How to Keep Raccoons, Possums, Minks, and Other Small Carnivores out of Your Garden
Are hungry little predators using your property as their personal hunting grounds, and tearing everything up while they’re at it? If that’s what you’ve got going on, keep it right here to learn how to keep raccoons, possums, minks, and other small carnivores out of your garden and off your land.
If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance that you like to garden. I know I like to garden. We like to garden. I’d even be willing to bet that you like to garden a lot. I like to garden a lot. We like to garden alot. And because we like to garden a lot, we take extra care to pay extra attention to things that make us not like to garden a lot. For example…
Your spouse: “What’d you spend the two hundred bucks on?”
You: “More hostas.”
Your spouse: “You mean more hostas like in more plants?”
You: “Well, hostas are plants.”
Your spouse: “I’m leaving you.”
You: “Can you unload the hostas for me before you go? They’re in the Grand Cherokee.”
Depending on your own personal level of rabidity, this kind of thing may or may not dissuade you from the act of gardening. But there are things out there which may very well be more effective than a pissed off spouse at dampening your cheery gardening spirits. One of those things is the potentially huge amount of garden damage caused by a particular category of animal common to the contiguous United States, and other parts of the world as well. That category of animal is: small carnivores – particularly raccoons, possums, and minks (and a few others).
Since the damage caused by these guys is something that might make us, as gardeners, want to not be gardeners anymore, it pays to take the time to understand a little bit about these creatures, always with the goal in mind of keeping them out of your garden. (Just so you don’t have to feel like you don’t want to be a gardener anymore).
These creatures are all ferocious predators of small terrestrial vertebrates and invertebrates. Some of them are also good aquatic hunters (bad news for owners of garden water features like frog and koi ponds) and some are extremely proficient diggers – an extremely bad thing for any gardener. In the case of raccoons and possums, they’re also more than happy to forage for, and scavenge any kind of food available to them. Like fruits, vegetables, and nuts. And garbage. The bottom line is, if any of these guys end up in your garden, they’re not there to smell the flowers. They’re looking for food. And that includes live prey. And since that prey lives primarily below the surface of the soil in which your plants are happily rooted (and/or in the pond in which your fish and frogs are happily swimming), some of them are going to dig (and/or swim). There’s probably going to be damage. And casualties.
And the type and extent of that damage and those casualties depends on the perpetrator. They’ve each got their own damage “signature.” So let’s take a quick look at what raccoons, possums, and minks (plus a couple of other little predators) are, and what they do. This will help us to identify them and formulate a plan to keep them away from our gardens.
Raccoons.
The common raccoon (Procyon lotor), is native to North America. Its range, however, extends southward into South America. Because of deliberate intoduction, they’re also found in Europe and parts of Asia. They’re very common where I live in the U.S. Midwest.
- Size. Typically, they’re between 18″ – 30″ in length and 15 – 30 pounds as adults. But there are records of some individuals weighing over 60 pounds. Raccoons are the biggest of today’s guest stars.
- Habits. Raccoons are primarily nocturnal. They actively dig to find food. They’re also excellent swimmers and climbers. They are also extremely dexterous. Though they don’t have opposable thumbs, they have almost the same manual dexterity as primates.
- Habitat. Forested, arboreal areas are their natural habitat, but they’ve adapted to live in virtually any environment. They like to make their dens in hollow trees, under building structures, and sometimes in the abandoned burrows of other animals.
- Diet. Even though raccoons are classified as carnivores, they’re actually really opportunistic omnivores and scavengers. Small mammals, amphibians, reptiles, fish, mollusks, crustaceans, earthworms, insect larvae, vegetable matter, and all manner of human food refuse are all on the raccoon’s menu.
Because raccoons are so big, and because their diets are so wide-ranging, their dining activities can be a serious issue in any garden. A thirty pound raccoon trying to dig out its quarry in a flower bed is going to cause some major damage. They can, and do, excavate pits in a garden as they dig for food, uprooting plants as they go. And an animal of such size and aquatic ability is capable of eating any number of your pond dwellers, as well. Further, since they love to eat garbage, and they possess such amazing manual dexterity, they can make a massive mess of your outdoor trash bin area very quickly.
My personal raccoon experiences. Like I’ve already mentioned, I live in the heart of raccoon country. They’re common here in our wooded Midwest area and they’ve been frequent visitors to, and residents of my property. I’ve caught them raiding my garbage cans and I’ve seen evidence of their activities in my garden – half-eaten frogs from our water features and sizeable pits excavated in the planting beds with numerous accompanying uprooted plants.
Possums.
The Virginia, or North American opossum, or simply”possum” (Didelphis virginiana) occupies a range which includes the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central America. Here in Michiana Shores in the good old U.S. of A., they’re very common.
- Size. Possums can be up to 3 feet in length (not including the tail) and weigh over twenty pounds.
- Habits. Like raccoons, possums are primarily nocturnal and will actively hunt for live prey. They also forage and scavenge, and are just as likely as racoons to raid outdoor trash bins. Also, like raccoons, they’re great swimmers and climbers. And they’re extremely dexterous. Possums actually do have opposable thumbs – on their back feet! Additionally, they’ve got fairly long, prehensile tails which they use to grasp objects and to aid them in their climbing activities. But possums, although they do dig, don’t aggressively dig in the dirt to excavate burrows or hunt for prey. Although they will eat the vertebrates and invertebrates that live below the surface, they don’t dig too terribly deeply to pursue them. Probably their nastiest garden behavior is their predation of the residents of garden water features, like fish or frogs.
- Habitat. Like raccoons, possums preferred habitat is the forest. But they have also adapted to live in virtually any environment in North America. They create their dens in virtually the same locations as those of raccoons.
- Diet. The possum’s diet is virtually identical to that of the raccoon: small mammals, amphibians, reptiles, fish, mollusks, crustaceans, earthworms, insect larvae, vegetable matter, and all manner of human food refuse. So even though they’re classified as carnivores, like the raccoon, they’re also extremely opportunistic omnivores and scavengers.
The amount of damage which possums can cause in a garden is mitigated by the fact that they do not dig gigantic pits in the soil to pursue prey. They do eat prey items which tunnel and live beneath the surface of the soil, they just don’t excavate the soil too deeply or extensively to pursue them. But their taste for aquatic animals coupled with their excellent swimming abilities make them an existential threat to the populations of any water feature you may have in your garden. They can do what raccoons do, minus all the digging and uprooting. And again, just like raccoons, possums will happily raid your outdoor trash bins.
My personal possum experiences. During the spring of last year, a possum moved into the space underneath our shed. I saw him at night going in and out from beneath the shed, and I caught him raiding our trash bins. And although I didn’t actually see what happened, I can attribute the deaths of some of our ponds’ frogs to this possum, since they coincided with the times of observed high possum activity.
Minks.
The American mink (Neogale vison) is native to North America, but it can be found in South America, Europe, and Asia as well. They are common in my part of the U.S.
- Size. Minks can grow to a length of 18 inches (plus an additional several inches of tail length) and can weigh up to 3 pounds.
- Habits. Minks are primarily nocturnal. They’re pure carnivores and excellent diggers and swimmers. They can excavate burrows and dens of their own, and can also enter the tunnels of their prey – voles, chipmunks, and moles, for example. They are such proficient swimmers and hunters of aquatic prey that they are classified as semi-aquatic predators.
- Habitat. Minks can live anywhere in North America but tend to prefer areas of forest. Additionally, they like to be near bodies of water like lakes, rivers, ponds, or streams. They tend to make their dens in hollow tree trunks or logs, but, as stated above, are excellent diggers and are capable of excavating dens in the ground.
- Diet. Minks are purely carnivorous. They are ferocious hunters capable of killing and devouring prey larger than themselves. They eat rodents, reptiles, amphibians, fish, mollusks, crustaceans, insects, and other small vertebrates. They also eat birds and have been known to kill and eat domestic cats.
Minks are the smallest of these three carnivores, but probably the most ferocious. Their ability to target and enter the tunnels of their prey make them highly efficient hunters. They will do some digging in a garden to pursue their prey, but that digging is not as disruptive as that of the raccoon. Their precise “strikes” against their tunneling quarry are very effective with a comparatively minimal amount of disruption in the planting beds. They do hunt and kill aquatic prey, so the fish or frogs which occupy any water features you may have in your garden could be at risk.
My personal mink experiences. I’ve seen minks in the woods surrounding my garden, and I’ve seen evidence of a mink’s hunting activities in my garden. If you’ve read the third and final installment of my article about driving moles, voles, and chipmunks out of the garden, you’ll understand that my mink experience was generally a positive one. The mink that was visiting my garden was utilizing targeted attacks on the vole population which had been established there. The mink’s hunting activities (combined with my liberal use of effective vole repellents) has virtually eliminated the vole population from my garden. And this particular mink was not preying on the frogs in our water features. The minor amount of surface soil disturbance was a small price to pay for the benefit of an effective predator regulating, if not eliminating, the vole population in my garden. So I can say that my mink’s presence is not necessarily a bad thing. I’m not saying that having a mink stalking your garden for prey is always an absolutely good thing. I can see where the mink’s presence could cause serious problems, particularly to the population of any water feature denizens you may have in your garden.
Other small carnivores.
There are other small carnivores which often invade gardens in my part of the United States. For the sake of expediency, I’ll mention only two.
Skunks. The striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) is common throughout North America and is a capable hunter and forager, and a very proficient digger. They live in wooded areas and create dens in hollow trees or logs. They also can, and do, excavate dens in the earth. Their diet consists of many of the items which are on the raccoon’s and possum’s menu. And since they are capable diggers, they will excavate a garden in devastating fashion in pursuit of their subterranean quarry. They are extremely effective at controlling or eradicating mole, vole, and chipmunk populations in the garden, but the skunk’s extremely damaging and disruptive digging can result in a bigger problem than that which moles, voles, or chipmunks present. And since skunks do eat small aquatic vertebrates as well, they are a threat to the fish and frogs in your water features. They also, like raccoons and possums, raid outdoor trash bins – they love human food refuse. And they are aggressive predators of honey bees. Seriously. If a hive is accessible to them, they’ll literally tear it apart and eat the bees and the honey. (Don’t honey bees currently have enough trouble already?) Oh yeah, one more thing – they’re skunks.
Feral cats. Feral cats are domestic cats which have been born and reared in the wild. They are active day or night, and often make dens under buildings or structures such as decks or patios. Feral cats are probably the best kind of small predator to have as a regular visitor to, or resident of, a garden. They prey on small mammals which are generally considered garden pests, namely moles, voles, and chipmunks. And they do this with no digging whatsoever. All of their hunting happens aboveground. We’ve had them living under our deck and they never once harmed any of the frogs in our water features. In my opinion, they have only one negative: they do hunt small birds. I love having birds visit the garden and it’s always tough for me to see harm come to them.
That’s the rundown. So what’s next?
Now you’ve got a basic idea of what it means to have one or more of five different kinds of common, small North American predators in your garden. Some do more damage than others. Some dig (alot), some swim, some dump garbage all over your property. Some perform the above actions in totality or in varying combinations. They all hunt. Sometimes that hunting can result in the elimination of really damaging small tunnelers (moles, voles, chipmunks) from your garden. Sometimes that hunting results in gaping craters in your planting beds. And sometimes that hunting results in the loss of your garden’s fish and frog residents or bird visitors. You’ve got to decide if having one or more of these guys hanging around your garden and property is worse than having your spouse miffed at you because of your garden spending habits. If you do believe it’s worse, read on.
How do you keep raccoons, possums, minks, and othe small carnivores out of your garden?
The answer to this question involves a two-pronged approach. 1) Eliminating attractants and 2) Using repellent products.
1) Eliminating attractants. By attractants, I’m referring specifically to accessible outdoor garbage cans. Obviously, there are other things which attract these small predators to gardens – namely prey items. But eliminating the fish and frogs in your water features, or the worms and snails that live in your soil, or the birds which come to visit, is not desirable or possible. So, eliminate what you can eliminate. And that’s easy access trash bins brimming with tasty rotten food and other delicious garbage.
Raccoons, possums, and skunks (and feral cats to a lesser degree) are attracted to the smell of human garbage. And they can smell it from a long way off. And if your trash bins do not have locks on their lids, those amazingly dexterous garbage pickers are gonna open them up, dump them, and eat like kings. And if they know that this smorgasbord is generally available to them, they’ll permanently make camp on your property. And when they do, it won’t be long before they start exploring your garden and begin to do what they do best – hunt.
So what do you do? It’s pretty simple. Either lock down your garbage can lid(s), or move the entire garbage can(s) inside an inaccessible structure like a garage or shed. I chose the second option for discouraging my garbage raiders cum garden prowlers. By locking my trash bins inside my garage, I totally eliminated the attractant from the eyes and noses of marauding raccoons, possums, and skunks. I’m afraid that merely keeping the lids locked down only keeps them from opening the can and getting to the garbage, and does nothing to stop them from being attracted to my property by the smell. Remember, you don’t just want them to stop raiding your garbage, you don’t want them raiding your garden either. It’s best to do as little as possible to attract them to your garden’s general vicinity.
2) The use of repellents. For me, this was clearly the best and most effective method of keeping all of the little predators on this list away from my garden. As a test, I even applied some to the areas immediately surrounding my refuse-laden garbage bins. The result: the tempting aroma of rotting leftovers was not enough to lure any of these invaders anywhere near the garbage bins. The repellent kept them away.
What are the best small predator repellents? I have two favorites. One is a granular and the other is a liquid. They are both instantly and totally effective.
- Shake-Away Coyote/Fox Urine Granules. As its name states, this is a granular formula. It’s got concentrations of 1.5% fox urine and 3.5% coyote urine as its active ingredients. It is remarkably effective. Coyotes and fox are apex predators where I live. The scent of the urine of these animals triggers a flight response from all of the little predators we wish to repel (including a number of animals not on this list). For me, it was immediately effective upon the very first application, though the manufacturer states it takes 2 -3 weeks for the product to take full effect when application directions are followed. Again, I followed the application directions exactly and the product worked immediately. And as I mentioned, I tested its effectiveness at an irresistable raccoon/possum/skunk buffet spot – my unlocked (and full) garbage bins. Guess what? Not a single nibble. Great stuff – I highly recommend it. To order this product, or to learn more, please click the #advertisement link below.
- American Heritage Industries Coyote Urine. This liquid product is also incredibly effective. It’s 100% pure coyote urine. Apply this stuff and its effects are dramatic and immediate. Every one of the animals here on my little carnivore list (and some animals not listed here) are immediately repelled by this stuff. Like the granules, this product triggers an immediate flight response from the animals we’re looking to repel. It makes them think that apex predators are nearby, so they avoid the area immediately. Incredibly and immediately effective. I also used my unlocked, full garbage can test on this product and, like the granular product, it was totally effective. To learn more about this product, or to order it, please click the #advertisement link below.
A note regarding product use. As always, it is imperative that you follow all manufacturer’s directions for each product.
Raccoons, possums, minks, skunks, cats. What more can I tell you? Any one of these guys could potentially do garden damage in one form or another. In their unending search for food, whether live prey or garbage, they’re each going to leave their mark. If eliminating the presence of that mark in your garden is your goal, I highly recommend following the above two step methodology of eliminating attractants and applying effective repellents.
And now you know what I do and you know what I use. Take this advice and do what I do, and use what I use (according to the directions), and you’ll keep these creatures away from your garden. Then all you’ll need to worry about is not spending two-hundred bucks on hostas again.
Cheers, and Happy Gardening!
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Do these repellents also cause problems for pet dogs?
These repellents are basically concentrated predator urine. This type of repellent should not cause any problems for pet dogs. My dogs have never suffered ill effects from their use, but they do react to the product by smelling the treated areas. As with any repellent product, you do need to follow all manufacturer’s directions. Best of luck!
Will definitely be following this advice. Best solution I’ve read so far to keep these animals away. Thank you!
You’re very welcome. I appreciate your interest and your kind comments. I wish you luck with your repelling activities. Please let me know how it goes.
Great information, they can all cause a lot of damage. It sounds like you have done a lot of research and have found different ways to get them all under control. Thanks for the product recommendations .
Thank you; saved valuable time and money on your shared and proven products. Patti
Interesting article, I learned a lot about these critters. Thank you for the helpful recommendations too.
Very informative! I am going to try these products right away.
Enjoyed this! I have a few of these problem. And 2 feral cats that I feed in turn they kill moles and mice and leave them on my porch for me! I have used the spray and the shake away both to keep unwanted visiting! Epsom salts keeps the cats from digging and going in your garden they hate the smell of it. Always learn lots from your writing! Thank you!
Fascinating. Great information provided in an enjoyable post. Looking forward to more