A great question came in this week:
“Hi Christy, I live in Santa Monica and I have Raccoons! We caught a
giant one rustling through our soon to be bountiful garden a few nights
ago and now know who has been munching on our strawberries and also
took a bite of a green Serrano (I think one bite was enough for him).
The last straw for me was that he got his hands on an heirloom tomato
that was just nearing ripeness and ripped it off the plant! Considering
the amount of tomatoes I have planted, he must be stopped! I have been
scouring for organic/cruelty free options for keeping him out of the
garden, but I can’t seem to find any information or organic options. Do
you have any suggestions for me? Thanks,Bonnie P.S. Thanks for your great
advice on the Culver City mulch pit! We have been there several times!”
You’re welcome on the mulch pit. Isn’t it great to get free stuff from the city?
Now, about those raccoons, outside of the usual advice to keep pet food indoors and keep all other food-like items under a tight lid, you can do a couple of things to keep your raccoon trouble to a minimum.
1) According to E-How: Erect a fence around your veggie garden with a flexible mesh material. Keep it tight at the bottom, but loose at the top so it drapes. Apparently they can’t climb that because it buckles under their weight. Your fence should be 6 feet tall for best results.
2) If you don’t want to put up a fence, you can try motion sprinklers. They go off when movement occurs in the garden. I’ve seen them work quite well for keeping chickens out of the garden. Light sensors are often tried, but raccoons get used to them and ignore them after awhile.
3) Wrap your valuable veggie plants in bird netting – it’s a fine mesh netting that can be draped over the plants as they grow. Your tomatoes will probably grow through the mesh, but it’s a first line of defense against the critters.
4) Try predator urine based products, which are for use in organic gardens. The success rate with these kinds of products vary widely, but it’s worth a try to see if you can rid yourself of raccoons. Here’s an example:
Shake Away Raccoon RepellentOther options include installing an electric fence and using humane traps to relocate them.
The best thing to do is to make sure your neighbors aren’t feeding the critters. They keep coming around because they have a source for food. If you band together with your neighbors, you’ll have a better chance of keeping them at bay.
I hope this helps, and thanks for writing in!
