Today whether you live in the town or the country you may find wildlife in your garden. Sometimes the wildlife becomes braver and even enters the home. If you’re a homeowner who needs to protect your home from wildlife, read on. In some countries raccoons in particular are a menace. Once they find their way in to sample pet food, they come back again and again. Read on to learn some top tips.

Prevent raccoons from entering your home through a pet door

A common complaint we get from dog owners is – what if a wild animal uses the pet door to sneak into the home? This poses quite a conundrum. On the one hand, you don’t want possibly dangerous wildlife inside your home, but on the other, you want your pet to have free access to the home. Our advice is, if you’re really worried about racoons being attracted to your property, reach out to Nuisance Wildlife Pros for raccoon prevention tips, and to figure out what you can do to actively deter them.

Protect your home from wildlife – Raccoons in particular

Why raccoons? Because they’re among the most common nuisance wildlife that most property owners encounter. Because of their omnivorous nature, raccoons are quite likely to take a shine to the many edibles in and around your home (from leftovers to trash, and from pet bowls to your veggie patch).

What can you do to keep raccoons at bay?

1.    Try an electronic door.

The reason why you don’t hear more about these is that they sure aren’t cheap. However, if you’re looking for a way to let your dog come in and out of the house freely, while also preventing critters, an electronic door might be a good option for you.

The way these work is your dog will wear a tiny electronic chip on its collar that, when he comes near the door, will cause the door to open automatically, closing after your pet. This eliminates the random opening of normal pet doors, and with it, the risk of unwanted critters coming into the house.

Of course, the downside to this is that your dog might lose the collar, the chip might fall off, or there can be some malfunction, which might prevent your dog from getting into the home. That’s always a possibility with technology.

2.    You can try various raccoon or pest deterrents.

You can purchase a wide array of raccoon deterrents (motion activated devices that sprinkle water, emit sounds, or bright lights) from specialty stores. Of course, you’ll probably want to keep raccoons away for other reasons – for instance, do raccoons attack?

Installing nuisance wildlife deterrents can be an effective way of protecting not just the interior of your house, but also the garden and backyard. Since nuisance wildlife can spread disease and even, in some cases, be aggressive, you’ll probably want to keep it off your property for good, and not just outside of the house.

3.    Lock up your doors.

A cheaper alternative to the electronic pet door would be to just install a lock. That is one sure way to protect your home from wildlife. But you must remember to block the pet door at night time to ensure your home is secure.

Since raccoons (and most other critters) are nocturnal, that’s when you need to worry about them, and just keeping your dog door locked can be a good way to deter a wildlife infestation.

However, you want to make sure your dog is inside before you lock the dog door, which can be tricky to keep track of, especially if you’ve got multiple dogs.

4.    Watch where you leave your pet food.

Ironically, it might be your dog’s food and water bowl that’s attracting nuisance wildlife to your home, in the first place, especially if you’ve got a habit of leaving it outside.

So before you go to bed at night, it might be a good idea to bring the pet food and water bowls indoors, and leave them inside for your dog to feast on overnight.

It’s generally an unwise idea to leave your dog outside during the night, especially if you live in a pest-heavy area, anyway, so make sure you keep everyone indoors, to prevent infestation.

Keep your dog from interacting with wild animals.

If you encounter a wild animal in or around your home, keep your dog away, and don’t let him interact directly.

Though most critters aren’t overly aggressive, they may attack if they feel provoked or cornered.

So if you’re dealing with a raccoon invasion, it’s best to keep your distance.

Protect your from wildlife – Raccoons in particular

If you’re dealing with an actual raccoon on your property, visit raccoontips.com for raccoon trapping tips or consider hiring a professional wildlife removal company to handle the problem for you.

Whatever you do, keep your dog safe.

FURTHER READING ON PETS AND PET SITTING

Excluding wildlife from the home – What are the benefits

Does having pets at home attract pests?

Prepare your home for the petsitters

What to look for in an ideal petsitter

Shedding pets – Top tips for cleaning up at home