What you’re up against
Weighing in at up to 20 pounds, raccoons aren’t great jumpers. But they’re AMAZING climbers. And when food is involved, they’re risk takers, too. In fact, raccoons can survive up to a 40-foot fall without a scratch.
Feeder placement
Like squirrels, raccoons will raid your feeder from above and below. So, keep your feeders at least 15 feet away from trees and houses. This will keep raccoons from leaping down from a branch to get a meal. As for thwarting attacks from below, use a squirrel baffle. Speaking of…
Baffles
Placing a squirrel baffle – either cone or torpedo – with the top 5-feet off the ground will keep raccoons away, too. That’s because raccoons can’t climb around cone baffles. And they can’t get any traction hugging the vertical sides of torpedo baffles. Sorry raccoons!
Bring the heat
As noted in the squirrel section, birds can’t taste hot spice. Mammals like raccoons most certainly can! So, buy BWS seed logs and suet treated with capsaicin – the hot “essence” of peppers. Or buy sticky capsaicin extract at BWS and mix it into your seed. Either way, they birds won’t notice…but the raccoons sure will!
Going to ground
Raccoons are always in the mood for an easy meal. Placing seed in a ground feeder will attract the raccoons at night while keeping them from damaging your feeders and stealing the seed meant for birds.
Bring ’em in
As a last resort, place your feeders in a shed, garage or critter-proof container on your deck. Yeah, it’s a pain in the butt. Then again, so is replacing a busted feeder or refilling it because raccoons swiped all the seed.
