Are You Struggling with how to get rid of raccoons in your yard and from around your property?
Raccoon
Get Rid of Raccoons from Your Backyard
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How I was able to Get Rid of Raccoons from my backyard. This post is a serious and honest report on how I accomplished that. I decided to build this site because I became aware that I was not alone.
After searching the internet, I realized that many others faced the same problem of how to rid their property of raccoons as I did. For them, like me, getting rid of raccoons is no abstract issue. How to keep raccoons away from my backyard is a problem that I personally had to solve for myself.
Castle of Lights
We have a large backyard. The raccoons at night, every night. Sometimes they would pass through the yard a couple of hours after dark. Then, between 1:00 am and 3:00 am, they would come back. At first, I discovered this because I would see the motion detector lights go on in the backyard. When I looked outside, I could see the raccoons digging up the lawn.
As long as the raccoons just dug holes in the yard, I wasn’t overly concerned. Anyone living in an area with wild animals can look outside at night and see raccoon eating insects or a raccoon eating garbage from garbage cans in the yard. However, increasingly after eating the insects, I discovered that this raccoon family came to party. It was starting to become obvious that I had to figure out how to get rid of raccoons.
Raccoon Poop in the Pool
I told my wife that the raccoons were swimming in the pool at night, but she said, “no way”. Then, one night, I woke her up to show her the evidence. An entire raccoon family was swimming in the pool and playing water games, just like human beings.
My wife said, “far out”. Now, she believed it because she saw it with her own two eyes. However, she no longer wanted to go into the pool. She said, “don’t raccoons have, like rabies or something?”
What is an Effective Raccoon Repellent?
It became obvious that, like so many others, we needed a strategy to get rid of raccoons from our backyard and pool area. But, it got worse.
These raccoons were swimming and partying in the deep end of the pool. However, when the party was over, they would go over to the shallow side of the pool and poop before leaving. There is nothing more disgusting than having to clean raccoon poop from your swimming pool.
Now they really pissed me off. I was determined to solve this pest control problem and figure out the best way to get rid of a raccoon. I went online searching for how to get rid of raccoons from your yard.
I had to find a way to keep raccoons away from my yard. Soon, I discovered that many people had good results with getting rid of raccoons by using a motion-activated sprinkler. Clearly, I was not the only person trying to figure out how to get rid of raccoons in your yard.
Orbit 62100 Yard Enforcer Motion Water Sprinkler
Orbit Enforcer Motion Activated Sprinkler
By now, I had become used to sitting up at night, hiding in the family room, trying to figure out how to get rid of these raccoons. When the motion lights came on, I knew it was them.
Raccoons
On a few occasions, I ran outside in my slippers to confront the raccoons with a long pole – the same one used to clean the pool. That is not a course of action I recommend. These critters were not afraid of me. Now, I am 6ft 5 ins and 255 lbs. The raccoons were not impressed. On more than one occasion, they actually turned to challenge me in my own backyard.
One night, I had a really close call. The grass was wet, and, while trying to scare them away by throwing a rock, I slipped and fell. Luckily for me, they had moved far enough away that I was able to get up and retreat into the house. So, challenging or confronting raccoons is not an answer to the question, how to keep raccoons away.
Humane Animal Control
The raccoon poop in the pool got so bad that I thought about killing these critters. Of course, I realized that doing so would not solve the problem because more raccoons would come back. Plus, I was determined to find a humane solution to this raccoon problem. Even so, my daughter would hate me if I harmed an animal. So, I decided there had to be another method of raccoon control for me to explore.
I ordered a motion activated animal deterrent sprinkler for my backyard. My first one was the Contech Scarecrow. However, I soon realized that because of the size of my backyard, I needed more than one sprinkler system.
Because Contech stopped the manufacture of these garden scarecrow sprinklers, my research led me to explore some of the other garden sprinklers on the market. I ordered three Orbit Motion Sensor Sprinklers from Amazon.
- Night and day detection options
- Dusk to dawn - No need to turn off in AM
- Humane animal control - No raccoon trap required
- 35-foot adjustable impact water sprinkler
- Highly rated - Works as advertised
- Animal Control
- Gets rid of raccoons
- Deer repellent from garden
- Dog repellent
- Squirrel deterrent
- Garden Scarecrow
- How to Get Rid of Birds
- How to Get Rid of Possums
- Pest repeller
- Animal deterrent
- Motion activated
- Humane wildlife control
- Eliminate raccoon poop in yard
- Protects a large yard - 1600 sq ft
- Easy set up
- Have to change battery
- Need durable hose
- May need more than one yard enforcer for large yards or multiple points of entry
- May need to adjust sensitivity of motion sensor
- May need to adjust field of spray to yard size
- Works against humans, too
Orbit Motion Sensor Sprinkler
- The Orbit Yard Enforcer is clearly an improvement over the original design of the Contech.
- Unlike the Contech scarecrow sprinkler, the Orbit has a really convenient Dusk to dawn feature which saves considerable battery life and eliminates me having to go outside every morning to turn the device off. Because raccoons are nocturnal creatures, this design made a lot of sense as an instrument of raccoon control.
- The Dusk to dawn feature allows you to set the device to work only at night.
- The Orbit Enforcer also has an adjustable motion sensor which allows you to tilt the sensor up for large animals or towards the ground for smaller animals.
Motion Activated Sprinkler Mime Field
After unpacking and brief assembly, I set the Orbit Yard Enforcer up in the backyard. I set three of them in a pattern to create a mime field in the backyard for critter control.
The 120-degree sensor allowed me to block the two side entrances (which animals would have to use if they crawled under the front wrought iron fence on either side) as well as provide raccoon control coverage for the back of the yard.
The latter was necessary because the raccoons are smart enough that they adapted and started climbing over the back fence. I was concerned about this possibility because the back fence is quite wide. I needed a raccoon repellent along the back fence as well.
Motion Sensor Sprinkler Solved Problem
Next, I thoroughly cleaned and shocked the pool like I had done so many other times. Weeks went by. The pool remained clean. There was no raccoon crap in the pool. At first, I thought they just hadn’t been by in a while. So, I sat up one night to check for myself.
It worked. I saw the raccoons as they tried sneaking by along the back fence of the yard only to be hit by the backward-facing0 sprinkler. And the noise made by the sprinkler scared them away as well. Success. The Motion-Activated Sprinkler actually helped me to Get Rid of Raccoons.
Raccoon Control Recommendation
I highly recommend a motion activated sprinkler as a way to Get Rid of Raccoons from your backyard or pool area. Raccoons are crafty and very persistent creatures. They will exploit any opening into your backyard. If you have a fence, they will dig a hole under it. If you secure the hole, they will knock one of the panels out of the fence.
If you want to permanently control raccoons or get rid of raccoons in your yard, then you have to be vigilant and monitor the degree of success of any method of raccoon control.
Get Enough Sprinklers to Cover the Size of Your Yard
Therefore, in order for a motion activated sprinkler to be an effective way to get rid of raccoons, you must have enough of them to adequately cover the access points.
Since writing this post, I had to increase my coverage and buy an additional one because the raccoons began to penetrate my perimeter again. They had found an unprotected way in along that back wall I was concerned about.
The other point I want to add as an update is that you should occasionally move the sprinklers around if you want to get rid of raccoons. The raccoons will continue to probe for entry points. By moving the sprinklers around, you will catch them off guard when they memorize where the sprinklers used to be. These critters are pretty smart.
The Orbit Yard Enforcer helped me to get rid of raccoons and solved the problem of raccoon poop in my pool. I am living proof that a motion activated sprinkler is an effective raccoon repellent.
The downside with the Contech Scarecrow was that, occasionally, I forgot to go outside in the morning to turn the water off. The result was that when my wife stepped outside on the back patio, she got drenched and came running back in the house screaming at me to turn my “thing” off. With the orbit Dusk to dawn feature, that problem was resolved.
The Contech Scarecrow is also an effective raccoon deterrent, but it is not motion activated.
Motion Activated Sprinkler Reviews
Here’s a couple of reviews from customers who had great results with this product as a means of raccoon control:
 “Mystery Part” Use Instructions., April 12, 2015Verified Purchase(What’s this?)
This review is from: Orbit 62100 Yard Enforcer Motion Activated Sprinkler (Lawn & Patio)
There is a small “extra” part contained in the Yard Enforcer package. You can use it to position the motion sensor lower to the ground (to detect rabbits I guess) by attaching the motion sensor directly to the rectangular valve.
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266 of 276 people found the following review helpful
Yard Enforcer vs. Contech Scarecrow, May 6, 2013By
Verified Purchase(What’s this?)
I used to buy a similar product, the original Contech “scarecrow”, and I have gone through about ten over the last ten years. This is the first Yard Enforcer I tried. Knowing the weaknesses of the scarecrow I was hoping that this would be a better solution.
I keep buying these motion sensor sprinkler to keep the deer, raccoons, and geese out of our yard, and I normally have three of them set up at the same time to cover several areas at once.
As soon as I opened the package I realized why this was a bit more expensive than the scarecrow. The Yard Enforcer is made of better materials, the stake and base are made of metal, and so is the hose connection, the plastic housing to which the sprinkler attaches is sturdier as well.
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Frequently Asked Questions:
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- Q. Does the Orbit Yard Enforcer sprinkler work as a means of raccoon control in the dark?
- A. Yes. Raccoons are nocturnal creatures. They come out at night. However, the infrared sensor works in the day as well. The beauty of this device is its versatility. It can be set to work at night only or both day and night. Any person or animal triggering the device will be scared and get drenched – day or night.
- Q. Did the Orbit Yard Enforcer solve the problem of How to get rid of raccoons?
- A. Yes. I recommend this product because I now have four of them, myself, in my own backyard. I have no more raccoons crapping in my pool. They creep by out of range of the sensor. However, raccoons are persistent. Keep a supply of batteries to power the unit and keep them away. And inspect your fence from time to time. They will keep trying to find a way in.
- Q. Does the motion detector sprinkler harm animals?
- A. No. The motion sensor sprinkler is a safe, humane raccoon deterrent.
- Q. Does the Yard Enforcer deter other animals as well?
- A. Yes. The Yard Enforcer not only solved the problem of how to get rid of raccoons, but it also repels deer, rabbits, cats, dogs, possums, skunks, and squirrels from your backyard, pond, or pool.
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Raccoon and Skunk in the backyard
- Q. Is the Orbit the only motion detector sprinkler?
- A. No here are some others and where they can be purchased.
- Havahart Spray Away Elite II Hose-Free
- Havahart Spray Away 2.0
- Q. Where can I buy the Orbit sprinkler?
- Is a motion sprinkler the only effective animal control repellent for a garden, swimming pool, or backyard?
- A. No. Read this post to see if this solution is for you.
- What is the No 1 Raccoon Deterrent? An Electric Dog Fence
- Q. Does the Orbit Yard Enforcer sprinkler work as a means of raccoon control in the dark?
