a terrible idea, you need to keep in mind that the local wildlife control authorities need to be contacted first.
There may be laws that prevent you from hunting specific animals, and this needs to be taken into consideration.
If you have determined that it is fine to hunt the raccoons according to your local laws, you can move forward without being worried. It shouldn’t take much time to hunt the raccoons, and you can use whatever methods you think will be best.
Hunting the local raccoons will make it far less likely that they will give you problems with your deer feeders moving forward. However, it’s also important to consider that there will often be many raccoons in a given area.
Raccoons are quite common in both rural and urban environments. There is always the chance that you’re going to be dealing with them for a very long time even after hunting three or four of them.
Just keep this in mind and understand that hunting won’t always be the simplest answer to your problems. There are other potential solutions to consider that might take less of your time.
3 – Poison the Raccoons
Poisoning the raccoons is a possibility, but you’ll need to ensure that it’s legal to do so before you move forward! The basic idea is that you can place food in the deer feeders that the raccoons aren’t going to like.
There are specific formulas that will work to eliminate raccoons without harming the deer at all. For example, many people tout a food mixture known as “monkey chow” that can kill raccoons without being harmful in any way to the local deer population.
You can check with local experts to see what types of things will work to eliminate raccoons. Be sure to get something that isn’t harmful to deer so that you can avoid any issues.
Overall, this option is likely going to be easier than taking the time to hunt the raccoons yourself. If you wish to eliminate them, using poison might be the right way to go.
4 – Make Use of Raccoon Deterrents
You could choose to make use of raccoon deterrents that will keep them from being able to eat the deer food easily. There are a few options, but most people wind up using what is referred to as “shark teeth.”
Placing shark teeth on the sides of the deer feeders will make it painful and difficult for raccoons to climb the deer feeders. Many raccoons will just give up when they realize that it takes too much time and effort to try to break into the deer feeders.
If a raccoon does try to climb one, it’s going to get cut up by the shark teeth that you have placed on it. Overall, these should work out pretty well, but there are still more deterrents to try out.
Simply greasing the legs of the deer feeders will make it so that raccoons and other animals won’t be able to climb it properly. This prevents them from being able to access the deer feeder, and the local deer won’t have a problem due to their height.
Another option is to use a guard on the legs of the deer feeder to accomplish the same thing. Typically, these guards will be cones that prevent raccoons from being able to climb up the deer feeders.
5 – Pay Someone to Manage the Local Raccoon Population
Paying someone to manage the local raccoon population is another idea to consider. Some areas will have local trappers who will be willing to trap and get rid of raccoons for a cost.
This is a good option for those who don’t have much of time to deal with the issue themselves. You might be a busy professional who spends a lot of time at work, and this might appeal to you due to it being a simple solution.
The only real downside is that this might be a fairly expensive thing to have to do. If you’re worried about how much money you’re spending, looking into something else is recommended.
6 – Time Your Deer Feeding Schedule Properly
Raccoons are nocturnal creatures, which means they tend to be more active during the night. On the other hand, deer are mostly active during the day.
If you have a programmable feeder, you can program it to dispense food during the daytime. This will minimize the chances of raccoons interfering with the feeding process.
The raccoons will become discouraged if they consistently find the feeder empty during their nocturnal foraging times, and over time, they’ll move on to other targets.
Bear in mind that consistency is important when setting a feeding schedule, as deer become accustomed to feeding routines!
7 – Add a Separate Wildlife Feeder
If you’ve tried the above-discussed methods and raccoons are still visiting your deer feeders, you might want to consider a wildlife feeding area.
Dedicating a separate feeding area for raccoons and other wildlife such as squirrels and birds will help reduce the competition at deer feeders.
The wildlife feeding area should be set at a reasonable distance from the deer feeders. It should also be easier to access than the deer feeders to make it more attractive to raccoons.
Simultaneously, ensure that your deer feeders are positioned at an elevated level that’s hard for raccoons to reach. A height of 4-6 feet above the ground should do the trick.
Final Thoughts
Now you know all about getting rid of pesky raccoons near your deer feeders! If you’re able to implement the methods mentioned above, you should be able to get good results.
You don’t have to put up with annoying raccoons messing with your deer feeders all the time. There are several things that you can do, but you do have to remember to ensure that certain things are legal to do in your area before moving forward.
Ben has a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering. When not constructing or remodeling X-Ray Rooms, Cardiovascular Labs, and Pharmacies, you can find him at home with wife and two daughters. Outside of family, He loves grilling and barbequing on his Big Green Egg and Blackstone Griddle, as well as working on projects around the house.
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Dustin
Monday 14th of November 2022
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