Good morning all!
Garden challenges can sometimes be an uphill climb. Let me share what I learned this summer.
Back to garden topics: I am having issues with not ONE but THREE adult raccoons who have been a nuisance in my Free Union gardens since May. They really appreciate my organic gardening efforts as they visit every night.
Once we figured out what was invading/defecating, I conferred with our local wildlife center and tried all of their repellent suggestions. When lights, noise, and ammonia were not not effective, I continued my quest. This morning, I want to share DOES work, so that my garden followers may add these to their battery of knowledge.
I love raccoons, yet they have been a huge nuisance this year. Since early spring, I wracked my brain to outsmart/repel the digging/climbing critters.
Photo by Olia Gozha on Pexels.com
What DOES work:
Spent (used) coffee grounds! I collect spent coffee grounds from our local Whole Foods Market barista (they are happy to give to me) and then toss the grounds wherever the raccoons are digging. I enjoy the scent of coffee, yet never acquired a taste for the beverage, as I cannot make it taste like the professionals. So, spreading the often warm grounds is pleasurable. Just wear old clothes and rubber gloves, as this process is messy and grounds scent lingers on skin.
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Did you know that spent coffee grounds become a neutral PH and add a nice dose of nitrogen to plants? Additionally, if you keep an earthworm farm or want to treat worms in your raised beds, those wigglers crave coffee grounds!
Back at Swallowtail Cottage: The family of raccoons obsessed over my mature daffodil bulb/grape hyacinth beds during August and I just discovered that if I applied pine bark mulch over the area, the raccoons quit digging there! Voila! So off to Lowe’s I went with Auto for bags of the stuff. I can never apply too much mulch here…hence my nickname “Mulchqueen”. I should own a pine forest.
Photo by Trygve Finkelsen on Pexels.com
With this newfound knowledge, yesterday I applied (very fragrant) pine mulch to an area where I just planted new echinacea plants and, yay! this AM, NO DIGGING! Hurrah!
Who knew?
Ah ha! My plan for next April/May when my blueberries bloom/fruit, I plan to strew plenty of coffee grounds around that area to ward off predation. And hopefully the silly raccoons will not do a repeat performance and get tangled in the draped tulle! 😉
Let me know if this garden tidbit is helpful. Or perhaps this is common knowledge and I missed that memo. Either way, please share this post with other gardeners where raccoons are a problem.
A green/sustainable solution, yes? Since coffee shops are a dime a dozen around the planet, most of them will gladly give gardeners the spent grounds to work wonders in their gardens. Just bring your own bucket.
Coffee filters are also biodegradable, so add them to your raised beds for a carbon hit.
Off to more garden chores. Look forward to the first frost and fewer biting insects. Alas, I will miss hosting summer hummingbirds.
Happy fall. Happy gardening!
Let me know in the comments section if this information helps.
Copyright © 2019 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved
home, garden, life 
This is a great tip! We have some coffee shops that are nearby that we could get some of their used coffee grounds (and also an excuse to grab a cup of coffee).
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Lief, most coffee places are happy to give out spent coffee grounds. Just take a bucket. 😉 You car will smell awesome while you drive home. 😉
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My raccoons are not hampered by mulch but have not been fond of cayenne pepper. It was a tip I read this summer. They even recommended adding it to bird seed as it doesn’t harm birds. It’s seems to work… some of the time! Raccoons are very “adaptable.” 😄
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I tried cayenne, but pine mulch works better here for racoons. I do not use cayenne in bird food to deter squirrels, as I am not sure how much, and dont want to hurt my feathered friends.
The one time I put down cayenne in bulb area, the racoons simply turned over my copper birdbath to rid themselves of the pepper!
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Thank you so much for sharing this! I too have issues with raccoons 😖. These are wonderful safe and easy products to use. I really appreciate that they are “green” and I can enjoy their scent and not the raccoon’s! Can’t wait to try!
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Great! Let me know if these work for you in your gardens. Diane
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Those are great – and simple – tips, Diane. Thanks!
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a great Blog ! ! ! ~Ron
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Good morning Diane,
Your 1/2 acre seems to have its share of challenges but you find ways to deal with them.
Thank you for this information.
My daughter has racoon & groundhog problems at her horse barn & hopefully this will help.
Thank you, Joe
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Glad to share knowledge Joe, as gardening experience is fun to share. We gardeners need all the help we can muster! Let me know how this tidbit helps your daughter. Diane
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A note from a garden friend:
“A good suggestion as recently I have a racoon at my little birdfeeder”…kk
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A note from the Rockfish Wildlife Sanctuary
“Hey Diane,
How great! Thanks for sharing this info. We’ll add it to our lists! Certainly makes sense that both pine and coffee would be unsavory for the little racoons. Thanks for finding a peaceful way to deal with them, especially after having tried so many things. You are a true lover of the natural world. ”
Madeline Zimmer
ROCKFISH WILDLIFE SANCTUARY
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A note from the Wildlife Center of Virginia:
“Hi Diane,
Thank you for the update! We will definitely add coffee grounds and pine bark mulch to our recommendations for deterrents. We’re always learning new information and what may work for some people may not work for others, which is why having a large variation of deterrents is really important!
Have a great rest of your day.”
Best,
Caroline
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