Hmmm. I would be unhappy. The Scarecrow would be my next purchase. I have used 'Grub-away" nematodes in the past, and it appeared to have helped, but it might just be that the grubs went into hibernation. The poison is not worth it.
We got a large dog. Then we left the back door open for a few nights. No more raccoons. Mikey used to enjoy hosing them out of the trees with the power nozzle, but he has to content himself with oppossum-hosing now.

I would love a large labrador but not enough property fenced in for him/her to exercise and be protected from the wild creatures just beyond the fence.
I did read last night grubs hatch in fall.
But a lab would love the water from scarecrow thats for sure. It's be going off all the time. lol

We had a pet raccoon (back when you could do that). They are incredibly smart, very strong, and good with their hands. Unscrewing a mason jar was no problem. They can defeat any countermeasure short of an electric fence.

The raccoons are hungry. Lucky they do not eat humans though they should as humans are probably the reason that they are forced to browse in human yards since those yards are now where the raccoons natural range was at one time!
How about buying a large bag of dry cat food and putting out a bowl with a large bowl of water. Maybe they will stop grubbing when they discover that cat food is good too and easier to get at. Of course you will hve to change the water after they are present as they are really into washing their hands or washing the food to get it soft.
I know. Got a family of 4 that visits: this past week 4 nites in a row! And I live almost in the heart of a city!!

Actually t_man, the racoon's original range is thought to have been only near rivers. They have greatly expanded their range mainly in the past hundred years either despite or because of human presence.

Our yard looks just like yours if not worse!! At first we thoght it was racoons as well.I spke to and showed it to our yard guy and he said racoons and skunks both do tat kind of damage.We found out the hard way that our problem is skunks~~~~~~~~~~~How did we figure that out,you ask?? DS came over with his german shepard and the dog saw the skunk and chased it~~~~~~~~~~and yup his dog got skunked.Then with time we were smelling the skunks everynight,and that is a smell you don't want to have!! It made my throat hurt,and we had to close up all the windows everynight as soon as it got dark.

We tried everything as well,with no luck.

Finally i told dh i was going to home depot and get whatever it took to get rid of them.We try not to use harsh chemicals,but i couldn't stand what was happening to my yard that i worked so hard to keep looking good.

I came home with 5 bags of spectracide,and sinc we saw 2 places in the front yard,i put some down out there.
Within a couple of weeks we used up all 5 bags,We have no animals and our yard is fenced.

Finally this week we havn't smelled them as much as parts of the yard is trying to recover,but we have to go buy some more topsoil and seed.We've been keeping the yard very wet,per our yard guys instructions.

The smells seem to be dissappating as well.At least we can go in the backyard without being greeted with those nasty smells.

We have been in this house over 40 years and this is the first time we ever had this problem,and i hope the last.There is a canyon behind our backfence,so let them all go down there and congregate.!!!!
Kathi

Kathi, I found out Bayer Advanced makes a product called Grub control. Grubs hatch and become worse in the fall. I've been dug up before but never like this. I have seen the family of raccoons and so have neighbors. They can actually walk across the top of the black wrought iron fence 1 inch wide! I heard them one night and sprayed the hose at them. 2 weeks later was when they chewed up patio furniture covers. Then a year later the power cord for a $150 waterfall pump. They live in the storm drains. I'm familiar with skunks from camping as a child and our dogs got into them now and then. Give them a bath in tomato juice helps.
I've got coyotes and bobcats around also but no trouble from them. Bunnies also but they can't get in the back and in front they like the neighbors yards better.
I could pay someone to trap them, but another family will just move in.

Well the spectracide and lots of water seems to be doing the job!! No sign of the skunks for a week now,thank goodness.So i guess in the next few weeks i'll have to go get some topsoil and grass seed to try and repair the lawn.I'll also look for the bayer stuff you mentioned.
Kathi

I used the rest of the Bayer insecticide (not the grub control stuff) I had which was enough to do over 4000 sq feet. I only have about 500 sqr feet in back. I also put down more Sevin. The coons struck again this past monday night but not near as bad. I can't believe any insect could still possibly be alive after all that insecticide.

I'm thinking of maybe creeping thyme but no guarantee they won't tear that up also.
An electric fence would work, but I'm afraid they'd jump from the wall and then get trapped inside...then I'd have a bigger problem...

I can sympathize. We have a construction project going in my neighborhood, and last night we had 5 raccoons in the yard. They must have been displaced by the construction because we have not had them until recently. They did not tear up the lawn, but they are messing up our fish pond. I suspect they poop in the water. I think an electric wire would deter them, but not sure if it's possible. I feel sorry for them, they are displaced. We can trap them and the Humane Society will come get them. They say they relocate, but I wonder......

Get the humane traps at lowes. Set trap, fill trash can with water, go to bed. Catch raccoon, toss trap and all in trash can. One down, set trap and go to bed. Repeat until problem is solved.

That's illegal to kill them like that. I'm not interested in jail time.

Have you tried beneficial nematodes to kill the grubs? seems your best bet, skunk or raccoon. I caught one in a humane trap, its mate sat in the sewer grate for hours until I released it.

Bad drought coming in SoCal, food will be scarce for wildlife and they know it, Hard to blame them for stocking up, but still damned annoying when it happens. I've lost about 4 tomatoes, 10 garlic, 25 onions, a few cauliflower and some cilantro to grub diggers this springs, so I feel your pain.

Yep, we've got trouble with them again this year raiding the fish pond. Not sure what they are doing in the pond, but it fouls the water badly. Stinky, but fish seem to be ok.

The Humane Society said trapping is really useless because there are more raccoons that will take the places of the trapped ones. I cannot stand them but don't want to kill them. Just want them to go away. Humane Society suggested automatic sprinkler, elec. fence, whatever it takes to keep them out.

Last night I saw one and yelled at him to get off the wall, and he did.

We have a small terrier who has the personality but not the size to take on a raccoon, so I have to take pup out on a leash at night. I'm sure a 'coon could hurt a small dog or pass on disease.

I've seen an older male successfully take on a full-grown German Shepard, dog needed the vet while angry raccoon just strolled away, hissing up a storm. I've seen an idiot try and pet one, then have to punch it's teeth off his index finger, then go to the doc first for the wound sterilization & taping, then all the rabies shots.

The hose usually is enough to chase them, but I'd never close to within 5 feet of them without a baseball bat or 9 iron, those bastards will rake you to the bone if they're mad enough and you let them get close enough to try. A camera flash is usually my 2nd choice after the hose, they are hilarious when night blinded -- from a distance.

I've hosed them also and a month later they came back and tore up patio cushion covers. Six months later they chewed on the power cord of the waterfall pump and right at the base of the cord so no rewiring!
I have some new grub stuff to put out this fall and have a ultrasonic noise emitter which I can hear sometimes so not sure how good it is. They'll probably just laugh at it.

Think I'll try this from Amazon, see link.

I have this fantasy of setting up a LOUD motion-activated recording of Michael Jackson singing "Beat It."

Here is a link that might be useful: Night Guard

Nightguard doesn't work. I returned them

What about some special cat fencing that keeps stray cats out? I have raccoons too and my neighbors spent 800.00 at the vets when his dog fought one. Not worth it. The cat fencing is a bent wire guard that keeps cats from climbing in or out. I saw it in cat fancy magazine. Raccoons are so smart and even if you relocate them, more will come. I put a big pile of loose mulch for them to go through. They still dig in the beds but it's not as bad. You might try a thicker grass that forms a dense layer. They will tear right through soft fine rooted grass. They will play with anything you leave out. I got some dog toys and they seem to prefer that to my stuff. I never had them chew cords. I would buy some rawhide for them and tie it to the farthest edge away from your cords.

Raccoon are probably the worst pest you can have. The broke into my attic once and when I reinforce the area, they attempted to rip out my siding. They rip through my neighbor's vent fan and ate his koi's. They carry dangerous ring worms.

Raccoons are intelligent and can avoid most obstacles. LIke the other poster said, they are probably digging for worms, so treating the worm should make the problems go away.

Have you consider perhaps laying down some chicken wire over the area until the you eradicate the worms? It may prevent them from digging.

Paul

I have motion-triggered sprinklers that work. I also lay concrete reinforcing wire on top of my veggie bed soil before I plant, so that they can't dig up all of the plants. I have a four foot wide bridge over my pond where it is three feet deep, and the fish hide there at night.

Raccoons will kill a small dog and seriously injure large ones, but they don't like dogs and the locals high-tail it out of the yard when my lab starts barking at them.

Mikey and Sam the Dog treed one in the front Locust tree last Friday at 3 am, and he slept there all day during the garden tour at our house on Saturday, so everyone got a good daytime view of his sharp little claws. We periodically hosed him down to make his life miserable, and the jays and crows harassed him all day, so it may be a month or two before he returns. I can always hope, anyway.

Wow Renee, you really provided some extra entertainment for your guests! Very good! Yes, that 'coon had a bad day, but even if he never comes back, there are 10 lined Jo to take his place.

My raccoons climb up inside a hedge to get on a wall then climb down the waterfall to the pond. I was thinking of putting that bird netting on the wall which they might not to walk on but have a vision of a mad raccoon tangled in the netting. Then I thought of alum foil which would probably fall off. Maybe chicken wire?

My mom put carpet tack on the top of her block wall. It's extremely sharp and it doesn't cost much. She attached it with a dab of silicone and weighted it down until the stuff dried.