Skunks and raccoons might be nice to look at from a distance, but you don’t want them in your yard. Skunks can spray both people and your pets. Skunks, like raccoons, can get in your trash and make a mess. Both raccoons and skunks can transmit rabies, which poses a potential hazard to you and your pets.
Spray grass with vegetable oil, raccoons, and skunks do NOT like to get their coats oily. Spray a cayenne pepper/water or chili power/water mixture all around the den area. Also, spray around the entry and just a few inches into the hole.
Primary Options to Repel Raccoons & Skunks
Put the chocolate bar outside. This is the bait. Chocolate is toxic to some animals, including skunks and raccoons. Animals are unable to digest the chemicals found in chocolate. If they eat it, they will get sick. The animals will put two and two together after eating the chocolate in your garden and will avoid your residence in the future.
Dip some rags in ammonia and place the rags in open jars that you set out in your yard. Leave the jars outside for a couple of weeks. Ammonia is toxic; Most animals usually avoid it – and your yard – because the smell repels them.
Attach floodlights to your home and turn them on at night. Raccoons dislike being in bright light and generally avoid it. Motion-controlled lights are also a good idea. If a raccoon comes into your yard or near your home, the lights will come on and the animal will quickly retreat.
Install a motion-controlled water sprinkler. Set it on a timer so it only works at night. If a raccoon or skunk comes into your yard, it will be splashed with water, which it will not like.
Use naphtha flakes, which contain the same thing that mothballs are made of Scatter the flakes in your garden. The flakes are poisonous to animals. However, skunks and raccoons will not eat them. They will flee the area because they don’t like the smell.
More Suggestions
Buy an anti-raccoon and anti-skunk repellent that contains capsaicin, the spicy ingredient found in cayenne pepper. Spray around the perimeter of your garden. That should keep the rascals off your property.
Set up some sort of barrier around your yard that will keep skunks off your property as they will not climb or jump. Raccoons can climb, so you’ll need to make the barrier at least 5 feet high to deter them.
Contact animal welfare officials in your area and see what they recommend for getting rid of skunks and raccoons. Ask if you can legally catch these critters. Animal control groups often provide traps and kill the animals when caught.
