Does Ammonia Keep Raccoons Away?


Dave Campbell

You can find loads of Do It Yourself pest control procedures online. Some work, while others have no science behind them to be practical.

Therefore, what should you do to rid your yard of raccoons, and is there a home remedy that works? Yes, there is, and the answer is using Ammonia to deter them away.

If you are like us who do not want to use inhumane ways, you can use Ammonia instead of using poison. However, before we get to the DIY method, let us find out some basics of this animal.

The Basic Facts

One thing sure, the mammal is intelligent, and you can find them throughout North America. With their black patterns on the face and tail, you can spot them even when it is dark.

Furthermore, they can comfortably live in both rural and urban areas. The raccoon lives on fruits, insects, trifling animals, and even human food.

You can find them living in forests, to suburbs in major cities. Why? We provide them with the best food source. The raccoon will find a safe place in your home to create a retreat for their young and themselves.

Therefore, if you hear a noise from your unused chimney, basement, or attic, you may have raccoons living there. As the animal is opportunistic, it may not live in one place for long. Therefore, the ammonia method only works if you have an established raccoon den on the property.

Smells that might attract them to your Home and Yard?

The main reason is that you throw out edibles in the trashcan. While raccoons prefer eating veg, meat, and fruit, they find the crust on the pizza a great treat to eat. Furthermore, they will eat junk food, leftover casserole, and crackers.

Therefore, if you do have many of these animals around the yard, you unknowingly are providing the raccoon food. For that reason, we recommend you locate the problem and fix it.

If your trashcan remains open, make sure to get a close-fitting lid to prevent the raccoon access.

raccoon

Ammonia as a Repellant

To some extent, Ammonia works as the smell drive the raccoon away. The substance has a pallid gas that you find in nature. Even your body exchanges Ammonia such in your urine. Therefore, the raccoon has the same process taking place in the body and dislikes the smell. Ammonia can also be used for getting rid of groundhogs.

Furthermore, you find the same gas present in cleaning products in the home known as ammonium hydroxide. The chemical is lethal when you consume it, and one should keep it away from animals and children.

Mothballs

The raccoon is a fussy animal and keeps their den super clean. Once they feel the home is soiled, they will look for a new place to live. As Ammonia has the same smell as urine, it thinks, the burrow is stained and dirty, forcing them to move.

The most effective way to use the Ammonia as a repellent is to drench mothballs or any other object with the chemical. Once you locate the den, you place it near the entrance. However, as with most home remedies, it is not always practical but a compassionate way to rid the home of the problem.

Where can you get it?

You can get the chemical in any general or hardware store to Amazon online. Getting hold of the liquid Ammonia is a breeze, and it is not too expensive. Prices can vary from one brand to another.

Furthermore, the product offers you multiple uses for a wide selection of cleaning tasks as well.

How dangerous is it for pets?

Ammonia is poisonous when ingested, and the majority of four-legged friends will avoid eating it. Therefore, it is safe to use around them, as their nose is their best friend.

The likeliness of them chewing on anything covered with the poison is less compared to a toddler that is always inquisitive when it comes to tasting things.

However, as the saying goes, “Rather be safe than sorry.” Therefore, we recommend that you still take extra care when placing an object covered with Ammonia around the home.

Possible harmful effects

When working with Ammonia, you need to be extra careful not to breathe in the gas or getting your food contaminated with it.

Therefore, always wear gloves and a mask when working with the liquid. Once the chemical enters the body, it changes into ammonium compounds.

Furthermore, it can irritate the skin or burn the eyes. Therefore, it is essential to keep it away from children.

Final Thoughts

Ammonia is a simple way to help remove raccoons from the premises without harming them. Therefore, it is better than trapping and killing them.

However, if you do find the method does not work for you, the other solution is to call in an exterminator to take care of the raccoon problem.

Furthermore, using Ammonia is easy and does not cost a fortune as you can use it for other cleaning tasks around the home. Therefore, instead of the raccoon trespassing, your territory tries to remove them in the best humane way.

Reference:

https://ecommons.cornell.edu/bitstream/handle/1813/2177/nuisance.pdf?sequence=4

 

Dave Campbell

I'm Dave Campbell and the owner of deadpestz.com. You can read more about me and my background on my About Me page.

Recent Posts

Dead Pestz