Repelling Raccoons - 3 ways to keep raccoons out of your corn!

We have many raccoons that frequent our yard and garden. They eat the leftover cat food on the back deck just waiting until that magical night when the sweet corn is ready!

Then they party until every last kernel is gone!

So what can I do to repel those rascally raccoons? There are three ways for me and you to rid raccoons from our gardens.

1. Erect an electric fence. An electric fence is the only sure way to keep raccoons out, but that involves too much work and expense for me.

2. Use a "floppy fence". Last year I began creating this, but didn't finish in time. I still think it is a good idea though. Basically you fence in your garden or a portion of your garden using your favorite standard fence. I only put the fence around a small corn patch last year. The trick to the "floppy fence" as outlined in Jeff Cox's 100 Greatest Garden Ideas, is to attach a roll of chicken wire to the top of the fence like this:

 

The chicken wire is fastened only at the bottom to the top of the fence. It stays floppy at the top with no support. When a raccoon attempts to climb it, it folds down on him which essentially dumps him off. Allow me to demonstrate with my daughters stuffed animal:

The raccoon climbs the fence and reaches the chicken wire. When it continues up the chicken wire, its own weight causes the wire to bend down over it.

No corn for that leopard, raccoon! When I wrote about this last year, some readers commented that this would also work to keep cats out of your garden. If cats are your problem, you could use netting instead of chicken wire.

I believe this might work and I love the 100 Greatest Garden Ideas book, but even this strategy is a bit too much work for me this year. Instead, this year I will be trying my 3rd way to repel raccoons, which I learned from another one of my favorite books, Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening. So what's the trick?

Plant a virtual fence with cucumbers! 

 

Dozens of vining cucumber plants will completely surround my corn patch. According to Carrots Love Tomatoes, raccoons can't stand cucumbers. They don't like the smell of them, and they don't like walking across the prickly vines. I'm not sure if it will work but I agree with many other things from that great book. I have started many cucumber plants of five different varieties. Not only will I have an almost infinite supply of cukes, but hopefully I'll also get some of this:

Mmmmmm! I can't wait for Summer eatin' from the garden!

So what do you think? Will this idea work? What about Jeff Cox's floppy fence? Do you have any other ideas for beating those coons this year?

Maybe I should feed them extra cat food!

Comments

[Sadge]

I like your stunt leopard. I use the floppy fence (plus bury the bottom in an outward "L" shape) to keep ground squirrels out of my garden. We can't leave dog or cat food outside. Besides the occasional raccoon, bobcat or bear, it also attracts skunks. Up at Tahoe, Aries' dad used to set a plate of sugar cubes out for the raccoons, then everybody would watch as they'd take their prize over to the water dish to "wash" it. Of course, it would dissolve in their hands every time, to their astonishment and everyone else's amusement.

[Melissa]

This fence works for lions and tigers. No joke. I once was the veterinarian for a big cat sanctuary and they used this same technique to keep the cats in their enclosures. Of course they used something a lot more substantial than chicken wire but the principle was exactly the same.

[jj]

The racoons may be more interested in your chickens than your corn!

[Kristen]

I just planted my corn and I am going to be livid if Raccoons get in. We have a fence around it but after looking at your pics I'm not sure it will work. Hmmmmm let me know how it goes.

[Megan Isadore]

The floppy fence is great for keeping a lot of critters out of the garden.....another good idea is to feed your cats indoors, or bring the food in after they eat. As long as there's a free dinner on the porch, the raccoons will belly up to the bar, and being the hungry little opportunists they are (just like humans) will stay for the corn!

[E.H.]

Back in my grandpa's day they took care of this problem with firearms, but we're too "civilized" for that now.

My biggest complaint with fences is that in order to to make it hard for them to steal my crops I have to make it more inconvenient for me to get to them as well.

[Dan]

I'd go with the electric fence just for the shock value :-)

[Bob Foster]

I too have been bothered with recoons for many years,then one day an old timer and I were talking and he said the best way to keep a racoon out of the patch is to put an old radio in the garden and hook it up to a timmer,on at dark and off in the morning.You can also put a light on the timmer as well.Bot comming on at the same time.It does work. I have not had any problems since I started diong this several years ago..

[Amoureuse D]

ahah good advices.

That leopard looks really scary :P I think its the harmless idea for the raccoons.

[j]

I have been told to put a pan of Coke in the patch they will drink it but they cannot burp so it will kill them