“Help, the raccoons & skunks are tearing up my lawn!”

This is the common call of thousands of frantic homeowners every spring as the soil warms and the turf begins to emerge from slumber.  We hate that we have to say ‘we can’t stop the raccoons’, but it is true. Raccoons are smart, stubborn, and have good memories. They will keep flipping up grass so long as they think there might be food underneath, and it is easy for them to do it.  But don’t fret, if you understand the problem, you’re much closer to the solution!

That’s because even a raccoon won’t waste a lot of effort for no reward, so they can be discouraged. If you make it really hard for them to dig, and keep the amount of food they can find from digging down, they’ll go looking elsewhere.

Grub control is certainly part of the fix. Getting a preventative treatment every year – especially in neighbourhoods known to have grub and ‘coon problems – will not only keep your grass well rooted and hard to flip up, but will prevent a bumper crop of grubs from eating your roots and turning your lawn into a raccoon buffet. Rooting is key because it makes digging difficult. If they do flip up the turf, fold it back ASAP before it dries out, water it and get a root-building fertilizer on it.

But managing the masked diggers goes beyond that. Cayenne pepper, coyote urine (or ‘marking your territory’ yourself!) or commercial repellents are all somewhat effective. If your lawn is small enough, unrolling chickenwire over the areas where the raccoons like to dig can frustrate them. Just remember to move it every few days so it doesn’t grow into the lawn. LawnSavers also offers a motion-activated sprinkler called “the scarecrow”  that blasts the furry bandits with cold water when they walk into range, too.
LawnSavers Raccoon & skunk damage due to grubs in lawn

There are no guarantees with Raccoons, but a good combination of these tools and techniques should discourage them enough that your lawn isn’t destroyed.  A thick, healthy well-rooted lawn with proactive care is the best answer to avoid the frantic call of “may-day”!