How do you feed birds without attracting raccoons?

Mammals such as raccoons are sensitive to spices, especially hot spices. You can purchase suet and seed already prepared with hot pepper. Or, you can make your own simply by adding hot pepper oil to your seeds. Bird are not affected by spices like raccoons are, so this could be one of the simplest deterrents.

What smells keep raccoons away?

Since raccoons have a strong sense of smell, which they use to find convenient food sources, one can take advantage of this feature by using scents they hate. Hot pepper, garlic, peppermint oil, onion, and Epsom salt are a few scents used to repel raccoons.

What can you use to keep raccoons away?

Use motion-activated light or sound deterrents. These deterrents sense movement and emit loud noises or flashes of bright light, keeping raccoons away from your lawn and garden.

Will cayenne pepper keep raccoons away from bird feeders?

Birds can eat capsaicin all day long and feel no ill effects. So to take advantage, many bird foods add capsaicin as a powder coat, liquid coat, or as part of a suet mix to stop raccoons from eating. Using hot pepper sunflower seed in my bird feeders worked well to force the raccoon back to the ground.

Does cayenne pepper hurt birds?

Hot stuff: The active ingredient in hot peppers, capsaicin, can be found as an additive in some birdseed. Birds don’t react to capsaicin the way mammals do so it does them no harm.

Does cinnamon keep raccoons away?

Spices: Sprinkle potent spices around your yard. Cinnamon, ground black pepper and ground dried hot pepper are some possibilities. These irritate raccoons’ sense of smell, encouraging them to move to a more hospitable location [source: Fischer].

How do I keep raccoons out of my bird feeders?

Saving your feeder. Follow these steps or combine a few to help keep raccoons out of your bird feeders. Use a squirrel baffle for pole-mounted systems. If your feeder is pole-mounted use a baffle at least four feet above the ground. Raccoon will not be able to climb up the pole to reach the feeder.

Do bird feeders attract raccoons?

Of course, raccoons are attracted to food and shelter! Some common foods that attract raccoons include human food in garbage cans, and pet food, and bird seed in feeders. Raccoons are attracted to goldfish ponds, and chicken coops, and even birds in cages.

Do raccoons eat birds?

Food and Feeding Habitats Raccoons will eat almost anything, but are particularly fond of creatures found in water—clams, crayfish, frogs, fish, and snails. Raccoons also eat insects, slugs, dead animals, birds and bird eggs, as well as fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.

Do raccoons like suet?

Raccoons love and will take them off hooks, we used to find our upside down hanging suet feeder on the deck opened with greasy footprints around. Certainly sounds like a coon to me. Donna. Like; Save; organic_bassetlvr. 11 years ago. Over the years I have lost at least a dozen suet holders to the little masked bandits. The only sure way to