Raccoons leave when your yard stops paying them. Find what they’re eating and where they’re getting in, take both away, and most of them move on without a trap, a spray, or a fight. The popular alternatives range from short-lived to useless to illegal, and trapping and relocating can manage all three.
The catch is that the right move depends on where the raccoon is and what time of year it is. A raccoon raiding your trash is a different problem from a mother raising kits in your chimney. Start with the table.
Start with where the raccoon is
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| Raiding trash, pet food, a feeder, or the lawn | Remove the food. Lock or strap trash lids, bring pet bowls in at night, and move or baffle feeders. Trapping it backfires, because another raccoon finds the same food. |
| Denning in an attic, chimney, shed, or crawlspace | Check for young first. If there are kits, wait for the family to leave. If not, make the den unpleasant, confirm it’s empty, then seal the entry with heavy mesh or a proper repair. Sealing before you’re sure it’s empty backfires. |
| A baby raccoon alone | Watch from a distance and call a licensed wildlife rehabilitator if the mother doesn’t come back. Taking it in backfires, and keeping one is illegal in most states. |
| Seen in daylight | Look for real warning signs: unprovoked aggression, trouble walking, disorientation. Keep pets and kids away if you see them. Assuming it’s rabid, or rushing to trap it, backfires. |
The deterrent aisle mostly sells you a delay
Hardware stores sell ammonia, mothball granules, predator urine, cayenne sprays, ultrasonic emitters, and motion sprinklers. Even the companies that sell traps are lukewarm about them. Havahart rates homemade repellents like ammonia and mothballs negligible for getting rid of raccoons, and Critter Control, a removal company, says scent deterrents and motion devices give limited results because raccoons figure out the threat is fake.
That fits the animal. Raccoons are curious, persistent, and good at learning which scary things are harmless. The light flashes and no predator shows up. The smell fades and the trash is still there.
There are other problems. Wisconsin extension staff say ammonia and mothballs are not registered for use as repellents and can harm helpless young animals if you put them in a den. Sprays also wash off in the rain, so you end up reapplying all season.
Short-term eviction is the one use with agency backing. Connecticut’s wildlife agency says harassment, or repellents like vinegar or ammonia combined with light and noise from a portable radio, can be effective for getting raccoons out of a building. Think of it as a few days of pressure in one spot while you plan the permanent fix.
What raccoons are actually after
They come for food or for a safe, dry place to raise kits. The food list rarely changes: unsecured trash, pet food left out overnight, feeder seed, fallen fruit, an open compost pile, and lawn grubs they’ll peel the sod back to reach. Connecticut’s agency recommends strapped lids, secured cans, bins, or a garage for trash, keeping pet food inside, and predator guards on feeder poles.
If they’re tearing up the grass, the grubs are the draw, and you can deal with those without poison. We cover that in our guide to getting rid of lawn grubs naturally.
Shelter is the other half. Raccoons reach roofs by climbing trees, downspouts, and vines, and they den in attics, chimneys and sheds. The usual fixes are a chimney cap, repaired eaves, and trimmed branches. The same find-the-hole logic applies to any animal in a building, and we walk through it in what to do about a bat in the house.
What happens to a relocated raccoon
Catching a raccoon and driving it somewhere green sounds humane. The research isn’t kind to that idea, though it’s messier than the version you usually hear.
Survival was poor in several studies. In Toronto, researchers moved 24 city raccoons 25 to 45 km, and mortality approached 50% in the first three months. In Kentucky, the odds of raccoons trucked in from Florida surviving to hunting season were under 10%. Those are old studies on specific groups. A claim like “90% die” circulates widely, but we couldn’t trace it to a study, so we left it out.
Some survive, and that creates a different problem. A 2023 South Carolina experiment moved 30 raccoons 16 km. Most settled into new home ranges, but they covered about 13 times more ground at first, and three walked back more than 16 km to where they were caught. The authors warn that this kind of movement can spread rabies and urge people to stop translocating raccoons. In a Tennessee study that released 286 raccoons, only 29 were recovered and 41% of those were illegal kills. Its authors thought translocation could work where habitat is suitable and resident raccoons are few.
It often doesn’t fix anything. Tennessee’s wildlife agency says relocated raccoons are quickly replaced by other raccoons when whatever drew them is still there.
The law may rule it out. Connecticut says relocation of trapped raccoons is not allowed, citing rabies risk and a state law. Raccoons that can’t be released on site have to be humanely killed, which isn’t what most people picture when they buy a live trap. Rules differ by state, so check yours first.
Can you trap a raccoon on your own property?
State-by-state rules for homeowners. Tap or hover a state.
Each one shows its status, a short note, and the official source.
Snapshot taken October 11, 2026. This covers trapping a raccoon on land you own or occupy. Laws change, and many cities and counties add their own rules. “Unclear” means we couldn’t confirm the state’s rule against an official source. Check with your state wildlife agency before you set a trap.
Then there’s timing. Kits are born in spring, so a raccoon trapped from spring into summer might be a mother, and her young get left behind. We couldn’t find a study on how often that happens. It’s the reason wildlife agencies tell you to check for young first.
Every state in plain text
AlabamaLegal
Legal status: Legal.
Explanation: A property owner or tenant may take one raccoon per incident that is causing damage, with no permit.
Official source: admincode.legislature.state.al.us
AlaskaUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: ADF&G says the raccoons released in the 1940s and 1950s died out, with no sightings in recent decades. No rule on homeowner raccoon trapping applies.
Official source: adfg.alaska.gov
ArizonaUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: A person suffering property damage may take reasonable measures (A.R.S. 17-239), but the sources reviewed do not say whether a homeowner needs a trapping license to cage-trap a raccoon.
Official source: azleg.gov
ArkansasLegal
Legal status: Legal.
Explanation: A landowner may trap and destroy a nuisance raccoon on private property where it is causing damage, in any season.
Official source: law.cornell.edu
CaliforniaLegal
Legal status: Legal.
Explanation: An owner or tenant may take a raccoon that is damaging crops or property at any time by legal means. Check city and county rules before you set a trap.
Official source: ipm.ucanr.edu
ColoradoLegal
Legal status: Legal.
Explanation: No permit is needed to trap a nuisance raccoon on your property. If you relocate it, the limit is 2 miles and you must notify CPW in advance.
Official source: cpw.state.co.us
ConnecticutLegal
Legal status: Legal.
Explanation: Homeowners may cage-trap a raccoon. Release it on site or kill it humanely. Relocating a trapped raccoon is not allowed.
Official source: portal.ct.gov
DelawareLicense, permit, or limits
Legal status: License, permit, or limits.
Explanation: Raccoons may be killed without a permit when causing damage inside homes and businesses or in residential areas of incorporated towns, using box traps. Elsewhere, trapping follows the Dec. 1 to Mar. 10 season and needs landowner permission.
Official source: regulations.delaware.gov
FloridaLegal
Legal status: Legal.
Explanation: The owner of a property may trap nuisance wildlife, including raccoons, or authorize someone else to. FWC no longer issues a permit for it. An agent needs the owner's written permission.
Official source: fdacs.gov
GeorgiaLicense, permit, or limits
Legal status: License, permit, or limits.
Explanation: Trapping in Georgia requires a trapping license. Landowners can get a no-cost landowner trapping license.
Official source: georgiawildlife.com
HawaiiUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: The Hawaii wildlife rules reviewed (HAR 13-124) cover damage permits for game animals and introduced birds. Nothing reviewed addresses homeowner raccoon trapping.
Official source: dar.hawaii.gov
IdahoUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: IDFG classifies raccoons as predatory wildlife and says a hunting or trapping license is required to take them, but the only notice found dates from 2010. We could not confirm the current rule.
Official source: idfg.idaho.gov
IllinoisLicense, permit, or limits
Legal status: License, permit, or limits.
Explanation: IDNR can authorize owners and tenants to remove damaging wildlife under a nuisance wildlife control permit. Under the permit rules, raccoons must be euthanized or released on the same property within 100 yards.
Official source: ilga.gov
IndianaLegal
Legal status: Legal.
Explanation: Resident landowners and tenants may trap or shoot a damaging raccoon with no permit. Euthanize it, or release it within the county on private land with permission. Local ordinances apply.
Official source: secure.in.gov
IowaLicense, permit, or limits
Legal status: License, permit, or limits.
Explanation: Landowners and tenants may shoot or trap raccoons damaging agricultural property outside city limits, using cage or dog-proof traps. The law covers agricultural property outside city limits.
Official source: iowadnr.gov
KansasLegal
Legal status: Legal.
Explanation: Landowners and legal occupants may kill a raccoon that is destroying property or in or near buildings, in or out of season, by legal methods. You may not use the animal.
Official source: ksoutdoors.gov
KentuckyLicense, permit, or limits
Legal status: License, permit, or limits.
Explanation: Outside the open season, a landowner needs a destruction tag from the department to take a raccoon causing damage (301 KAR 2:176).
Official source: apps.legislature.ky.gov
LouisianaLegal
Legal status: Legal.
Explanation: Raccoons may be trapped alive and relocated with no permit. You need written permission from the owner of the release site and must release the animal within 12 hours.
Official source: law.cornell.edu
MaineUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: Maine law lets orchard and crop owners take wild animals damaging their crops. Nothing reviewed settles a homeowner cage-trapping a raccoon.
Official source: maine.gov
MarylandLegal
Legal status: Legal.
Explanation: Homeowners may trap a raccoon only when it is actively causing damage or is a health threat. Relocation is prohibited. Release on site, kill it, or take young to a licensed rehabber.
Official source: regs.maryland.gov
MassachusettsUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: Massachusetts limits fur-bearer trapping to box or cage traps (321 CMR 3.02), but the sources reviewed do not say whether a homeowner needs a license or permit.
Official source: law.cornell.edu
MichiganLegal
Legal status: Legal.
Explanation: Raccoons can be taken year-round on private property when doing or about to do damage, by legal methods. No license or written permit is needed.
Official source: michigan.gov
MinnesotaLegal
Legal status: Legal.
Explanation: A person may take a raccoon on land they own or occupy where it is causing damage. A conservation officer must be told within 24 hours of a kill.
Official source: revisor.mn.gov
MississippiLicense, permit, or limits
Legal status: License, permit, or limits.
Explanation: MDWFP says anyone 16 or older who traps raccoons needs a trapping license. State law also lets landowners take predatory and nuisance animals year-round, but the sources reviewed do not list raccoons as one.
Official source: mdwfp.com
MissouriLegal
Legal status: Legal.
Explanation: A damage-causing raccoon may be shot or trapped out of season with no permit.
Official source: mdc.mo.gov
MontanaUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: Montana FWP says raccoons are nongame animals and a free permit applies only inside the federal court order area. Nothing reviewed settles homeowner raccoon trapping.
Official source: fwp.mt.gov
NebraskaLegal
Legal status: Legal.
Explanation: A landowner or tenant may kill a raccoon causing damage on land they own or control. No permit from Game and Parks is required.
Official source: outdoornebraska.gov
NevadaLegal
Legal status: Legal.
Explanation: Raccoons are unprotected in Nevada. Live trap and euthanize, and do not relocate. This comes from University of Nevada Extension, not NDOW.
Official source: extension.unr.edu
New HampshireUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: New Hampshire requires trapper education, a license, and filed landowner permission for trapping. Nothing reviewed settles homeowner damage trapping.
Official source: wildlife.nh.gov
New JerseyLegal
Legal status: Legal.
Explanation: Property owners and occupants, or their agents in writing, may control damage by lawful means. If release at the capture site is impossible, release a raccoon within the township and no more than 10 miles away.
Official source: law.cornell.edu
New MexicoLicense, permit, or limits
Legal status: License, permit, or limits.
Explanation: NMDGF says you must check with the department before trapping or using lethal control on raccoons. Raccoons are protected furbearers with set seasons.
Official source: wildlife.dgf.nm.gov
New YorkLegal
Legal status: Legal.
Explanation: Raccoons injuring private property may be taken by the owner, occupant, or lessee at any time, in any manner (ECL 11-0523). You may not relocate one off your property.
Official source: codes.findlaw.com
North CarolinaLicense, permit, or limits
Legal status: License, permit, or limits.
Explanation: A landowner needs no license to trap on their own land, but only in the trapping season. Out of season you need a depredation permit. Relocation is illegal: release on site or euthanize.
Official source: ncwildlife.gov
North DakotaUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: North Dakota allows pursuing raccoons with dogs statewide and year-round, but nothing reviewed settles whether a homeowner needs a license to cage-trap one.
Official source: gf.nd.gov
OhioLegal
Legal status: Legal.
Explanation: Nuisance or sick raccoons may be trapped with no permit. Relocation is illegal. Release on your own property or euthanize.
Official source: ohiodnr.gov
OklahomaUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: Oklahoma law lets the wildlife department issue damage permits to landowners and lets landowners use a firearm on nuisance wildlife. Nothing reviewed settles cage trapping without a permit.
Official source: law.justia.com
OregonLicense, permit, or limits
Legal status: License, permit, or limits.
Explanation: ODFW says raccoons may be trapped with a permit from the department. Relocation is illegal. Release on the same property or euthanize.
Official source: dfw.state.or.us
PennsylvaniaLegal
Legal status: Legal.
Explanation: Landowners and homeowners may trap nuisance wildlife other than beavers, bobcats, and protected species. The Game Commission advises calling the regional office first and says raccoons should be dispatched or released, not relocated.
Official source: pa.gov
Rhode IslandUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: Rhode Island bans relocating trapped furbearers. Nothing reviewed settles whether a homeowner may trap a raccoon outside the regulated season.
Official source: dem.ri.gov
South CarolinaLegal
Legal status: Legal.
Explanation: No depredation permit is needed to control a nuisance raccoon within 100 yards of the property owner's residence. Farther out, a depredation permit is required outside the open season.
Official source: dnr.sc.gov
South DakotaLicense, permit, or limits
Legal status: License, permit, or limits.
Explanation: A Furbearer License is required to trap raccoons. Residents are exempt from April 1 to Aug. 31.
Official source: gfp.sd.gov
TennesseeUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: TWRA says landowners can capture some nuisance species without a permit when they cause damage, but does not say raccoon is one. Moving and releasing live wildlife without a permit is illegal (TCA 70-4-401, 70-4-412).
Official source: tn.gov
TexasLegal
Legal status: Legal.
Explanation: Landowners or their agents may take nuisance fur-bearing animals on their land by any means, at any time, with no hunting or trapping license. Transporting live raccoons is a Class C misdemeanor.
Official source: tpwd.texas.gov
UtahLegal
Legal status: Legal.
Explanation: No trap registration license is needed to trap a raccoon within 600 feet of an occupied building or livestock structure, with the landowner's or lessee's permission.
Official source: wildlife.utah.gov
VermontLegal
Legal status: Legal.
Explanation: An owner, tenant, or caretaker protecting property from damage by fur-bearing animals is exempt from the usual taking rules. Someone paid to trap needs a trapping license.
Official source: legislature.vermont.gov
VirginiaLegal
Legal status: Legal.
Explanation: No kill permit is needed from the department to kill a raccoon on your own land in closed season. Trapping and relocating to another area is illegal. Check local ordinances.
Official source: dwr.virginia.gov
WashingtonLegal
Legal status: Legal.
Explanation: An owner, family member, employee, or tenant may trap or kill wildlife that is damaging the property, without a hunting or trapping license.
Official source: app.leg.wa.gov
West VirginiaLicense, permit, or limits
Legal status: License, permit, or limits.
Explanation: Resident landowners and their resident family and tenants may hunt or trap on their own land without a license during open seasons.
Official source: wvdnr.gov
WisconsinLegal
Legal status: Legal.
Explanation: Landowners do not need a hunting or trapping license to shoot or trap raccoons on their own property.
Official source: dnr.wisconsin.gov
WyomingUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: Wyoming Game and Fish's urban nuisance page tells Cheyenne residents to call Animal Control about raccoons. Nothing reviewed settles homeowner raccoon trapping.
Official source: wgfd.wyo.gov
Doing it right, including the timing
For a raccoon working the yard at night, it’s all about food. Secure the trash, bring in the pet bowls, and deal with the fallen fruit and grubs, and give it a while. We couldn’t find a study that says how long, so watch your own yard and expect it to take more than a night or two.
For a raccoon in a building, timing matters more than technique. Kits are usually born in April or May after about a 63-day gestation, and Connecticut puts whelping at late March through May. Young raccoons generally leave the den eight to ten weeks after birth. Assume kits are there from late winter through summer.
- Check for young. Washington’s wildlife agency says to look for a nest, and to leave the family alone if young are present, because evicting a mother can leave kits behind.
- If you can’t wait, make the den unpleasant. Light, a radio on a talk station, and a strong smell near the den can push a mother to move her kits to a backup den over a few days. Never light a fire to drive one out of a chimney, and keep ammonia and mothballs off the nest.
- Seal once it’s empty. Use heavy galvanized hardware cloth or a proper repair, not foam or window screen. For a chimney, install a cap.
- Call a licensed wildlife professional if the den is out of reach, you can’t confirm it’s empty, or anyone in the house has a health concern.
Droppings are a health issue. Raccoons use communal latrines, and their feces can carry roundworm eggs. The CDC says to wear an N95 respirator in confined spaces and lightly mist the area to keep dust down. Connecticut recommends a HEPA respirator and gloves in attics. If there’s a latrine, clean it carefully or hire someone who does this for a living.
A raccoon out in daylight isn’t automatically sick. Connecticut notes that raccoons adjust their feeding schedules, especially in spring when rearing young. Unprovoked aggression, poor coordination, and disorientation are the signs worth worrying about, and we cover them in are raccoons dangerous.
Don’t take a kit home, either. In most states keeping one is illegal, and we break it down in the legal reality of keeping a pet raccoon.
A raccoon on your property means the place is a decent spot to be a raccoon. They also do real work out there, and we wrote about the animals that used to keep their numbers in check in what eats a raccoon.
Questions people ask
What smell gets rid of raccoons fastest? Ammonia or vinegar plus light and noise can push a raccoon out of a den for a few days, per the Connecticut wildlife agency. It doesn’t work as a yard-wide fix, because rain washes sprays away and raccoons get used to smells.
Is it legal to trap a raccoon and release it somewhere else? It depends on your state. Connecticut prohibits it outright, and Tennessee says it’s illegal in some areas. Check with your state wildlife agency before you trap anything.
How do I get a raccoon out of my attic without hurting it? Check for young first. If it’s spring or summer, assume there are kits. Wait for the family to leave if you can, or use light, noise, and scent to encourage the mother to move them. Seal the entry only when you’re sure it’s empty, and call a licensed wildlife professional if you can’t confirm that.
Will the raccoon just come back? If you only removed the animal, it can come back, or a different one can take its place. If you removed the food and sealed the entry, there’s less reason to.
Does one raccoon mean there are more? Not necessarily. In spring and summer, though, a single adult using your property could be a female with kits nearby, which is a good reason to check before you trap.
Sources
- Connecticut DEEP, Problems with Raccoons.
- Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Evicting Animals from Buildings.
- Craven, S. and Drake, D., University of Wisconsin Extension, Raccoon Ecology and Damage Management.
- Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Raccoon.
- Hill, J. E. et al. (2023). Spatial ecology of translocated raccoons. Scientific Reports.
- Rosatte, R. C. and MacInnes, C. D. (1989). Relocation of City Raccoons. Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop.
- Wright, G. A. (1977). Dispersal and survival of translocated raccoons in Kentucky. Proc. SEAFWA.
- Evaluation of a raccoon translocation attempt in East Tennessee, SEAFWA (1979).
- CDC, Preventing Raccoon Roundworm.
- Havahart, Best method for raccoon control.
- Critter Control, Raccoons in attics.
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