Why do raccoons tear up sod? How to stop them

Raccoons are beautiful Canadian animals. As beautiful as they may seem, raccoons can mess up your lawn. They are known to destroy sod and grass as they search for grubs. Grubs are a delicacy to them. The raccoon is a wild animal, which often finds its way to residential areas. Being an animal, it does not recognize that beautiful looking lawn is a no-go-zone. A garden visited by a raccoon can be a total mess.



Newly laid sod has to be regularly watered. Also, sod is laid on fresh soil. The moisture and the good soil are suitable conditions for worms and grubs. The grubs are found underneath the soil- the raccoons have to dig to find them. Raccoons have a high survival instinct- when there is food they will find it. These animals will roll the whole sod if they have to. Once they have discovered a source of food, what will deter them from coming back and even bringing friends along?

So you have discovered that raccoons are messing up your lawn, what will you do next? To stop raccoons, make it difficult for them to tear up the sod. A good way to do that is to put a protective net over the sod, at least for the first three weeks. The net used to cover the sod makes it difficult for the raccoon to dig up the sod. The net is hard to walk on and is firmly secured to prevent this clever animal from tearing it. The net can be removed after three weeks. At this time, the roots have grown, and the sod is not watered as many times.

Another option is to scare the raccoons away using the scarecrow sprinkler. This sprinkler has motion sensors and will be activated once there is any motion. The water jet from the sprinkler will scare the animal away. It is recommended that the sprinkler is installed in such a way the jet reaches the edges. The Raccoons are crafty and will not be scared by something that does not reach them. The scarecrow sprinkler is available in hardware stores.

Lighting your garden at night is also a good option. Raccoons are nocturnal creatures- they will stay away from light. Installing garden lights in your garden will keep them away. 100-watts bulb will do the job as they are very bright. You don’t have to keep the bulbs on all night. Motion sensors will keep the bulbs on only when there is motion.

If you live in areas with high raccoon population, employ the necessary measures to keep raccoons away from planting sod. It is frustrating to wake up only to discover your sod is rolled up.

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