Asked By: Matt, Burton, MI
A: Bandit-masked raccoons are a familiar sight just about everywhere because they will eat just about anything, including your fish. Found in forests, marshes, prairies, suburbs and even cities, raccoons can be a nuisance around ponds and lakes. Here's what you need to know to keep them away from your pond – and your garbage cans.
ID, Please
With the exception of 75-pound Bandit that holds the world record for "World's Fattest Raccoon," these nocturnal foragers are typically between 15 to 23 pounds and 30 to 37 inches long, or the size of a small dog. They sport heavy fur streaked in brown, black and gray, and have black eye stripes that resemble a mask. Raccoons have bushy ringed tails that grow up to a foot long, and their dexterous paws and long fingers make distinct prints in the mud or snow.
Sushi for Dinner
Though raccoons love to eat mice, insects, and tasty fruits and vegetables (particularly sweet corn) plucked from your garden and garbage can, the opportunistic water-loving critters will happily take a dive in your lake to hunt for crayfish, fish, turtles, frogs and worms. They'll use their lightning-fast paws to grab both aquatic and terrestrial prey.
Tracking a Bandit
Raccoons aren't exactly stealthy. If they're prowling around, they'll leave telltale signs around your home and property – like knocked-over garbage cans, overturned rocks and flower pots, rooted-through plants and disheveled yard decor. They'll also leave tracks in the wet soil around the pond. And, if you're lucky, you may even find a shelter or den made in a hollow tree, culvert, woodchuck burrow or under a building.
Evicting Raccoons
Mother Nature provides her own raccoon control in the form of coyotes, foxes, great horned owls and bobcats, but you can give her a hand by trying these methods.
- The Nite Guard Solar deterrent keeps raccoons away with its solar-powered LED lights. Activated at dusk, the red lights resemble a predator's flashing eyes flash and cause the critter to run away.
- Keep garbage cans securely sealed and manage other easy-access food sources, like cat food bowls and compost bins.
With hundreds of thousands of raccoons traipsing across the countryside, you'll likely discover one or two (or an entire family!) living on your property near your lake. But if you use some wildlife management tactics like these, you can keep them under control. Good luck!